DRIV3R

"Tanner is finally back behind the wheel again"

INTRO
Driv3ris the third installment of Reflections' fabled Driver series. Inspired by Hollywood chase hits like Ronin, Gone in 60 seconds and the like, Driv3r attempts to recreate the chases, crashes and most importantly, the ability to film and direct them all while also throwing in 3 explorable cities, 70+ jackable vehicles and a small arsenal of weapons. The game also sports several mini driving games and a story mode.

STORY 8/10
You play Tanner, an undercover, lawless cop who needs to infiltrate a huge car theft ring that plans to steal around 40 cars in Miami and Nice (France) before eventually selling these cars in Istanbul Turkey. As Tanner you are forced to go deep undercover with the bad guys in order to find out who is behind all of this and find a way to tear this organization down. You encounter numerous scenarios along the way including having to steal cars, chase down bad guys, escape from compounds etc. etc. The story is decently thought out and very Hollywood like in it's execution.

CONTROLS 7/10
The controls are broken down into two categories. Driving vehicles and On Foot. The car, boat, bike and heavy machinery handling is absolutely superb. Each of the 70 or so vehicles handles in its own unique way. The way you can powerslide and burn out at will is fantastic and depending on the car you choose you can perform some very cool tricks. On a scale of 1-10 I would give the vehicular controls a solid 10. On Foot controls are a little different. Tanner has not evolved too much from his PS1 days sadly although he now sports weapons, climbing and swimming capabilities. If you've ever played Max Payne 1 then imagine that without the bullet time diving aspect and much less weaponry. Controls are responsive but Tanner is very slow and you just get the feeling that it is always a chore to run back to the street for a new ride. Gun play controls are decent although the aiming function is also somewhat sub par. There are sadly no fighting moves and the jumping animation is akin to a fairy hop or a ballerina springing forward. On a scale of 1-10 I'd have to honestly give on-foot controls a 5. This aspect could have been improved greatly. However, I must say that you can master the on foot portions with a lot of practice so it is not overly detrimental to the overall package.

GAMEPLAY 9/10
Gameplay is split into several categories. The biggest and most impressive mode of play in my opinion would be Take-A-Ride mode where you can freely cruise through any of the available 3 cities at your leisure and explore, wreak havok and basically just kill time doing whatever it is you feel like doing. The environments are so massively large and detailed that you could literally spend hours just marveling at all of the minute details that Reflections put into the game. There are different lighting, weather and time of day settings as well and multiple starting points which is a huge improvement since the last Driver game. The next mode is Undercover Mode which is the story based portion of the game. Although the missions are relatively simple in concept, chase this guy, steal that car, go here and then there, it certainly follows the trend of Reflections trial and error style of gameplay. Mostly it is simply a case of getting everything memorized (Traffic patterns, turning points, enemy positions) rather than skillful gaming. Now while this may not be such a bad thing it certainly can get frustrating at times when you are forced to restart over and over and over again. The missions are fun and multi-faceted though and are certainly not as difficult as was the case in Stuntman or Driver 2. (Chase the Gunman anyone?) The last mode of play consists of various mini driving games. These range from escaping a bevvy of pursuing cops, Checkpoint Races, maneuvering tests and Quick Getaways, to chasing and shooting after an escaping vehicle. The last mode is Film Director. In this mode you can film 3 minutes worth of footage from a slew of camera angles and setups including slow motion, motion blur etc. etc. It is absolutely incredible what one can put together in this mode and depending on how creative you are willing to be, the possibilities are almost endless. All in all the gameplay is extremely fun (The On-Foot portions can get a little mundane) and challenging and the different modes will certainly keep one busy for a long long time.

GRAPHICS 8/10
The graphics in Driv3r are crafted right down to the smallest of details. There are shadows casted, lights reflected and all of the smaller details seem to have been thought of as though they themselves were larger, more important elements of the scene. Each city boasts thousands of uniquely crafted buildings, many of which are complete with interior decorations as well. The cars are all beautifully put together as are the background mountains, ocean, skylines etc. Jaggies do appear here and there and depending on how fast you are travelling you may also encounter some pop ups here and there. In my opinion it is nothing I cannot look past but it is noticeable nonetheless. Explosions and car wreckage are absolutely magnificent. Cars come apart in thousands of pieces and everything from bullet holes to shattering windows is completely realistic and accurately modeled. It is almost lifelike how you can take a car right down to the frame.

CAMERA 8/10
The camera options are pretty simple. you can switch between a Third Person perspective and a First Person mode. Depending on the situation you may need to switch between these two options in order to maximize your skill level. For example, if your hood is flapping up while you are driving, First Person mode will allow to to see again and for shooting and aiming purposes, First Person also seems to be a bit more responsive as well. The camera can get a bit clunky at times but generally it is acceptable. In terms of controlling the camera, you can use the right analog stick to move your view around while simultaneously walking by using the Left Analog stick. Once you become completely familiar with this concept, you will really be able to take advantage of your surroundings. A really nice feature while driving is the thrill cam. With the touch of a button you can see what you are about to do from a cinematic angle with slow motion and blur effects included. This is really fun for hitting massive jumps and for those spectacular metal twisting car crashes. I must say though, a few more view points would have been nice. A top down view with a zoom out feature would have been really cool.

FMV's, MUSIC and SFX 7/10
The FMV's are beautifully rendered and executed. The voice talent used (Ving Rhames, Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez) really adds life to the characters and the dark gritty feel of the sets seems really fitting to the game. There are a few minor drawbacks here because somehow the lips aren't completely in sync with the dialog and I sometimes find and the cutscenes seem to be a bit overdone. The music is pretty cool, there aren't any radio stations or anything like that but the selections are ideal for this type of game. You really feel like you are in a serious game based on the instrumental tunes as well as the harder more hardore songs. I think the music selection is appropriate for the type of vibe they are trying to lend the game. SFX are good I find. Crashing sounds, explosions, falling in water etc. are all nicely implemented. The walking sounds though are still kind of like running down a marble hall with high heels on and that always annoys me a little. There could have certainly been more sound effects in my opinion, peds say very little, cops don't really communicate that much but everything vehicle related sounds absolutely incredible.

REPLAY VALUE 8/10
Replay value in my opinion is extremely high. Simply for the fact that you have three massively huge cities to explore at your leisure in Take-A-Ride mode with 70+ vehicles including everything from Go Carts to detachable 18 Wheelers, coupled with the freedom of Film Director mode should keep you busy for months to come. There is so much to check out, so many stunts to try, so much carnage to create that you can surely have fun with this game for a long long time to come. The story mode is a bit short with only 25 missions but there are multiple ways to complete most objectives so the more creative gamer can have fun replaying each mission several times over. The driving games also allow for hours upon hours of fun because they are quick, challenging and most importantly fun. Realistically I would estimate that the story mode should take you around 6-7 hours to complete the first time through. It will probably take you at least that many weeks to fully explore each environment in Take-A-Ride mode.

OVERALL 8/10
All in all I rate Driv3r an 8/10. I truly love this game but the On-Foot portions are a definite drawback. The driving and exploration score is extremely high and I love everything about the game with the exception of Tanner's handling outside of a vehicle. I really wish that the team over at Reflections would have spent a little more time on Tanner since that is who we must use to get from vehicle to vehicle. The jumping and slow running animations are just really dated in terms of technological advancements and I sincerely hope that they focus some more energies on this aspect the next time around. With that said, every other part of the game is absolutely superb. If you enjoyed Driver 2 you will be in absolute heaven with Driv3r. If you hated driver 2 because of the stiff way that Tanner moved then you will be somewhat disappointed. However, in terms of car wreckage, exploration, vehicle physics and setting up your own special effect enhanced stunts, you will be completely and utterly satisfied. Driv3r is a must buy for any true driving enthusiast who enjoys real world physics and effects. I think it is worth every penny.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/24/04