TOCA Race Driver 2
Xbox, PC, £39.99 Codemasters,
****
Apart from looking stunning (surely Gran Turismo 4, hamstrung by the PS2's graphical shortcomings, will look inferior?), TOCA Race Driver 2 avails itself thrillingly of Codemasters' experience of creating ultra-realistic racing simulators. Yet it is much more accessible than TOCAs of old.
Like R:Racing, TOCA Race Driver 2 has a story mode, in which you are cast as an aspiring racer. But whereas the former's cut-scenes were little more than airbrushed soft porn, you can smell the Castrol GTX here. TOCA Race Driver 2 sets you targets for mini-race series, in which you drive the same car on different circuits.
The diversity of vehicles on offer highlights the cars' superb handling characteristics - Formula Ford single-seaters drive like water-boatmen, E-Type Jaguars need a telegram before the brakes bite and so on.
While some of Codemasters' rigour has been sacrificed - off-track excursions don't cost as much time as they should, and while you can wreck your car, it is not easy - the company's AI, which will see rivals tank-slapping you out of the way mid-corner if you get off-line, is present in all its glory. As are cars ancient and modern and most of the world's finest race tracks.
This is 2004, so you can play the game against up to 11 other people on Xbox Live, and once you have opened up the tracks in the story mode, you can return at your leisure to seek improved results. Will not disappoint the petrol-heads.
Steve Boxer
Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde
PS2, £29.99 Jaleco Entertainment
***
Creating strategy games for the console market is an age-old problem and it's been a while since we saw a developer venturing into a territory that has almost always worked best on the PC. Jaleco's Goblin Commander is testament to the fact that original strategy games can be made to work well on consoles, without being mere watered-down ports.
The fact that this goblin battle-themed game has a WarCraft feel to it is no accident, as several of the developers are ex-Blizzard. But Goblin Commander has a more refined approach to resource management and its interface. So, although your goblin units may be few (you're limited to just 10 per horde), controlling and upgrading them is very easy.
Graphically, the goblins are basic and there's an overall lack of detail, yet the game manages to achieve the occasional slow frame rate. However, Goblin Commander has a slightly cartoonish slant, and even if things aren't pretty, at least they blow up nicely!
Strategy enthusiasts are likely to be disappointed that the game has no online multiplayer option, and those coming from a PC background won't warm to the less-is-more approach. But those who'd prefer to skip the resource juggling in favour of getting down to the action will have fun with Goblin Commander.
Rhianna Pratchett
This is Football 2004
PS2, £39.99 Sony,
**
Videogame footy is as tightly contested as the top of the Premiership. At the pinnacle is Pro Evolution Soccer 3, the beautiful game. In second place is FIFA 2004. The rest congregate below them, occasionally threatening to break in but never quite getting there. Sony's This is Football series is one of these contenders.
Initial impressions are positive as it rights some of Pro Evo's wrongs. The team and player names are largely accurate, the menus comprehensible and the presentation superb. But on the pitch, TiF often resembles an ice-hockey game, as the players feel like they are skating rather than running. Intrusive animations, which make it harder to produce flowing moves, and erratic goalies don't help.
Online, it's a different story. TiF works well, allowing easy setup and a ranking system that encourages regular play. The flaws are less important when playing online for the simple reason that if you want console footy on the web this is the only option. However, with an online soccer game due out soon on Xbox Live, TIF's dominance will be under threat.
Greg Howson
