Driver

"Driver: You are the wheelbarrowman"

Driver is a Driving game developed by Reflections Interactive. Once upon a time in a console with the name Playstation was a game called Driver. The time this game came out the various screenshots and trailers showed a game that looked almost like a late 70's cop movie with car chases and all. I remember giving it a try back then in a friend of mine but not continuing playing it probably because I had something better to play at the time, (Final Fantasy 7 anyone???). After years I played the PC version but fortunately I didn't have anything better to distract me from playing this horrible game.

Story: 3/10

You are a cop who goes undercover in order to infiltrate some kind of criminals and… well nothing special just arrest them. So far, so good, I wasn't expecting anything special to say the truth but the way the story is presented in the game is terrible. First of all even after completing many missions nothing really happens concerning the plot, you just move on to the next mission until you reach the final one. Once in a while you will see a cutscene of some sort but generally prepare yourself for some boring storyline that won't keep you interested.

Graphics: 5/10

As I've said screenshots and trailers from car chase replayed really flattered the game but the reality is not so good. First the good points: Cars, (your cars only), have good design and have that 70's American style. They have realistic movement and the chrome shine very good. The cities are supposed to be exact copies of the real ones, although I can't tell for sure. Finally at night everything seems to be much better. Now the bad part… first of all the cities luck detail. Few simply designed cars move around like zombies in a totally unrealistic way, props like trees, barrels, etc are scarce and every corner looks similar to all the other ones, also people that walk around are of bad quality. The textures are also very simple, (and some times bad). For a PS game it was ok but for a PC port Driver's graphics are bad.

Sound: 6/10

Cars make simple sounds that sound ok and so does any other sound in the game. Music is quite good, with its funky 70's style giving the right atmosphere to the game. Nothing that you will be humming after but good nonetheless.

Gameplay: 0.5/10

Here is the main problem of the game. Bad plot, don't mind, simple graphics, who cares, but bad gameplay, no thanks! Before each mission you are in your room and check the answering machine. Some times you have 1 some times 2 or missions to choose from but all are very boring and unoriginal. Go to point A, you're there? Ok now go back, there already? Now go to point B, BORIIING!!! Another thing is the distance you must travel and what happens in between. While going to point A the cops are easy to leave behind so most of the time you drive in a straight, (literally), line with nothing fun to do… and most rides are looong and very boring. After reaching point A the cops start chasing you and you must drive through narrow roads full of dump drivers that seem to be blind. Cops… well talking about fanatically dumb people… they ram your car as if there is no tomorrow. They attack such aggressively that you can't even try escaping them. Yes, in all games like this cops ram you but here they are so suicidal that it is ridiculous! Finally the game is very hard and I don't mean challengingly hard but masochist hard. Apart from the insane cops most missions require extreme precision in your timing. For example if you stop for 10 seconds to enjoy the view, (the what?!?), you'll probably won't make it to the place you must go. Finally the first mission that requires you to demonstrate a list of stuns and driving techniques is a total pain. But although quite difficult to pass it is the only enjoying part of the game due to excellent car handling that won't trouble you at all.

Positives:
-Good replays that look like a movie and can be directed in order to improve them
-Good car handling
-Large cities

Negatives:
-Boring plot
-Boring missions
-Cops that drive you mad with their maniac behavior
-Graphics are very similar to the PS version

Also Play:
Driv3r (PC)
Driver: Parallel Lines (PC)
Grand Theft Auto 3 (PC & PS2)
Grand Theft Auto Vice City (PC & PS2)
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (PC & PS2)

Overall: 3.6/10

Avoid at all costs, it's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, game. It is very boring, badly designed and frustratingly hard. Did I mention it is bad?

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/08

Game Release: Driver (Best of) (EU, 10/13/00)