Product description
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In Driver, you are the wheelman in a series of Hollywood-style
car-chases. A great getaway driver is only as good as his
equipment, which is why Driver has a selection of
performance-packed muscle cars, complete with realistic handling,
damage modeling, and real-world physics reactions. Driver also
comes fully equipped with a replay/director mode that gives you
all the necessary tools to "film" their own car chase and
multiple views that allow you to look around when you're driving.
Put the pedal to the metal and be the best driver around.
Review
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It's hard to compare Driver to any one game - you could almost
say it's a 3D Grand Theft Auto except you're never on foot. You
could almost say that it's just like the driving portion of Die
Hard Trilogy except the cops chase you. Perhaps the best
comparison would be to say Driver is just like Destruction Derby
in a city with cops, traffic, and mission-based gameplay. After
all, the same company makes both games. But that wouldn't be fair
either, because while Driver resembles a lot of games, it's
really quite unique, and fun. You play the role of Tanner, a
former racecar driver turned man. Thanks to your past
driving experience, you are selected to go undercover as a
wheelman for hire to investigate the Castaldi family, the
underworld's most dangerous organization. Before you can go
through the game's story mode you must complete an extreme
driving test that is really hard. You are asked to complete
various driving maneuvers, such as a 360, a reverse 180, a slalom
course, and other advanced driving techniques that will greatly
help you later in the game. Once you complete this test, you can
start taking jobs. Just about all the various jobs consist of
getting somewhere to pick someone or something up, or dropping
someone or something off before the time limit expires. Some of
the most enjoyable missions, however, are the ones in which you
must ram a fleeing vehicle until it's disabled. To help you find
your way through the vast cities, there is an onscreen that
shows you the location of your objective point and the streets
that you can use to get there. This is extremely helpful and
makes the game more about driving and less about navigating your
way through the cities - a problem that Grand Theft Auto suffered
from.
In total, there are four cities to progress through. You'll start
off in Miami then move on to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and
finally New York. Each city has about ten missions apiece,
although after the first two cities the missions become a little
repetitive. The change of scenery helps keep the gameplay fresh.
When you're not in the mood for Driver's undercover story mode,
the game features several other play modes to try. There is free
ride mode that simply lets you go around the various cities and
explore them at your own pace. You can also try any one of the
driving games, which are basically generic missions like pursuit,
getaway, and survival.
The major obstacles in your undercover crime escapades are the
regular cops patrolling the streets. They don't know that you're
an undercover cop (and even if they did, ignoring your actions
would probably blow your cover), so they simply come after you
when they see you rolling past. They stop you by slamming into
your car until the damage meter is full, signifying the
destruction of your car. They aren't all that smart and really
aren't too big of a threat in small numbers. But if you get
yourself backed into a corner with a few of them on you, it can
be a tricky to get away.
Graphically, Driver is fair. The cars, objects, and environments
look a bit blocky and pixelated from a distance, but these
elements sharpen in detail as you get closer. The cities
themselves are quite detailed and are amazingly big - you really
get a sense of being there. The gravity in the game seems a bit
on the light side, making the games ces and jumps a little
more dramatic, as they were in Demolition Derby. Some people
might not like the game's exaggerated physics, but I thought they
made it a bit more fun. The speed of the game slows down a lot
when there are several cars on the screen at once. The CG movies
between some missions look rather poor and aren't all that
interesting.
The music and sound effects in Driver are quite good. The '70s
funk music really gives the game a gritty underworld feel that
puts you in the mood for some lawbreaking action. The sound
effects are all actually quite well done, which unfortunately
can't be said for the voices of the characters in the game.
Overall, Driver is a game that might be mediocre in its
presentation but more than makes up for it in its gameplay and
concept. The best thing about Driver is the feeling you get when
you're speeding away from the fuzz after smashing your way
through a roadblock. It's the feeling of impending doom - which
can only be overcome by keeping your wits about you and your
thumb on the - that makes playing Driver quite fun. --Ryan
Mac Donald
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