TOCA 3 remains the same as the previous titles in the series. It is a realistic, multi-discipline racing game with a ton of circuits and features. The game includes a both single player and multiplayer gaming options, including Xbox Live functionality. What sets this game apart though, is the multi-discipline racing found in the game. More racing types have been added into the game such as go-karts, to create a game with a huge variety of vehicles and racing types that allow you to race with vehicles such as GT Class cars, Touring Cars, Stock Cars and even monster trucks. The game has different game modes to use all of these vehicles in, including the Pro Career mode and the World Tour mode. The World Mode is the sort of career mode of the game, much like the other TOCA titles. This will take you from a low level racer through various races and championships all the way to the top. This mode was my personal favorite, much like in the other titles, because you start out at the bottom, and work your way through a ton of different challenges to get to the top. You have options of which championships you want to race at each level, choosing from a few different choices from different race types. The World Tour mode is a lot of fun, and includes cut scenes with the same driving promoter that has raced with you since the origin of TOCA. This mode plays extremely well and allows you to unlock other races in the other modes of the game.
The other single player oriented mode is Pro Career mode. This mode is more race type oriented, and puts you into different categories of racing, starting you out at the lowest race type in that class and working your way up. One example being open wheel racing where you start out driving Go Karts, and end up driving F1 cars at the highest level. This allows you to try different race types and work your way up to the highest levels in a progression mode, without the story aspect being tied into it. This is a fun way to try out the different race types, and can help you to build your skills for the World Tour mode. Some races even allow you to but upgrades for your vehicles with credits. This adds a fun aspect to the races where certain upgrades might give you the upper-hand.
If these game modes don’t impress you, know that this game allows up to 21 cars on the track at the same time. None of that 8 racers max per race stuff, this game has been the ultimate racing experience on the Xbox, and still is. That feature alone is outstanding, but TOCA has always incorporated amazing racing physics into their racing games to make them as realistic as possible. This game retains those physics, and is one of the most realistic on the market. While there are games with physics of even greater realism, this game is right at the top of the pile. The game is still very realistic, with driving mistakes causing you to crash or veer of the road, which can put an end to your race.
The controls are excellent in this game and are fully customizable to your liking, even with the option to use a clutch. Using the clutch allows you to use it just like in a real car, and if you have a wheel, it is just that much better. The game also includes an upgraded damage system, creating even more devastating crashes. The damage is more intensive, and affects the handling of the cars even more. The parts on the vehicles have been upgraded to affect the vehicle more if something happens to them, and there are just so many fun possibilities here. Say for example, doing burnouts or donuts in a vehicle, causing damage to the tires, what happens, oh the tires pop and you are driving on your rim, that is how fun and realistic this game gets. I found myself race after race just trying to see how much damage I could cause to my vehicle, and it was quite extensive. The damage models are outstanding and really add a lot of extra depth to this game, as you know that you have to be careful or you can find yourself in trouble down the road.
The game also allows you to play in a multiplayer mode, bring it together for a total of 12 racers online, once again, working extremely well. Online you are able to race with all of the different vehicles, and can even tune your vehicles before races. The options that the host has are outstanding, and allow them to set a multitude of settings including collisions. The online racing can be raced as a championship as you are awarded points after races, and the ELO ranking system is back. The ELO system ranks you against the other racers according to the race positions and their ELO ranking. For example, if you have an ELO of 2000, and you beat a racer with an ELO of 1900, you would not gain as many ELO points as beating a racer with a higher rating, say 2100. This is a very good system for comparing racers, and works extremely well within the Xbox Live play.
The gameplay in TOCA 3 is second to none, and the diversity of this game makes it the most unique racing game out there. The realism is outstanding and the amount of added content makes this a worth purchase. The new features and damage engine, make the game very fun to play, and combination of outstanding single player modes along with a great multiplayer component make this a complete racing package.
The graphics in TOCA 3 seem more polished, and just generally better than TOCA 2. The game looks great in motion, and even with 21 cars on a track at a single time, the game still runs perfectly. The crashes and effects are spectacular and add to the depth of this game. The tracks look excellent, but beyond, they backgrounds can tend to be a little bland, but that doesn’t really matter in this game as you race on the tracks only. The game allows you to utilized a few different vehicle views including the usually behind, interior and bumper views. These work well for the game as one of these views is the one most racers are used to as they carry over into pretty much every racing title.
The audio in the game is excellent from the smashing of metal to the helpful info during races from your manager. The sound effects are realistic and work extremely well in the game to help with the realistic gameplay. When you hear the whines of the engines, and effects like the popping of tires, you will be quite pleased. The drone of the engines from the different classes makes it feel like they are racing right in your living room. The audio is well done, and helps bring the realism into the game, just like in the previous versions of the game.
This is an excellent racing sim, and brings back everything that is TOCA. The game plays extremely well and is not just an upgraded version but brings many new features such as new vehicle types and modes. The game plays extremely well and is a lot of fun on Xbox Live. The replay value is very high with all of the different gameplay modes, and features. This is an excellent racing title from Codemasters, and shows that they still have what it takes to make an excellent racing title in well established franchises. TOCA is one of the best racing titles on the Xbox.
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