ToCA Race Driver 3 impressions

I understand that there's been some sort of problem with the US release of the XBox version so I don't know how many others can chime in immediately, but there've been no such problems in the UK so I thought I'd throw a few initial impressions out.

The first thing that strikes you is the sheer size of the bloody thing.  Somehow staring at a list of the cars and tracks doesn't do enough to convey just how many championships there are to scroll through in the menu screens.  Most of them are locked to start with, made available by progress through the World Tour and Pro Career modes - those with a TRD 2 save floating around somewhere will receive exactly one extra unlocked series by way of reward.

I've only had a couple of hours with it so far, but here are a few early thoughts:

- On first viewing the graphics don't seem massively improved over those in the previous edition.  They're still perfectly serviceable and the engine does a fine job of shifting a full grid of cars, but you wouldn't necessarily show ToCA to someone you were desperate to convince of the power of your console.  Sound is largely unchanged too, though I'm not sure there's too much more you can do when all you're working with is engines, tyres and the odd collision.

- The first few series in the World Tour mode (like the career in ToCA RD 2) are almost offensively easy.  The Baja offroad buggies in tier 4 are almost offensively hard.  It seems that the occasional difficulty spikes of the last game have returned, though as always how difficult a category is depends entirely on where your driving talents lie.  You do get a choice of series in every tier of racing up to the final few races, so you can pick and choose according to your strengths and avoid making the sort of selection boo-boo I've clearly made.

- The cars seem to have a bit more weight to them than previously.  This is particularly noticeable in the DTM series, where it was previously possible to throw the cars around almost at will.  Now, much more consideration must be given to where you're going and how you plan to get there, lest you find yourself departing the Tarmac at speed.  If you do that, you'll find that...

- ...the warning flag system is broken.  Hideously, desperately screwed up.  The idea is that you receive the black and white diagonalled flag for unsportsmanlike behaviour if you rough someone up on track or take a shortcut that benefits either your track position or lap time.  The roughing someone up flags work fine, even if they're quite harsh on occasion.  The leaving the track ones, however, don't.  I've been penalised for running wide and spinning through 90 degrees, running wide and then hitting the brakes to make certain I can't be seen to gain from it (then again, you're running wide, there's nothing to gain there), missing my braking point for a chicane, going off and then purposely braking to a stop, putting an outside wheel on the kerbing...

The best one of all so far was a test I ran.  Run wide into a chicane, kick the car back towards the ideal line, apply the handbrake and spin backwards just inside the inner kerbing of the second part of the chicane, lump the car over the kerbs backwards, stop, turn round, carry on.  It cost me, at a rough estimate, 7 or 8 seconds.  I was given a black and white flag.

That's my only concern so far, but it's a very big concern.  If anyone has any thoughts on the game or general questions about it stick them here.

Cheers,
Adam