Toca Race Driver 3: The Ultimate Racing Simulator

Codemasters hyped this game for months before release with numerous screen shots and talk of the new and improved physics model, damage model, and everything else. Maybe if they hadn't been telling us how great this game...errr, simulation... was going to be then perhaps it would have lived up to the promises. Oh yeah, let's also pretend that Forza Motorsport never existed and hadn't set a high benchmark for others to match.This game is decent but it is by no means the ultimate in racing simulation. The sheer variety of cars and racing genres offered in TOCA 3 are what really saves this game. The damage model is indeed very good as well.The major drawback as I see it is that the handling physics for the cars are not what they could be. Yes, the cars all handle differently but they still seem to lack the 'feel' and feedback that you would get from other great driving sims such as Forza and Colin McRae Rally. What you end up with is something between Forza and Gotham 2. I bit sim, a bit arcade, and a bit disconnected. At times you feel a bit as if you're floating rather than driving a race car on a race track... I should note that this is with the game in PRO SIM settings which in theory should make things better.The other problem? This isn't really leaps and bounds ahead of what TOCA 2 offered in terms of game play. I've heard numerous comments online from others saying they thought TOCA 2 had better graphics and in some instances handling characteristics. I just ran a back to back test of the Global GT light series in both TOCA 2 and 3 at Brands Hatch and can confirm that in some ways TOCA 2 is nicer. The car is certainly more anchored in TOCA 3 and feels less floaty but you feel more feedback off the racetrack surface in TOCA 2. In TOCA 3 it seems as if you only feel the corner rumbles strips and the rest is up to you to guess when your tires are about to let go. Graphis are indeed very similar between the two games. Flip a coin?Online play: In a word? LAG. I've noticed MANY more lag problems in this game compared to that of Forza. So far the rooms also seem to have a large number of kiddies who get their greatest amusement from crashing into others instead of actually trying to drive and win a race. Yeah, the same kids were online in Forza as well but it seems as if they multiplied and all bought TOCA 3. If you plan on buying it for a great online racing experience, stick with Forza... unless Codemasters is able to sort things out a bit with the lag issues. For some reason some of the online scoreboards are all messed up for select players as well... showing scores as -1 rather than the more usual 1490ish numbers.Rent this one first and see if it is for you. If you spend some time racing it, the game is actually fun and the variety of race tracks and cars is a big plus. Game play is OK once you adjust your reality accordingly. The game could have been a huge hit but in my eyes it still comes up shy of topping the feel of Forza.

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