ToCA Race Driver

TOCA Race Driver (Pro Race Driver in North America and V8 Supercar: Race Driver in Australia) is a racing video game in the TOCA Touring Car series developed and published by Codemasters. Since the primary game mode featured a plot (leading to the game being labeled as a “Car-PG”) in which the user took on the role of a fictional race driver called Ryan McKane, trying to make a name for himself in a multitude of car championships, all the while under the shadow of his more successful older brother and haunted by his father’s death on the racetrack, the game took a new direction (as witnessed by Ryan as a child). Despite this slightly clichéd script, the racing elements of the game received positive reviews, and the game quickly rose to the top of the UK game charts. In March 2003, Xbox and PC conversions were released, and a budget Xbox version with Xbox Live support was released several months later. The British Touring Car Championship (TOCA), which inspired the game series’ name, returned for this game. The real-life championship had changed after most of the manufacturers pulled out, and attendance had dropped, so TOCA asked Codemasters to include the series to increase audience interest. The return, however, was brief. Despite their popularity, many tracks were added, and some “World” tracks, such as Watkins Glen and Surfers Paradise, were dropped from TOCA 3. The game continued with randomly generated grid positions and no penalties for poor driving.