Before there was GRID, there was TOCA. In this week’s Throwback Thursday, we will take a look at TOCA Race Driver 3, developed by Codemasters. Race Driver 3 was released in 2006 for the Playstation 2, Xbox 360, Mac, and PC. A Playstation Portable port was released in European markets in 2007. In Germany, it was released as DTM Race Driver 3, while in Australia, it was titled “V8 Supercars 3”.
Race Driver 3 marked the sixth entry in the TOCA series (the original title under the Race Driver moniker was the 4th entry). This title was chock full of racing, with around 35 different series with about 165 championships to compete in. Almost everything you can imagine that has four wheels and an engine can be raced. Wanna race a monster truck? You got it! Over 35 different racing disciplines (note, disciplines, NOT cars) are able to be raced, with oval racing, rally, GT, open wheelers, go-karts, and much more being recreated. You can even unleash your inner redneck if you so please! There are over 80 circuits to race on including Bathurst, Laguna Seca, Silverstone, and Indianapolis.
In Race Driver 3’s “World Tour” mode, you progressed in your own racing career, being coached by a guy named “Rick”. You progress through 32 different tiers and compete in championships to move up in the career. You form rivalries in the game, and will have to spend a lot of time if you want to unlock the special Honda tier at the end of the tour.
Pro Career is a little more in-depth, with the ability to compete in a full career in whatever racing style you please. You compete to win cups, which also unlock bonus championships. With 177 cups ripe for the taking, it’s almost like the Pokemon of racing titles!
The title also supported online multiplayer racing on all consoles, featuring up to 12-car races. Competitions could be extensively customized to cater to the casual or hardcore racing crowd.
Race Driver 3 definitely ranks among one of the most full-featured racing titles, with almost everything imaginable able to be raced. It can even be found for a decent price online, however, it is a little tricky getting it to work on Windows 7 (a guide can be found here).
What was your favorite car to drive in TOCA? Did you beat all the races?
