The year is 2006. The PlayStation 2 is near the end of its life and the Xbox 360 has already been launched. Right at the end of this generation, Codemasters delivered what was arguably its finest on-track racing release with TOCA Race Driver 3.
Launched in February, RD3 was available on PlayStation 2, the OG Xbox and PC, with a PSP version following in 2007 and a Mac OS X port in 2008. There was even a Nintendo DS clone at one point.
Fun fact, it was called ‘DTM Race Driver 3’ in Germany, ‘V8 Supercars 3’ in Australia, ‘TOCA Race Driver 3 Challenge’ on PSP and ‘Race Driver: Create & Race’ on DS.
The final game in the long-running TOCA game series, which spanned six games over nine years, it featured officially licensed racing from the like of the British GT Championship, DTM, IndyCar and V8 Supercars alongside junior single-seaters, Clio Cup, rallying and even monster trucks.
The variety made for never a dull moment, and it was capped off by super online gameplay and a World Tour story that included the charismatic Rick Irving as your mentor, engineer and general racing tsar. Codemasters would, albeit too briefly, revisit a similar story mode in F1 2019.
But, does it still stand the test of time? Watch episode one of our playthrough as I rediscover my passion for the game and see if it’s still fun in the context of today’s crowded racing genre. As always, please let us know in the comments section if you have any TOCA Race Driver 3 memories and if you’d like to see a sequel?
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