Introduction
Racing is one of the most popular genres of gaming. Gems such as Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec and Gran Turismo 4 never make it to the PC, though the Need for Speed series has been good about blessing us PC gamers. However, two distinct sub-genres exist within racing games. There are the arcade play games, and then there are the realistic racers. The later is under represented on PC gaming, but the ToCA Race Driver series is aimed at that niche of the market. We'll soon find out how well ToCA fills that spot.
ToCA Race Driver 3 is the latest incarnation of the ToCA series from Codemasters. Codemasters really makes a new game with each ToCA Race Driver. Each game is not just the old game with a few more additions, but rather a complete overhaul, with new cars, tracks and features.
Installation & Setup
Installation is very simple. Insert the DVD game disc, and follow the onscreen instructions to install. The only minor (very minor) complaint I had was having to reboot prior to starting the game for the first time.
Minimum Requirements:
* Windows XP
* DirectX 9c
* Pentium 4 or Athlon at 1.4GHz
* 256Mb RAM
* Supported 32Mb Graphics Card
* DirectX 9 Compatible Sound Card
* 6.0 Gigabytes Hard Disk Space
* 2x DVD-ROM Drive
Recommended Requirements:
* Windows XP
* DirectX 9c
* Intel Extreme Edition and Intel Pentium D or Athlon at 2.4GHz
* 512Mb RAM
* Graphics Card: ATi Radeon 8xxx and above, nVidia GeForce 4 (Not MX) and above
* 7.0 Gigabytes Hard Disk Space
Support Graphic Cards:
*
Intel 82915.
* ATi Radeon 8xxx, 9000, 9100, 9200, 9500, 9600, 9700, 9800.
* nVidia GeForce 3, GeForce 4 (Not MX), GeForce FX 5200, 5600, 5700, 5800, 5900, 5950, 6800, 7800.
Graphics & Sounds 4.5/5
I ran ToCA Race Driver 3 at 1280x1024 on high quality. My test platform consists for a AMD Athlon 64 3000+, MSI K8N Neo4-F, 1024MB PC3200 Corsair ValueSelect and a Gigabyte 6600GT. Frame rates never dropped below 75FPS for me.
The environments and cars are very detailed. Overall, the picture quality is decent. However, unlike the vehicle and roads, the distant scenery isn't. Stands, the foliage around the track and bystanders look very 2D and lack refinement, but when playing the game, it only becomes an issue if you're staring directly at a wall, which means you need a little more practice...
The sound quality is okay. The sound effects include sounds from the car engines, tries, impact noises, etc. The voice during the cut scenes, the Scottish coach, is clear and sharp. The in game music is okay, fairly tame. I personally opted to run my own music in the background, my "Drive it like you stole it" play list to be precise.
