TOCA (series)

This article is about the video game series. For the organisers of the British Touring Car Championship, see TOCA.

TOCA
Genre(s)	Racing
Developer(s)	Codemasters
Publisher(s)	Codemasters
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, Xbox, Mobile, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Arcade, Linux, Stadia
First release	TOCA Touring Car Championship November 1997
Latest release	GRID 11 October 2019

TOCA is a racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters. The series originally focused specifically on touring car racing, but after World Touring Cars, the series expanded to cover a wide variety of motorsport.

Games

Aggregate review scores
As of 21 January 2017.

Game	GameRankings	Metacritic
TOCA Touring Car Championship	(PS1) 83.40% (PC) 75.29%	—
TOCA 2 Touring Cars	(PS1) 78.92% (PC) 77.85%	—
TOCA World Touring Cars	(PS1) 84.53%	(PS1) 80
TOCA Race Driver	(PS2) 82.45% (Xbox) 80.82% (PC) 77.80%	(PS2) 81 (Xbox) 80 (PC) 74
TOCA Race Driver 2	(PC) 85.13% (Xbox) 83.32% (PS2) 82.50% (PSP) 77.91%	(PS2) 83 (PC) 80
TOCA Race Driver 3	(PC) 85.15% (Xbox) 84.92% (PS2) 84.50% (PSP) 74.00%	(PC) 84 (Xbox) 84 (PS2) 82
Race Driver 2006	(PSP) 81.00%	(PSP) 81
Race Driver: Create & Race	(DS) 78.47%	(DS) 76
Race Driver: Grid	(PC) 87.87% (X360) 86.54% (PS3) 86.47% (DS) 82.55%	(PC) 87 (X360) 87 (PS3) 87 (DS) 79
Grid 2	(PC) 81.88% (PS3) 80.96% (X360) 78.54%	(PS3) 82 (PC) 80 (X360) 78
Grid Autosport	(X360) 78.54% (PC) 76.73% (PS3) 76.57%	(PC) 78 (X360) 75 (PS3) 75

TOCA Touring Car Championship (1997)

Main article: TOCA Touring Car Championship

The first game of the series was released for Windows and PlayStation platforms in late 1997 in Europe, and in summer 1998 in the United States (as TOCA Championship Racing). Featuring all the licensed cars (not including privateers) and tracks from the 1997 British Touring Car Championship, the game was critically acclaimed by the European games press—especially on console where it was widely considered the best in its genre until the release of Gran Turismo several months later.

TOCA 2 Touring Cars (1998)

Main article: TOCA 2 Touring Cars

The success of the first TOCA game saw a sequel arrive a year later in 1998. Whilst mainly an annual franchise update of cars and tracks, the game did add more detailed graphics, physics, multiplayer modes and other minor features. Fictional (but realistic) tracks were added, and support races such as Ford Fiestas, Formula Ford and others also arrived. The level of car damage possible during a race was also enhanced, which was a significant selling point compared with the likes of Gran Turismo. It was called Touring Car Challenge in the USA.

TOCA World Touring Cars (2000)

Main article: TOCA World Touring Cars

As the title suggests, the series made a significant advance in featuring various Touring Car championships from around the world, TOCA World Touring Cars, which was released in 2000, but despite carrying the TOCA name, a fully licensed British Touring Car Championship (TOCA) series was not included. This upset a lot of fans of the series, but it was not that bad, and success continued. The gameplay overall became more "arcadey" and the replacement of qualifying laps with random grid positions together with the omission of penalties for bad driving made the game much more playable for the casual gamer. Curiously, unlike the first two titles in the TOCA series, World Touring Cars was not released in a Windows version.

TOCA Race Driver (2002)

Main article: TOCA Race Driver

The series moved onto the 6th generation of gaming in August 2002, with the release of TOCA Race Driver (called DTM Race Driver in Germany, Pro Race Driver in North America and V8 Supercars: Race Driver in Australia). The game took the series in a new direction, and introduced a plot centering around fictional race driver Ryan McKane, trying to make a name for himself in a multitude of car championships.

TOCA Race Driver 2 (2004)

Main article: TOCA Race Driver 2

Race Driver 2 was released on Xbox and PC in April 2004, with a PlayStation 2 version following six months later. Two PSP conversions were released in 2005 and 2006, the first being TOCA Race Driver 2 in Europe and Japan and the second being Race Driver 2006 in the US. The game continued to use a scripted career mode as introduced in the previous Race Driver game but dropped the Ryan McKane character.

TOCA Race Driver 3 (2006)

Main article: TOCA Race Driver 3

The third game in the TOCA Race Driver series was released in February 2006, and continued to expand on the types of motorsport available. Open wheel, GT, Oval racing, Rallying and Offroad racing were all featured, and can be raced in either a detailed Pro Career mode or an open-ended World Tour. Up to 12 players are supported via Xbox Live and the PlayStation 2 version supports up to 8 online. This series is the only racing simulator that allows PlayStation players to race online before Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. It received good reviews, frequently being compared favourably to Gran Turismo 4 and Forza Motorsport, in the aspects of cars on track, damage and AI.

Race Driver 2006 (2006)

Main article: Race Driver 2006

It is an expanded edition of TOCA Race Driver 2 released exclusively for PlayStation Portable.

Race Driver: Create & Race (2007)

Main article: Race Driver: Create & Race

It was the first game in the TOCA series to be available for Nintendo DS and was released in September 2007. It includes many licensed vehicles and tracks from across the world. It has also the ability to allow players to create their own circuit either using the stylus (albeit rather simply) or by using the custom-made pieces made by the game developers. Then you can also exchange tracks online using a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It also has career, multiplayer and single-race modes.

Race Driver: Grid (2008)

Main article: Race Driver: Grid

Previously going under the working title "Race Driver One", Race Driver: Grid is the full and official title of the sequel to TOCA Race Driver 3. The game was released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and Games for Windows on 3 June 2008, after over one million people downloaded the demo. It featured an improved graphics engine (a common complaint was that even on the lowest setting the graphics couldn't be handled by low-spec PCs) from Colin McRae: Dirt, has over 40 real-life cars and a variety of both fictional and realistic interpretations of tracks.

Grid 2 (2013)

Main article: Grid 2

On 8 August 2012, Codemasters announced that the sequel to Race Driver: GRID, Grid 2 was in development. Codemasters stated that Grid 2 "will challenge players to be fast, be first and be famous as they enter a stunning new world of competitive motorsport", the game was released on 28 May 2013 on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Grid Autosport (2014)

Main article: Grid Autosport

The ninth game aims to move the series back towards "more authentic racing games" following the release of Grid 2, which Codemasters felt was not as well-received by the company's core fanbase as it was hoped for. The developers consequently introduced major modifications to the handling model and built a lean, race-first oriented design for this title. It's available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Linux and macOS with announced releases for iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch.

Grid (2019)

Main article: Grid (2019 video game)

A fourth instalment in the Grid sub-series, simply known as Grid, was released on 11 October 2019 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One and on 19 November 2019 for Stadia. It featured vehicles from the GT Le Mans; the game was developed under Fernando Alonso's consultation and employs a new AI system, called "Nemesis": opponents can be driven by up to 400 AI profiles, simulating different driving styles and behaviours.

External links

• TOCA at MobyGames