Overview
Toca 2 is not exactly a true simulator game, but is a very exciting game to race on. The game itself gives the player up to 15 cars to drive(8 of them are touring cars- rest specialty cars) on 18 tracks when all are accessible. Initial game does not give all tracks and cars to start with, so you have to earn points or use cheat codes to access them. The graphics may not be quite up to par as a SCGT or NFS game, but are pretty well designed tracks to race on with an 3D accelerator card. There are 7 different modes of racing and 3 skill levels in this game which will be described later. I have run mainly with the touring cars in this game in the single race mode and the feel of driving them are pretty good and fun to race around the tracks. The AI cars will give you quite a battle and battle each other on the higher skill levels. I am also using this game with the Sidewinder FF wheel which greatly enhances the game with feeling the bumps and curbs around the tracks.
The manual that comes with the game is very small and is hard to see the menus they explain. It does give the player the basics options and parameters of the game.
Installation
The game installed very easy on my system with no problems getting it to run. I am running the game on a 450 MHz Pentium 2, Voodoo 2 3DFX video card, SBLIVE sound card, 64 Meg of RAM, Microsoft Sidewinder FF wheel controller, and displaying the game on a 100" by 100" projection screen. It does require Direct X capability on your computer and if you have a 3D accelerator card is a plus also. There is a Toca 2 update patch that is required if you want to run a Force Feedback wheel controller and it fixes some of the bugs in original game.
Minimum Requirements from Codemasters
The following 3d chipsets are tested for use with the demo:
Note: The Toca 2 patch below is only if you jumped the gun and bought the European version of the game like I did. Below is the European patch version 4.1 and the text file associated with the patch. If you have the US version, you do not need this patch or it is on the CD.
Starting Game
When the game starts up it goes through an Intro page and then goes to the main Toca 2 page. This page allows the player to select Start Race, Show Replay, Game Options, High Scores, information about the game, and Exit from game. To get back to a previous menu, the player only needs to hit the ESC key.
Toca 2 Game Configuration options
The Toca 2 game brings up the main configuration menu for selecting graphics, sound, and controllers and are very easy to setup what the player needs. Viewing the pictures below of the menus below are pretty much self explanatory on what each parameter does. if you are using a Force Feedback Controller, I found that selecting the Analog type controller works fine with it.
Setting up for a Race in Toca2
There are a few menus the player has to go through before you get to the track to race. The first menu is the selection of what mode of racing the player wants to do. The selections are single race, championship, challenge, support car championship, time trial, network play, and go to the test track.
Championship racing allows the player to build up points for entire Touring Season. Depending on your level, determines the tracks you race. There are 26 rounds and to go onto the next round you need to get 15 points. You can also get penalties during the races to loose points also.
Single race mode means what it says where the player will setup up for one particular track and car and race up to 10 laps. See the single race steps below.
Support Car Championship allows the player to race for points against the specialty cars. Which ever car you can select, the player races against the same type of car for 10 laps. A points system is in place in order to unlock the faster specialty cars to race with and against.
Time Trial Mode allows player to race any track for unlimited laps and also race against your own ghost car each lap to push you along. There is also time trial challange which allows the player to run as many laps until a timer runs out. Weather can be changed in this mode.
Network Mode allows the player to race against other over the Local IPX lan network, Internet, modem, or direct serial connection.
Single Race steps: The pictures below takes the player through the single race mode menus where the player needs to enter the race parameters, enter player name or any cheat codes, car selection, track selection and skill level(novice, normal, expert). The last menu before you race allows you to do garage settings and load and save car setups.
Replay Mode in Toca 2
The Replay mode is very easy to use. This is selected from the show replay on the Toca 2 main menu above. The replay menu allows the player to select the replay to run. Once selected, it loads the track and the standard VCR type controls are at the bottom of the screen. It allows you do several different views of the car or select one of the other cars. Dont know if the replays are memory dependant. With 64 Meg of RAM, i can capture about 5 laps of racing. Need to double check this again.
Garage Setup Menus
Before you start to race on any track, the game gives the player a chance to select the garage to modify the players car setup. The garage allows setup of tires, brake bias, downforce, gears, and suspension. Below are the pictures of the garage menus. You need to have a little bit knowledge of Car physics or basics to be able to setup each car correctly for faster times..
Force Feedback in Toca2
Toca 2 allows for force feedback controllers. I am using the Microsoft Sidewinder FF wheel with the game. With the controller enabled, it allows the player to feel the bumps on the track, the curbs, and bumps into the other cars or walls. You also get some resistance in the corners while racing. With the FF wheel, it gets me more into the game and each race when recieving the feedback from the wheel. Be sure in the controllers section to select for Analog type controller. Selecting Digital does not seem to work with my FF wheel.
Cheat Codes for Toca 2
We do not encourage the use of certain cheat codes as we feel it
takes away from the desired intention of Toca 2 and the earning of the cars and tracks by
the points system. Here are the cheat codes that work with the PC version of the game.
Final Words
As I said in the beginning, this is a fun game to race, even though it is not a true SIM as some may tag it. With all the options, cars, and tracks, it will take you many hours to master the game. If you can find some live players to race against in the network mode, will take the game even farther in enjoyment. Be sure to get a 3D card for smoother operation an adequate processor speed.
