After the
extremely disappointing release of DRIV3R and the lukewarm reception of
the somewhat better Driver: Parallel Lines, it’s hard to get excited
about another Driver game but in different hands (such as Sumo Digital
and Ubisoft) as well the fact that the game was designed with the Sony PSP in
mind, this might be the game that would turn the series around. Sadly, Driver
‘76 is a nice attempt that just doesn’t have the right moves to make this
cat groovy, dig?
As the title
suggests, Driver ‘76 takes place in 1976 in New York City when the
streets were overrun by the criminal scum that gave the city its bad reputation
at that time. You play a known wheelman named Ray who falls in love with the
lovely Chen-Chi … the Chinese triad boss’s daughter. In order to impress her and
her father, Ray and his jive-talking buddy Slink must prove themselves by taking
on dangerous but high-paying missions that will either lead them to notoriety in
the New York City underworld or the morgue. Their quest for money and love take
them through a massive map of the city.
We follow Ray’s
quest to win the hand of his dream girl through 1970s-styled comic book panels
that tell the story and this works better in telling the tale than just sitting
through animated cut scenes. As a low-level wheelman you’ll be performing simple
fetch quests and simple tasks such as hijacking trucks filled with frozen
seafood to stealing Cuban cigars for the boss. From there, of course, the
missions become more dangerous and to top things off you can even give these
missions a rest to earn extra money by completing side missions.
Think of
Driver ‘76 as a prequel to Parallel Lines and thusly is basically a
Grand Theft Auto clone that allows you to freely explore the open-world
environment on foot or behind the wheel of any vehicle you’d like throughout the
game. You’re free to tackle on the story missions or the side missions (more on
those later) or just spend your time driving around the virtual NYC. Yet like
most of the recent Driver games, there’s very little to do while
free-roaming around the city so don’t expect Grand Theft Auto-styled
off-mission mayhem. All the missions seem to be directed to a map screen where
you can pick from main story missions or side missions. The side missions are
actually fun since they’re bite-sized and vary in difficulty. Taxi missions have
you zipping from Point A to Point B while trying not to spook your passenger or
arrive to the destination late. Then there’s the Loan Shark side missions where
you attempt to get a client’s money back … by force.
Unfortunately,
many of the main story missions lack imagination and are actually pretty drab.
They hardly stray from the drive-to-destination-get-out-and-shoot-somebody
design and feel more like a chore than a fun diversion. There are exceptions,
though. Some missions have really pushing Ray to the limit but in the best
possible way. Sadly, the missions are all ruined by poor AI. The bad guys are
just poor shots and even if you manage to get some police attention they aren’t
much of a threat either. Speaking of the fuzz, they are brain dead behind the
wheel and you’ll lose them easily. They also wait around to get shot if you’re
behind a car and won’t even bother to dive for cover.
As far as the
controls are concerned, the driving is handled well but not perfect and – to
make matters worst – if you crash not only does your car take great damage but
so do you. It’s actually quite possible to die from a minor fender bender with
a motorcycle if your health was low. On foot, the controls aren’t bad either but
when it comes to shooting you’ll find that Ray might be a competent wheelman but
he’s a complete dunce when it comes to aiming and shooting. There are extras to
be found in the game as well as the ability to slap a fresh new coat of paint to
your vehicle as well as add nitro for when you attempt a street race. Racing is
a huge part of the Ad Hoc multiplayer for when you want to race against a single
friend. The good news is that a buddy doesn’t even have to buy a copy of the
game to play the multiplayer aspect.
On the graphics
front, Driver ‘76 doesn’t look bad but it doesn’t look particularly great
either. The game does bring New York City to life and you’ll recognize various
landmarks and locales. Then again, buildings lack detail and the textures make
objects look flat. At least the character models look pretty good and so do the
vehicles (although the vehicle damage is really unrealistic). Then there’s the
clipping problems that have the main character phasing right through car doors
when he jacks a vehicle. Sometimes he will even go through a solid wall. At
least the comic book-styled panels are great and bring to mind comic books from
that era perfectly.
The sound is a
tad better than the visuals seeing as the game crams in some excellent 1970s
funk from the likes of Billy Preston to The Temptations. There’s also rock from
David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Blondie’s “One Way or Another.” While the tunes can be
heard in any car, you won’t hear a radio DJ nor amusing fake commercials most
GTA clones copy. Still, the voice acting is actually good and the dialogue
feels in tune with the ‘70s era.
Driver ‘76
for the PSP
might not be as deeply enthralling or perfect as the portable Grand Theft
Auto games and there are way too many flaws to make this good Driver
game but the game does have its share of good times. Unfortunately, those good
times are few and far apart and overshadowed by the various flaws that hold this
game back. With other better games of this caliber already available, Driver
‘76 is a game fans of the genre should rent before even considering a
purchase.
|
Review |
Gameplay: 5.9
The game has
plenty of flaws in the gameplay department but when it comes to on-foot combat
you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. At least driving is handled somewhat good
and while many of the missions are uninventive, some missions are actually
enjoyable. There are also plenty of vehicles to drive in this game and the story
is fun.
Graphics: 6.5
The game’s
graphics fall between flat and not-bad-at-all. The character models are actually
pretty good but some environmental detail looks pretty flat for a game that
manages to display recognizable areas in New York City. Still, it’s hard to
ignore the horrible clipping problems that show up frequently throughout the
game.
Sound: 7.0
The game’s
soundtrack contains some pure 70s funk as well as tunes from the likes of Iggy
Pop and Blondie to mix things up, but don’t expect to hear real radio station
jive or a DJ for that matter. The voice acting is top notch and everyone sounds
the way you expect them to sound. It’s just too bad that the sound effects lack
some punch.
Difficulty:
Medium
Despite the
fact that the enemies don’t have any common sense or feel the need to duck for
cover when you shoot, they – much like Ray – can’t hit a thing anyway even from
a close distance. Cops are relentless in attempting to bring you down but it’s
easy to lose them … I mean, really easy.
Concept: 6.0
There are a
number of 1970s cars and some cool motorcycles to ride but the vehicle
customization options are slim and pointless. Speaking of pointless, the
collectibles add very little too. There’s multiplayer but it’s pretty thin.
Multiplayer:
5.5
There’s only
racing action for up to two-players via Ad Hoc so there’s no online fun to be
had here. The rest of the game types are seriously lacking the mindless fun of
Carnage mode where you attempt to destroy your opponent’s car.
Overall: 6.0
Consider this
one yet another weak addition to the Driver series but despite the many
flaws and noticeable weak spots, Driver ‘76 isn’t a completely horrible
PSP game. Yes, it’s hard to ignore things like brain-dead police AI or a lack of
fun things to do in this surprisingly massive city, but some of the missions are
actually kind of fun and the story isn’t bad at all. Still, if you’re looking
for a GTA fix you might as well replay Liberty City Stories or
Vice City Stories again.
