TOCA Championship Racing

TOCA Championship Racing by Codemasters, released in 1998 on Playstation and PC by 3DO. The game is based on the 1997 British Touring Car Championship season and is the first Driving/Racing game released by Codemasters on the Playstation marking the start of their Toca/Grid franchise.

I play through the game in the Short Championship mode. The difference between short and long is the number of laps per race, 8 vs 24 average. It is still plenty long enough with 24 races across 12 venues. I play on Expert to avoid that usual copout of 'Congrats, now try hard mode'.....

As it is the first Codemasters Racing/Simulation style game on the platform it launched with great acclaim and high review scores. Up to this point, racing games were usually half assed arcade racers or just generally poor efforts. While the game is lowres (Later games use higher 512x resolution) it makes good use of the mode with lots of effects going on in the game. Rain, mist, break lights, reflections, tire smoke and even tyre marks on the road which persist until you switch track. Of course we cant forget that all the cars have a damage model and you can smash bits off your car and see it laying on the track. Future games take this a lot further.

Of course it is not all good. The controls are terrible and I had to play with the dpad as the game wouldn't acknowledge the analogue controller even though it should be supported. If you do more than tape the dpad to turn the car you will spin out. Unless you slow to a new stop when taking corners you are likely to spin out. a tap from an opponent car.... spin out. I have played all 3 toca games now and I am sure the ai cars are less aggressive in this version. Once I'm upfront I have to mess up badly to lose a position. That is up until the last 2 venues as then the ai cars suddenly greatly up their game. Before each race is a qualifier round. The times to beat are always higher than what I can pull off but the game does cheat those times a little. If i do the full 3 laps then the highest time to beat will be lower. As I do just one lap the game just auto sets high times for the other cars.

This game also features a soundtrack that wouldn't be out of place in a game like destruction derby or wipeout. I find the game works much better in headcam view as long as you know the track. for some reason the car just handles better. As we have to do every race twice I decide to show chaseview in the first round and headcam in the second. (apart from first few races where I switch occasionally.) After every 6 races I am rewarded with a list of cheats. I will add these in the time stamps. Completing the championship unlocks Mirror Mode which I show in Part 2. During the Toca Showdown I am again awarded with cheats as a reward every 6 races, but only 1 at a time instead of 3. The game even gives the same one twice as there is no more to give.

Completing the showdown awards a small speech from Tiff Needell and no I am done I have unlocked the Laveland stage and the Tank. I show this is the next stage in single player mode (tank cant be used in championship). I then show the tank again at thruxton with snow weather enabled as for some reason it doesn't appear in championship mode.

Part 1: Championship
00:02:40 Donington Park
00:31:00 Silverstone International
00:55:45 Thruxton
01:15:28 Cheat Screen 1 - Brands Hatch Indy
01:38:50 Oulton park
02:01:25 Donington Park (Short)
02:26:05 Cheat Screen 2 - Croft
02:53:40 Knockhill
03:18:05 Snetterton
03:40:35 Cheat Screen 3 - Thruxton
04:01:40 Brands Hatch Indy
04:23:45 Silverstone International
04:46:45 Cheat Screen 4

Part 2: TOCA Showdown
00:00:50 Donington Park
00:25:25 Silverstone International
00:47:55 Thruxton
01:07:45 Cheat Screen 1 - Brands Hatch Indy
01:30:05 Oulton park
01:52:50 Donington Park (Short)
02:17:35 Cheat Screen 2 - Croft
02:44:55 Knockhill
03:08:50 Snetterton
03:29:35 Cheat Screen 3 - Thruxton
03:50:20 Brands Hatch Indy
04:12:05 Silverstone International
04:33:45 Cheat Screen 4
04:36:20 Single Race - Tank - Laveland
04:39:55 Single Race - Tank - Thruxton (Snow)