Back before Grand Theft
Auto III revolutionized the action genre with its free-roaming world, Driver 2
was an astonishing and innovative game that featured the main character getting
out of his car to take control of another that just happened to be parked in the
massive streets. Its mixture of driving and “borrowing” cars was an interesting
idea and it made the game all the more entertaining. Now, with this third
outing, DRIV3R brings back Tanner for a game that means to change the way we see
cinematic car chases in a game. Get behind the wheel because the wheelman is
back.
DRIV3R plays just like a
car chase crime caper movie complete with guns, explosions and vehicular
mayhem. You play Tanner–a cop who oversteps the boundaries of proper police
procedure every chance he gets–who suddenly finds himself going up against a
gang of Miami car thieves determined to ship forty of the finest and most
expensive cars from Miami and Nice, France. Tanner soon finds himself working
for the gang and their plan to sell the vehicles in Istanbul. The job isn’t
going to be easy so Tanner puts his skills as a driver and marksman to an
ultimate test.
After an amazing cinematic
opening for the game‘s main mode of playing, Undercover, the game starts in
Tanner’s Miami home. The city of Miami is massive and it’s beautifully and
accurately represented (Vice City this isn’t). From the very beginning we get
to move around on foot and get behind the wheel of vehicles, although Tanner has
his own set of wheels in his garage. Like the GTA games, there’s a map and an
indicator of where to go to move the story along. You can spend your time
exploring the city and you will definitely not be rushed to continue on the
story path. Yes, you are given complete freedom while not on a mission and
exploration is a must.
This is also where you see
the game’s growing list of flaws. While wonderfully massive, the world feels as
alone and lifeless as the city found in Mafia. There are civilians walking
around but the biggest reactions you’ll get out of them is a “hey” or watching
them decorate your hood (and survive, no less). There are no cool jumps or
vigilante missions to occupy your time before going back to the main missions.
You can, though, stop in the middle of the street and carjack any of the dozens
of vehicles each of the three cities have to offer.
The vehicles are nicely
assorted and you can drive anything from muscle cars to big Silverado
four-by-fours. There are even motorcycles and speedboats. While they don’t
easily blow up, the damage they take realistic enough that they can become
useless and have to be abandoned. When they do blow up–as a result of a few
bullets into the engine–they explode into pieces of twisted metal. The car
physics are both neatly done and downright strange at the same time, though.
While they realistically handle well on any surface be it paved street of grass,
something as small as a parking meter can step the car dead in its tracks or
even flip it over completely.
On foot, Tanner is a bit
awkward to control. He can duck for cover and even perform a roll, but this is
all done jerkily. This, though, isn’t the bad part. My biggest gripe comes
from the fact that Tanner doesn’t turn around as easily and this results in him
getting shot in the back a lot. The majority of the time he gets killed in this
manner, but thankfully he can at least carjack a vehicle with ease and make his
getaway. But if Tanner does decide to make a stand out in the street gamers
will find that the enemy AI isn’t the smartest. Many of them move out into your
line of sight and thus making them easy targets. And its far too easy to
confuse the enemy, especially if Tanner decides to jump into the water (unlike a
certain nameless crook and Tommy Vercetti, Tanner can actually swim).
The missions nicely blend
both driving and on-foot shooting action. Each city, be it Miami, Nice or
Istanbul still have the same mission structure that puts Tanner as the wheelman
for the band of thieves. He does get to make a few busts, such as the first
mission where Tanner chases down a deranged psycho that busts through a police
blockage. Much like True Crime: Streets of LA, Tanner must tail bad guys and
make sure not to lose them (DRIV3R is unmerciful in that even if slip up just
once you fail the mission). For the most part the missions offer plenty of
challenges with most of them have different paths to take. There are even a
small handful of missions that are satisfyingly entertaining but these missions
aren’t found too often. Thankfully you have some mini-games available in the
Driving Games mode. And Film Director mode has you editing and spicing up
replays of your mission and it’s all done perfectly.
The game, though, feels
incomplete. There are several glitches that pop up and, unlike GTA where its
flaws add to the fun; these bugs are more of a hindrance. At one point, after I
had made a perfect getaway (or so I thought), a police car suddenly dropped from
the sky and fell right in front of me. Another time I was forced to boot up the
game again after having been trapped in a corner by two cars.
As far as the graphics are
concerned, DRIV3R is an average looking game with spectacular cinematic cut
scenes and beautifully detailed vehicles. The car physics, for the most part,
are handled well and it is fun watching them fall apart to the point of being
unusable. Slam a car on its side and the wheel comes flying out and when they
do blow up, the pieces literally scatter all over the street. The character
models, particularly the main characters, are nicely done during the action.
And the cut scenes are the best I’ve seen in a really long time. One visual
feature that stands out for its greatness is the Thrill Cam button that slows
the action down to show you just how well detailed this game really is. Still,
this is all marred by horrendous clipping issues (I’ve had Tanner poke his head
out of a wall in one place).
The game, however, has
great sound effects, music and voice acting during cut scenes. It’s great
hearing an all-star cast much in the same way it was great hearing the great
lineup of actors in Grand Theft Auto or even True Crime: Streets of LA. Here
the acting does a great job of telling he story, although it would have been
great to have heard more of Michael Madsen (who voices Tanner) during the game’s
action. I would have also loved to hear more from the pedestrians besides
“Hey!” Still, the score is pretty diverse and the sound effects of crashes and
gunfights hit the spot nicely.
DRIV3R is the action car
chase game it was set out to be but its various imperfections keep this from
being the perfect summer title to own. The game lacks life and interaction with
a beautifully recreated world that would have been a dream to play around with
when not on a mission. Will gamers have fun playing this? Well there are
certainly missions that are indications of how amazing this game was going to be
and missing out on them would be a shame. Plus there’s an open cinematic
sequence that’s just jaw dropping. Rent this one for that reasons alone because
if you’re looking for a Grand Theft Auto experience this is not it.
|
#Reviewer’s |
Gameplay: 4.5
DRIV3R just doesn’t cut it in a
world where the recent Grand Theft Auto clones bring us plenty of those side
missions and a fully interactive world that is engrossing enough to keep gamers
busy enough to ignore main missions. The out-of-the-car character movements are
awkward and the driving controls are not any better, leaving you with awkward
gameplay. This is too bad since the cities are massive.
Graphics: 7.2
On the Xbox, the game really does
shine where it counts the most . . . the vehicles and the main characters. The
vehicles are quite a sight to behold when they’re falling apart and the sunlight
hits them just right enough to reflect realistically. The main characters look
pretty good in and out of vehicles and even more so during the cinematic cut
scenes. Yet this is all ruined by major clipping issues and blockish civilians
that seem good at getting themselves stuck in corners. Still, Thrill Cam is an
outstanding feature.
Sound: 8.0
The sound, however, does do a good
job of telling DRIV3R’s story. The voice acting is outstanding, although much
of what they say really doesn’t come close to being as witty as a Tarantino
script. This is not to say that Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez or Ving
Rhames aren’t appreciated, its just that it lacks polish worthy of their
talents. The music is actually quite good too.
Difficulty: Medium
For some reason, the police force in
Miami, Nice and Istanbul seem determined to get themselves killed by stepping
out of a perfect cover to the open where you can unload a clip on them. The AI
controlled bad guys (and good guys) are not smart enough to take cover or be
something of a real threat to Tanner. It’s like shooting ducks in a shooting
gallery, really. The biggest challenge comes from the driving missions, many of
which will have you replaying them over and over.
Concept: 7.0
There are three massive cities that
look exquisitely gorgeous and alive, but nothing can be further from the truth.
Tanner has little interaction with his surrounding and even pedestrians seem to
want to walk right through him. There is also very little you can do in this
world except for collecting Grand Theft Auto-inspired “hidden packages” that
come in the form of ten Timmy Vermicellis (defeat them in Take a Ride mode to
earn extras for the game’s main mode). The game is also Xbox Live Aware so you
can share Replays with other gamers online. And the Driving Games mode is a
nice addition.
Overall: 5.7
DRIV3R is a series of impressive
ideas that just aren’t implemented well enough to make this game really shine
through its too numerous to count imperfections. The game feels incomplete and,
due to its many bugs, gamers will be frustrated by its poor design that gets in
the way of the action. Give this one a rental for its amazing cinematic cut
scenes and the very few thrilling missions found in each city.
