Toca: Touring Car Championship
Discussion
With the not so recent news of an official BTCC game being released this year - although recently delayed - I thought I’d revisit the previous titles.
Whilst I do have an original copy and a PS1 I was able to get a version working on PC to avoid the setup faff.
I remember it being a tough game as an 11 year old which just resulted in playing with the cheats (for the tank) and not bothering with the championship mode.
Now, much older, I was confident that it’d be a breeze. It was not. This is just a hard game. AI qualifying times are nuts, the cars are very twitchy and the slightest touch from other cars will inevitably put you in a spin and crash.
After being sacked by Vauxhall for not obtaining the set target points, an unsatisfying 3rd place finish in the championship with Audi, I opted to drive Renault for my ‘final’ attempt.
Crucially, aside from the general difficulty and aggressive drivers, this decision sees Alain Menu give you his seat - otherwise the game is unbeatable (for me).
With Alain gone and with possibly the best handling car in the game, I achieved what my 11 year old self couldn’t do. I had clinched the championship!
Having never reached this far I was pleasantly surprised by the credits which sees you on a victory parade around Silverstone on the last race day.
Even with PS1 (enhanced slightly on PC) graphics, it feels authentic and the difficulty just adds to the race tension making the overall experience really fun.
So what’s next? You guessed it!
Whilst I do have an original copy and a PS1 I was able to get a version working on PC to avoid the setup faff.
I remember it being a tough game as an 11 year old which just resulted in playing with the cheats (for the tank) and not bothering with the championship mode.
Now, much older, I was confident that it’d be a breeze. It was not. This is just a hard game. AI qualifying times are nuts, the cars are very twitchy and the slightest touch from other cars will inevitably put you in a spin and crash.
After being sacked by Vauxhall for not obtaining the set target points, an unsatisfying 3rd place finish in the championship with Audi, I opted to drive Renault for my ‘final’ attempt.
Crucially, aside from the general difficulty and aggressive drivers, this decision sees Alain Menu give you his seat - otherwise the game is unbeatable (for me).
With Alain gone and with possibly the best handling car in the game, I achieved what my 11 year old self couldn’t do. I had clinched the championship!
Having never reached this far I was pleasantly surprised by the credits which sees you on a victory parade around Silverstone on the last race day.
Even with PS1 (enhanced slightly on PC) graphics, it feels authentic and the difficulty just adds to the race tension making the overall experience really fun.
So what’s next? You guessed it!
ShampooEfficient said:
Amazingly I saw a post on Twitter the other day and set mine up in the PS2
It is very frustrating to play if I'm tired .. but won the first two rounds in le 406 of all things.
Will my attention span see me finish the championship? We'll see ..
Wait until you get to Thruxton It is very frustrating to play if I'm tired .. but won the first two rounds in le 406 of all things.
Will my attention span see me finish the championship? We'll see ..
The lack of a restart race option will also test your patience!
p4cks said:
I remember having this for the PC and havng to control the car with a joystick... which was f
king impossible but still didn't detract from how in awe I was at the gameplay and graphics!
I tried using they keyboard, it was fine until one of the corners at Silverstone that was pretty fast and long and just couldn't tap the keys quick enough to not put full lock on...king impossible but still didn't detract from how in awe I was at the gameplay and graphics! ZedLeg said:
Network Q RAC Rally is another great from that period.
I remember having to boot into MS-DOS to run that 
I absolutely loved that game though, I played it with a joystick, which seems weird to me now, but I loved it. I used to get up early and play it before school I was that enamoured with it.
Certainly started my love of that blue / yellow Renault livery, loved the Maxi Megane and my similarly liveried Laguna Scalextric car cemented the love.
To continue progressing forward, the first time I played a demo of Colin McRae Rally on PS1 at a friend's house, I was so blown away by the handling 'feel' that I immediately made it my sole goal in my young life to obtain the game
TOCA was a great game though, the damage at the time was mind blowing.
I remember getting this as my main present for Christmas when I was little. I was so so excited when I got it.
Also remember it being absolutely ridiculously hard!! never made it as far as reaching the end of the championship.
Fond memories of driving a tank round Donnington
Was there a limo as well, or am I dreaming that up?
Also remember it being absolutely ridiculously hard!! never made it as far as reaching the end of the championship.
Fond memories of driving a tank round Donnington
Was there a limo as well, or am I dreaming that up?Fusss said:
I remember getting this as my main present for Christmas when I was little. I was so so excited when I got it.
Also remember it being absolutely ridiculously hard!! never made it as far as reaching the end of the championship.
Fond memories of driving a tank round Donnington Was there a limo as well, or am I dreaming that up?
I know there was a pink Cadillac style car, that’s probably what you’re thinking of perhaps? Also remember it being absolutely ridiculously hard!! never made it as far as reaching the end of the championship.
Fond memories of driving a tank round Donnington
Was there a limo as well, or am I dreaming that up?I’ve still got this on PlayStation (will play on my PS2) which I still play quite regularly. I like the realistic handling, the cars have masses of grip and can achieve huge cornering speeds but don’t really cope if you get them out of shape. The support cars were interesting too. Felt like a proper simulation.
Looking back at TOCA and the F1 titles, they were essentially arcade games with enough tweaks to make you feel you were driving more of a sim. Back in 1997 I would have killed to have todays graphics but as sophisticated and detailed as the modern counterparts are, I don’t feel that the modern games have as much charm or playability as the old titles.
Maybe it’s just me getting old and looking back with rose tinted glasses but now I am an an adult with limited time to enjoy video games, I’d love a simple F1 or touring car game that doesn’t require you to have an engineering degree to play.
Maybe it’s just me getting old and looking back with rose tinted glasses but now I am an an adult with limited time to enjoy video games, I’d love a simple F1 or touring car game that doesn’t require you to have an engineering degree to play.
Ahhhhhh Network Q Rally Championship with the Impreza on the front
Wasted many hours with this on the keyboard, the first game I remember having the in cockpit view with the hand moving to change gear and then also the wastegate chatter upon lift off
Wasted many hours with this on the keyboard, the first game I remember having the in cockpit view with the hand moving to change gear and then also the wastegate chatter upon lift off
Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Friday 15th April 10:51
NordicCrankShaft said:
Ahhhhhh Network Q Rally Championship with the Impreza on the front
Wasted many hours with this on the keyboard, the first game I remember having the in cockpit view with the hand moving to change gear and then also the wastegate chatter upon lift off
It was Lombard RAC Rally I was thinking about. It was on that Atari ST and Amiga and it was a Sierra Cosworth. Wasted many hours with this on the keyboard, the first game I remember having the in cockpit view with the hand moving to change gear and then also the wastegate chatter upon lift off
Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Friday 15th April 10:51
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