Fast cars.... and bazillions of em!
Now you know how simply enormous TOCA Race Driver 3 is, how does it actually play? Well this is where experienced racers might find the game falls down a little as it all starts off pretty easy. If you enter the World Tour section, you meet your mechanic, a Scots geezer called Rick who guides you through the tour introducing you to the cars you’ll be driving and the circuits you’ll be racing on. This introduction to the racing, though suited for complete novices, is a bit basic for the more experienced driver though you can thankfully skip the cutscenes and just get on with racing.
Out on the track, the cars handle very much as you’d expect them to. Renault Clios roll all over the place in the corners and though nippy their top speed is limited. Move on a few races and get into the faster cars and you’ll notice the difference between the ‘beginner’ classes and the more ‘pro’ stuff. And that’s the way the World Tour works, win one or more classes and you can move up a tier to progressively more powerful cars. This is fine for first time TOCA racers, but those with a set of gloves just for racing at home might find this a tad tiresome… but it seems the Codies have thought of that…
Click for larger imageThe difficulty curve in TOCA Race Driver 3 is set just right and event targets aren’t stupidly unrealistic. For example, in the first few races you’ll start in the bottom half of the grid but only be expected to come 3rd in the series overall, a target that doesn’t require stupid driving and ramming the opposition off the track to achieve. Later on the targets and the opposition get tougher, so by no means can you expect to win every race first time out… in fact, a first place in any race on the World Tour will certainly feel like a real achievement, especially if it’s in a 4x4 Subaru round Brands Hatch’s muddy Rally Cross track… in the rain.
Now supposing you don’t want to go through the World Tour and there’s a style of racing that you’d rather get on with instead? That’s where the Pro Career comes in, allowing you to start off in any race style you fancy right from the off. This nicely simulates the career path of a race driver for the main disciplines, be they GT racing, Touring car, Open Wheels or Off Road.., but you’ll find you’ll have to play the World Tour as well to unlock everything the TOCA Race Driver 3 has to offer, just as you’ll have to have a crack at the Pro Career if you’re a World Tour fan. This isn’t essential though, as you can happily progress through each section without touching the other if you want.
Click for larger imageThe Pro Career mode does offer you much more in the way of customizing your ride though, letting you choose tyres, suspension and brake settings and all that technical stuff that everyone harps on about but no-one really understands. If the fancy takes you, try maxing some of the settings out to see how the car handles… such as taking all the downforce off the front, setting the brake bias all the way to the back and then being amazed at being able to turn into a corner whilst locking up the rears… it won’t win any races but it sure is fun!
