TOCA 2 Review

Codemasters have finally got round to releasing the PlayStation2 version of this very successful Xbox title, which sees you follow the story of an up-and-coming racing driver as he tries to make it into the big time.

Along the way, players will race a multitude of vehicles, from Formula Ford to Rigs, in countries around the world. The aim is to raise enough money to progress on to the next series of races, so having to revisit already completed races to win more money in the competition is something that players will have to get use to.

Visually, the developers have done a great job with this PS2 conversion. The cars and the tracks all look great, whilst the cut scenes look amazing. The real-time reflections arenâ??t quite as good as the Xbox version, but overall, the finished game looks astounding.

The damage modelling is awesome in the game, and the way that it affects the performance of the vehicle is accomplished very well. The AI of your racing rivals is to a very high standard, and quite often youâ??ll come across some cars that have been involved in a few tussles along the route.

The ability to effectively control the vehicles is something that develops over time, and spinning due to the over/understeering, not to mention being over enthusiastic with the acceleration after completing a corner will send newbies of the game doing more doughnuts than Homer Simpson on his coffee breaks.

TOCA2 can easily be seen as amalgamation of certain segments from Gran Turismo and the Ridge Racer series, and itâ??s quite nice to have a storyline in a racing game, especially one that helps you get more immersed in the game. You want to succeed to help the team, and you do feel disappointed when you fail to do so.

If you havenâ??t played this on the Xbox, itâ??s worth checking out, and is sure to act as an effective stop-gap until GT4 comes out next year.