DRIV3R

"A lack-luster GTA clone with to many gameplay hitches to be fun. Buy the first 2 games and pretend this one never existed..."

Introduction

Driver 3 or Driv3r as it is called, is a GTA-style driving game. Fans of the previous games will recognize "Tanner" the undercover cop who starred in the previous games in the series. Although theoretically an improvement on the previous games, Driv3r is more of a lack luster GTA clone, while the latter games were high-quality driving games.

Game-play: 5/10

Unlike it's predecessors, Driv3r has multiple forms of transportation ranging from motorcycles to cars to boats. Also unlike the previous games, you can steal any car on the street. Some more new features include swimming, shooting, and hitting pedestrians. You may be seeing those features and saying, "Wow! That sounds like fun!" But they are poorly done. Swimming is clumsy, and eventually you start to lose health for no apparent reason! The shooting lacks a useful targeting system, and you'll find yourself turning to the left and the right, waiting for it to lock on. The collisions in this game also prove a problem. Sometimes if you run into a tree or telephone pole, you go partially through it. Causing you to be completely stuck, resulting in you having to restart the mission.

Story: 7/10

The classic "Undercover Agent, Breaks the Law to get in with the Bad Guys" story. Cliched to the max, the story leaves something to be desired.

Graphics: 6/10

Usually I rate the graphics and sound together, but the graphics were so terribly poor, that I had to rate them separately. This game experiences what many in the gaming world call "pop-ups". This is where you are driving along, and a building/car/tree/etc pops out of absolutely nowhere. The previous games had this, but to a lesser extent. In this game, you could be running away from cops cruising down the freeway, when BAM! outta nowhere a car will pop up. Resulting in you crashing and failing the mission. Also, the building textures are not as good as I would expect.

Sound: 7/10

The music is terrific. They give the cut scenes more of a movie feel, and help save this game, a little. But the guns and engine sounds are under par, which puts a damper on this otherwise excellent score.

Length/Re-playability: 7/10

Compared to it's prequels, Driv3r lacks something the other games lacked greatly. Fun, and difficulty. You can beat this game easily in 12 hours. If you have played the previous games, you would know that the final mission in Driver 2 alone, could take you 2 hours. I loved it. This games lacks any memorable missions like that one. The game-play hitches also reduce my urge to replay this game. I would rather replay another driving/shooting/carjacking game out there, say GTA: VC?

Overall: 6/10

This game left me feeling cheated out of my money. I played through and enjoyed the previous 2 Driver games. But this one left something to be desired. If you really want to play the Driver games, buy the first 2, and pretend this one never existed.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/04