DRIV3R

"Driv3r... Title need not apply"

Let me start of to say that I am a huge fan of the Driver series.

Driver 1, what a classic. I bought this game when it first came, mainly because of the high-action driving. It was a great game, and was ecstatic when the 2nd came to shelves. Driver 2 wasn't bad either, but I thought it was the stupidest thing to get out of your car. You couldn't do anything except for highjack other ones anyways. (Which were usually worse cars). Driv3r came out, what a shame to the series.

Driver 3 (or Driv3r!?!) has completely ruined the essence of the series. Oops I'm sorry, Driv3r has ruined, killed, cut up into pieces, buried, unburied, peed on, ate, than crapped out the essence of the series.

One thing that pisses me off, is that the title of the game doesn't exact apply to a shooter. What Driv3r does to the series is upgrades the graphics, tweaks the physics, and improves the story. But oh wait I'm not done, I forgot they gave us some nice bugs, a cute fairy-jump for Tanner, and they took out the AI so they could use it on important things, like swimming.

Graphics: 6/10
Not bad for this kind of game, models are nice, but the textures are nothing to brag about. But, I am giving this a 6 because I include the animations as graphics. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING WITH THE ANIMATIONS! "Hey, just for kicks, lets make Tanner's jump into a petite ballerina hop. We can also make him run like he has chaffed legs, and swim like my little sister." Many of the animations in this game are just horrible, especially some of the death animations. Jump from a high place? Just land on your feet, wait a few seconds, fall to your knees, than face plant, just like a normal person!

Sound: 7/10 (8 with custom soundtrack)
The sound in Driver 3 isn't half-bad. The one thing that bugged me however, was the endless music they put in each level, especially the strange police chase music. I just, however, figured out custom soundtracks are available, so that will take out some of the suffering. Gunshots aren't bad, and the car noises sound semi-realistic.

Gameplay: 4/10
Now this is what pisses me off the most! "Hey look, the Grand Theft Auto series is outselling us! Wow, they have shooting and lots of violence in their game, so maybe if we put that in ours, we'll have a great game too!" Way to ruin a franchise guys. This game does not offer a sense of speed when driving, according to the game, "90 MPH". Tanner runs incredibly slow. Car physics are strange. Shooting is stupid (shooting missions include running around and gunning down all the enemies, who are of course, mindless). There are many bugs. There are many glitchs. Running from the cops is pointless and easy. There are too many guns that are similar. Tanner takes a long time to get into cars. Light poles and trees are invincible. Enough griping, but director mode is fun to use, and fun to watch others via XBL.

Story: 6/10
Now let me get this straight, if I become an undercover cop, I can kill who I want, when I want? Even fellow cops! I don't think so, so I don't get that at all in this game. Story is ok, nothing special. They really tuned down the cop part in this game, feels like a copy of GTA.

OVERALL: 5/10 This game's title need not apply. You'll be doing lots more shooting than driving, which is not a good thing. This is fun for the first couple days, and hopefully you will rent it and not buy. I really dislike what they did for the Driver franchise, it mind as well be called something else besides Driver 3. Oh wait, its called Driv3r, never mind. Take a Ride isn't great, the only game I actually find fun is Survival Mode.

Do yourself a favor, RENT IT

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/28/04