Game Review Data
 
Game Title
TOCA World Tour Car Racing
Publisher
Ubi Soft
Features
1 - 4 Players. Battery Save.
Format
Racing
Reviewer
Andrew Blanchard


RATING

Playable!


Ratings Scale:

Excellent!

Good!

Playable!

Ho-Hum!

Yuck!


Archived Game Reviews:

From A - Z

 

 
Introduction

According to the press release, "the TOCA Touring Cars Championship is the ultimate in racing and over the years, only a few have succeeded in winning, while many have fallen short in their quest for global glory." As you can see, this isn't just another racing game from Ubi Soft, but one that bears the TOCA license. As such, players will get to play as the 'real' teams driving their 'real' cars in the TOCA Championship.

Screen Shots

GamePlay

As soon as you start the game you'll find options aplenty and negotiating them is an adventure in itself. It's all reasonably user friendly though, so players who simply wish to dive into the game should be racing in no time at all thanks to the 'Free Race' option which allows you to select tracks, cars, laps and even weather with no pre-defined expectations of the race's outcome.

Even more instant than the 'Free Race' option is the aptly named 'Quick Race', while the 'Time Trial' option, as the name implies, is great for the wannabe speed demon striving for the fastest lap time.

Once you've become accustomed to the various tracks and cars you may then want to try your hand at the more immersive 'Championship Mode', which is really what TOCA is all about. This pits you against some of the very best drivers in the world and charges you with delivering on a variety of different criteria over a six-race season.

If you happen to have friends with their own copies of the game, you can then indulge in some frantic multi-player action. This is undoubtedly a game highlight, although you'll only be allowed to play the 'Quick' or 'Free Race' mode, which is a shame really but better than no multi-player option at all.

TOCA does offer a little more depth than your average racer, and this is provided via the various workshop sections where you can change your car's parts according to the weather conditions. To be honest, I found that this made little difference to the outcome of my game, although you might have a different experience.

The save feature is a joy to use as it's another of those wonderful battery back-ups that simply records your progress when you ask it to. On the down side, it isn't available when you're in mid Championship Mode, so if you fail to meet the progression criteria on the last race, you'll need to start all over again.

Controls

The control system in racing games are all about handling and physics. Make them too rigid and arcade like and the game could be deemed too simplistic. Make it too sensitive and complicated and players will find it too much of a chore. TOCA is probably, and more sensibly, somewhere in-between. Different weather conditions actually affect the car's overall performance, so until you become comfortable with the controls and weighting, you may find yourself spinning out of control on a regular basis.

There is, however, one aspect about the control system that I found more than a little irritating and that was the computer read-out. There were many occasions when the position read first or second but the statistics screen actually had me rated lower. This may seem like nit picking but trust me, if you're relying on a podium finish in order to progress it can be incredibly frustrating.

Graphics

Racing engines have come a long way since Mario Kart and the GBA has seen some truly outstanding titles in the visuals department. Unfortunately, TOCA isn't one of them. That's not to say that it's terrible, just that there's nothing here that we haven't seen before. As such, don't expect much in the visual department since each track in TOCA is simply made up of 'mode-7' coding with some polygons thrown in to border the circuits and break up the scenery with the odd stand or building.

The cars are possibly the highlight but as many of them look alike, there's little variation in the races' visual appearance. What really lets things down though is the collision detection. During one record lap I found myself sliding out of the general game area into a mass of green only to be forbidden to re-enter the race – to get back I had to switch off my GBA. Although this may be a bug that was missed in the testing stage, it's still unforgivable.

Sound & Music

Once again, I'm not saying that the sound and music in TOCA is bad, but that you've probably heard it all before. The intro music is probably the highlight with some suitably chunky sounds accompanying the various menu systems. The actual in-game sounds are also fairly good with a mixture of car engines, skidding and commentary on your current position. I'm probably being a bit too harsh here but when you've recently enjoyed the stunning audio in EA's 'F1 2002', it really is difficult not to compare.

Final Comments

Whilst TOCA isn't as instantly playable or visually impressive as other GBA racing titles I've seen recently, it's certainly a title that grows on you once you spend a little time with it. It's a pretty tough challenge too and the Championship Mode especially should keep you occupied for some time given that the completion criteria is as difficult as 6 out of 6 podium finishes. There are a handful of minor quibbles with the computer placing and some of the collision detection is questionable to say the least but overall it's an enjoyable and satisfying ride. It's by no means unique though, so if you own other similar racing titles there's little in the way of extended features here to tempt you. Overall, TOCA is a definite 'try before you buy'.

@ EAGB Advance 2002. All rights reserved.