DRIV3R

"Almost lived up to the hype, still a good game though"

I have been looking forward to this game since before it was announced. When the PS2 launched... I knew that eventually, there would be a Driver game on the console. I loved Driver, and to a lesser extent, liked Driver 2. Before GTA went 3D with GTA: III, Driver was THE driving game to own on PS2 (aside from racers like GT:3 and Midnight Club) The missions were fun, and the atmosphere was realistic. If you speed in front of a cop, he will come after you. If you run a red light in front of a cop, he will come after you. The game left a sweet taste in the mouths of those who liked the driving-adventure genre. Driver 2 came out, and some people were disappointed with it... poor draw distances and texturing were to blame for it's bad review scores and general letdown of some gamers. Enter Stuntman. This Atari driving game was released for the PS2 in 2002, and came with an extra preview of "Driver 3" in the extras. Immediately the gaming industry was abuzz for the 3rd installment of one of the best PSX games there was. 2 years later, the game is released to bad review scores and mass disappointment from critics. I have to say, this is a solid game, and the most reviews I have read are kind of off. 5.4 is not the right score for this game. Here is why:

Gameplay: 8/10

The gameplay is awesome. I have no real complaints here. You can either do the missions in UNDERCOVER, play some DRIVING GAMES, or TAKE A RIDE around Miami, Nice, and later Istanbul. The driving physics are a mix between arcade style and simulation style. The only thing that is boldly unrealistic is the screeching sounds the tires make whenever you barely turn the car. Otherwise, you feel like you are really driving a car. Tanner moves kind of robotic like, and you need to use both analog sticks to aim your gun with him or even just to turn your body. This takes some getting use to, but once you do, it isn't that big of a deal. There are cross-hairs to aim with, which is a mit or miss feature depending on who you are. You can turn Auto-Aim on if you don't like it. The missions you go on in the game are challenging, and fun. Most involve car chases, but some are on-foot missions, like they had in GTA: III and GTA: VC. The on-foot missions are fun, but can get tiring. You can collect a number of guns to use against foes, and killing is realistic, in that head shots are 1-hit kills, and body shots can take a few bullets. When in-car or out... the HUD shows your "felony" level, your damage level, and car damage level. Each represented by a bar that gradually fills-up as you commit crimes, hurt yourself, and wreck. Whether you are in the car, or walking, you will see other cars and pedestrians around the city. This creates a living-city effect, and the size of the cities you will be playing in is great. There are highway's, neighborhoods, and commercial areas in each city, and navigating the areas is fun in itself. I give the gameplay aspect an 8/10.

Sound: 8/10

The sound effects in the game are great. Some car noises are over exaggerated at times, as mentioned earlier, but overall... the sound is great. The in-game music is very fresh, and some of the music is perfect for the chase environment. One mission in the game involves chasing a criminal in a red sports car, and the music that goes with the chase is absolutely perfect. This is where DRIV3R shines... the atmosphere department. You feel the suspense and rush of having to keep up with a fast sports car throughout the city. The music will make you feel a sort of tug in your stomach when you are trying hard not to let a criminal get away, the same kind of tug you feel when you are hunting zombies in Resident Evil. The music is good, and fits the game perfectly, and the sound effects are almost as good as the music. I gave this section an 8/10.

Graphics: 7/10

The graphics are beautiful. Miami looks more realistic here than in GTA: VC. Everything is so beautifully rendered, and seeing the cities at dawn and dusk is even more beautiful than during the day time. The car models are beautiful, the character models are realistic, and the buildings look great. The only downfall to the graphics is a small catch in the draw distance. While barely noticeable, Xbox owners might have a gripe since games like Halo have twice as good draw distance as DRIV3R. Also, sometimes the texturing on buildings sharpens right as you drive up to it, and not way before you get there. You may also find that there is some poor clipping issues when you are getting out of or getting into the cars. It can also be frustrating lining up yourself to get in the car in the first place. This, plus the poor draw of cars and ramps kind or put a mark on an otherwise beautiful game. 8/10 here.

Replay Value: 8/10

After you finish the UNDERCOVER missions, you will have 3 cities to TAKE A RIDE in, and cause havoc GTA style, and a selection of DRIVING GAMES to play. The main mode is the heart of this game, but you can still have fun after you finish it. How many of us are still playing the PS2 GTAs even after we beat all the missions? It is fun to go out and cause mayhem, and it is fun to play the driving games. This gets a 7/10.

Tilt: 9/10

If you can forget that you played the superior Grand Theft Auto PS2 series, then this game will amaze you. The cars in the game are all realistic copies of real life cars such as Corvette, Mustang, Charger, and the Diablo. You will find different cars in every city, and you can swim! You can drive either boats, trucks, cars, buses, or motorcycles. The game offers variety. The missions are fun, and so are the mini-games. If you can play this and not compare it to the GTA series in every aspect, you will have fun, and realize that this game is great. GTA is superior is almost every aspect, but this is not a GTA Clone, it is a Driver game. If you go in expecting a good driving-adventure game and not a GTA Killer, you will come out happy. 9/10

Conclusion:

DRIV3R was hyped for over 2 years, and because of this, people were expecting something huge. Driver killed Grand Theft Auto, so people were expecting DRIV3R to kill GTA: VC. Not the case. Over-hype and high expectations are bad for any game that isn't a 10/10. DRIV3R is a solid game, and people who are expecting it to be the be-all end-all of driving-adventure games... shouldn't. I think the reviewers at some websites were expecting it to be a GTA Killer, and that is why it got bad scores. The pros of DRIV3R are far greatest than the cons. If you can look past the few faults, you will enjoy this game. Well worth the money... I give DRIV3R an 8/10. One point deducted for over-hype, one point deducted for the small graphic, gameplay and sound flaws. 8 points for everything else that makes this game great.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/04