Game Review: TOCA Race Driver 3 (PC, Mastertronic / PC Gamer Presents)

The TOCA series of driving games had become big business for the game’s original publisher, Codemasters, even if by the time of TOCA Race Driver 2, the actual British Touring Car Championship, which the licence was based on, did not appear.  It was the same story for TOCA Racer Driver 3, and later editions would drop the TOCA name.  Reviews of the original release were favourable, including an 87% rating in PC Gamer.  When Mastertronic picked up the licences for several PC games, if a game had an original rating of 80% or more, they would make it part of their PC Gamer Presents range.  The logo would adorn the cover on the front, the rating from the magazine on the front cover and side spine, and suitable quotes on the back cover.  This was the case here with the magazine review pouring superlatives on the title.  It was somewhat ironic that one budget publisher was re-releasing a former budget publisher’s game, mind you.

One of the main producers within the team incidentally, was none other than Gavin Raeburn.  He was well known to Commodore 64 games players for programming early titles for Codemasters such as Thunderbolt, Poltergeist, Pro Skateboard Simulator and Rallycross Simulator as well as the conversion of Rock Star Ate My Hamster.  He had a hand in several of the previous titles, so was good to see the series in well trusted hands.  That would all bode well for playing the game.  So, let us dive in.

Setup and Options

It is worth noting that you do need a DVD-ROM drive to install the game, due to its size, and due to the protection system used at the time, some modern PCs will not be able to run the game correctly, even if a full install is performed.  You may have to find a suitably patched executable that does not wish to look for the disc during play.  I certainly had to, which did take some time to locate.  Once done, that was all good, and I could set up the graphics as I wanted.  I was able to run full screen at the highest resolution (1920 x 1080 at 16:9) without issues, but your mileage may vary.  There are plenty of setup options to amend the quality as well so you can ramp that up or down as you may need.

Once you have started the game and watched the introductory sequence, which you can skip if needed, the title screen and menus appear.  All is laid out sensibly and reasonably easy to navigate, and straight away you will see three main modes: the World Tour, Pro Career and Simulation Modes.   The Simulation Modes include the likes of a free race, time trial, multiplayer mode (where you can choose to have the screen horizontally or vertically split), an online mode, which does not work anymore, as well as local network play too.  All of those do mean at least you can potentially practice some of the tracks in the game as well as work out  good way to improve your time, then take on the single player challenges in World Tour and Pro Career modes.

Rick Rolled

When progressing through the single player modes, your coach is called Rick Irving.  Throughout the modes you will get the occasional cut scene as Rick shows you the next types of car you can race and pep talks you whilst in the garage. Throughout the game itself when driving, he will give you words of encouragement or tell you if something is wrong, for example if you crash heavily or lose places on the track.  After a while, particularly when driving, you will most likely zone out and concentrate on the on-track action.  Believe me, you will need to.  It does at least give you some context as you progress through either of the single player modes and makes it more like a career progression over time.

Let’s All Go on a World Tour

The objective of the World Tour is straightforward enough.  You need to compete in one of the available series in each tier, and perform well enough in the championship to be able to unlock the next tier.  There are 32 tiers in all, and on most tiers, you do get a choice of two or three different championships to take part in. That does give you variety and a career path.  If you do win the championship on that tier, that helps unlock some of the extra tracks and cars along the way.  I was able to get to a tier high enough to win that allowed me to unlock Mount Panorama, the iconic Bathurst circuit, and that was well worth it.  Each of those championships are normally two or three races at different circuits, with a certain number of laps per race.  Even early on taking on some of the smaller variants of Brands Hatch and Silverstone feel realistic enough.

As you move through the tiers, getting a good enough result can be quite difficult to master.  However, that does reap its own rewards when you do unlock the next tier upwards and be able to have the next selection.  You will have also raced some of the tracks before too, so the key is to work out a suitable line to take that benefits you, and where you can pull off some nifty overtakes, especially being the last of the late brakers into corners.  That does feel rather satisfying if you pull something like that off at say Adelaide or Snetterton.  Overall, this is where most single players will feel comfortable at, in a slightly more arcade mode feel but giving you enough of a challenge.

Pro Career Performance

The Pro Career is a different, more simulation-based mode. You have several championships to enter, which can be unlocked by some of the World Tour wins.  For each one, you can practice, qualify, and then race which gives you an added incentive in the time allowed to be able to get that lap just right.  You can also tweak the car before qualifying and race should you wish to, and that adds some strategy element if you know what would benefit you as a driver.  So, if for example you are undertaking a rally stage, you may find that you can tweak the suspension or the anti-rollbar to suit, or even make the tyre pressures what you need.  You do not necessarily have to do any tweaking, but it is good that you have those options and can develop the way that suits you, so that must be noted.

If you do manage to get enough points in the championship, you can complete that and unlock more in the Pro Career, and be able to take on longer championships and ones with tracks that you really would like to race in those modes.  How would an Australian V8 Supercars championship with say Philip Island, Adelaide, Bathurst, Eastern Creek, and Sandown appeal?  Absolutely it would, and worth noting that in Australia, on release, the game was marketed as V8 Supercars Australia 3.  There is reward for the progression in both single player modes, and up to you how you wish to progress and enjoy the game.

I Like Driving in My Car

All those tracks and options are good, but crucially, how does it handle?  It handles itself very well indeed.  Even if you are limited to keyboard controls, with say cursor keys for left and right and say A and Z for accelerate and brake, it still feels responsive enough.  Naturally, control improves with a suitable USB joypad, more so if this has analogue functionality like the PlayStation controller where you can really tweak that steering as you need.  If you have a compatible steering wheel, this is no doubt the ideal way to play the game, and you can really see why simulation racers take their choices very seriously.  That responsiveness coupled with the smooth frame rate graphically helps considerably.  If you overshoot a corner and crash off, it is your fault.  If you manage to pull off a neat inside overtake on a tight corner, there is also the immense sense of satisfaction knowing that you did so.

As all the game modes handle differently, you may find that the control responsiveness may even be too responsive.  Rally cars and rallycross cars are a case in point where they can be very twitchy, so having those little nuances of control can really help.  That said, I did win a rally stage and managed to pull off some excellent brake turns into the tight two and one lefts with suitable caution, and that did feel good.  And some of the lighter single seater formulae, especially Formula 1000, have very twitchy cars indeed where going off the road usually will mean the end of your race unless you manage to pull off some miraculous escape – as it should be mind you, the realism for those is right and only fair that it reflects what would happen if you did that in a real car.

Rally Realism

One very nice added feature happens when you take on a rally stage in the game modes.  You do get some pace notes on the corners and the hazards ahead, all delivered by the tones of Nicky Grist.  He was the former co-driver to the late Colin McRae, and his pace notes had been heard in the rally series of Colin’s name.  To have him here too is very welcome as you get “four left into three right, tightens” giving you ample notice of the turns ahead, where one is the tightest and say four is less so.  I found that in the practice for the rally, without the notes present, it was more difficult, but during the race mode, with those on, I had the confidence to be able to go for it with the less tight turns and be able to slow down enough to handbrake turn on the tightest, and skid out and onward with some satisfaction.  In fact, winning the first rally stage was an achievement I enjoyed thoroughly.

Trucking Along

The sheer variety of championships and vehicles to drive comes to the fore as you progress in either mode.  There is even a truck style racing variant where you really do get to steer the front of your truck around some circuits, and seeing the opposition coming towards you, as you brake late, is quite unnerving with much less visibility if stuck behind one. The large American cars that drive around ovals, with huge rear spoilers, are a different league entirely, and unlocking the Group B rally mode made me channel the legendary Michéle Mouton winning rallies – and they were very tough to handle with so much power, as you would realistically expect.

If you do get far in the tiered World Tour mode, or unlock in Pro Career Mode, you can even race the Wiliams Formula 1 car from different eras.  This must be a major incentive for you to progress, as driving that really does feel like a different league entirely, with it being difficult to master and I can imagine immense satisfaction when you do.  However, the damage is well worth mentioning especially if you are driving a more difficult car.  If you hit something, hard, the car will show all the damage you like – from car doors that do not close on rally stages, to broken windscreens and bumpers, all sorts.  That does add a sense of realism knowing that if you did make an error, then the car will not perform as you wish and inevitably your race will suffer as a result.  Harsh, but fair.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in TOCA Race Driver 3 offer some excellent detail and when put up to full in the highest resolution mode, they really shine.  All the cars are very well drawn and feel realistic to drive, and the cut scene videos with Rick are generally well done.  The tracks themselves are very good, giving you all the variations on the circuits (for example Silverstone) – although bear in mind that they are as they would be back in 2006, so any modifications since then will of course not show.  The detail level on the tracks themselves, including any changes such as up and down slopes, notably of course in say Mount Panorama, are well done and add to the realism.

The sound is reasonably good with some nice background tunes during the menu selections, and the likes of the engine noises, brakes, and the encouragement of Rick during play.  The bonus are the pace notes when rallying, as this really does help you to get a good time and makes that section feel much more enjoyable.  Maybe an option for commentary would have been nice too, but nonetheless all is competently done.

Final Thoughts

If you have never played any of the TOCA or later Race Driver series before, then TOCA Race Driver 3 is an excellent place to start.  The two single player modes allow you to compete well on several tracks and championships, and unlocking as you go means that there is a good reward for completing those challenges and progressing.  The controls are very responsive, and this along with the smoothness of movement means that the playability is spot on, and always feel in control of the car, even if that does mean you may end up crashing by overshooting a corner, then that is your own fault.   With so many tracks and championships to win and unlock, this is a game that you can play for many hours and get as far as you can, and even for a quick driving session against a friend in two-player mode, or multi-player online as it would have been back then, it adds to the fun and enjoyment.  An essential purchase for any fan of PC driving games.

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