Driv3r

Action-packed would be a bit of an understatement in describing Driv3r, because the amount of firepower and horsepower jammed into this game would put any Swarchenegger movie to shame. If blowing the heads off of innocent bystanders makes you feel warm inside, Driv3r is definitely The game for you. For those who aren’t already floored by the opening cinematic, the first 5 minutes of gameplay are heavy enough to engulf even the most pacifistic of souls.
The producers of Driv3r attempt to justify this onslaught of weaponry and wheels with a storyline of equally over-the-top proportions. It carries you, around the world from Miami, to Nice, to Istanbul, or Constantinople, depending on which way you look at it. Once again, as in all Driver titles, you’re Tanner, an undercover cop, who gets in way over his head, and its your job to implement his exert driving skills to save the day, and more or less, the entire planet.

Story: Driv3r runs much like an action film, not only in that there’s lots of blood and machinery, but also in the somewhat unique arrangement of missions and films. I figure action movies consist of about 50% car chase, gun battle, and explosions, and 50% witty, okay, cheesy, dialogue. In Driv3r, you control all of the explosions, car chases and firefights, but none of that other stuff which develops the plot. If you watch James Bond because you’re into his humor, personality and women, you probably won’t be enthralled by Driv3r’s storyline. TV ads for the game boast that Michelle Rodriguez, Ving Rhames and Mickey Rourke have provided voice-over talents for the in-game cinematic sequences. The way I see it, anytime a game advertises that a man who starred opposite Dennis Rodman in “Double Team” provides the acting in the bulk of the animated sequences, we shouldn’t be expecting any Oscar-worthy performance.
The bottom-line is, Driv3r is so overloaded with cinematic sequences, the actual action portions of the game become either a nuisance for those of us who prefer to see a plot unfold, or too sparse for anyone, like myself, who prefers their action games to be more about the shooting and less about the viewing. More often than not, I found myself pounding the (A) button to get the scene to stop so I could get on with my playing. Moreover, many of these scenes are useless, as any or all instructions needed for the next mission can be found in a 3-word caption that appears at the start of every mission.
With that said, for anyone with the time and patience to watch all the acting, there is a bit of a reward. The graphics are phenomenal, I’ll talk about that more later, and the storyline becomes much more addictive and interesting. Too often in both action flicks and movie games, we do not care enough about the fate or personality of the hero. In Driv3r, you Will care about Tanner.

Gameplay: Generally, the missions are challenging; there are also a lot of them, which earns Driv3r extra points on the “bang for your buck” scale. However, within the missions, especially the pieces that place you in a firefight or shootout, control can be very buggy, even with auto-aim on and the joystick sensitivity set to max. The game rightfully carries a Mature rating, because in just about every mission, and ever other cinematic sequence, at least one person is murdered. All you naive gamers out there don’t be fooled by the title, Driv3r is not a racing, or even primarily driving game, it’s a mafia game. Driving scenes are more often car chases than car races. Even then, the cars lack a sense of speed, urgency and excitement. Driving around eventually seems more like cruising around, slightly faster than the other traffic, rather than a head rush.

Driving in Driv3r can be fun in some rare instances, especially due to the entirely interactive map; any car in town can be yours with a few gun blasts. You’ll find yourself behind the wheel of vehicles ranging from speedboats to Lamborghinis, from dirt bikes to 18-wheelers. This is a plus for anyone, even in the likely event that you are bored by the game’s plot, driving around wreaking havoc on poor pedestrians can provide hours of fun. For example, the frightened shrieks of innocent old ladies and assorted yuppies as they see trucks barreling towards them are always good for a few giggles. This, of course, is a lot more fun if you’re doing it while your friends watch, which is tough, because Driv3r is a one-player game. Developers made up for this shortcoming by embedding a “friends” feature, which allows for multi-player play online via X-Box Live.
A few missions offer some very puzzling scenarios, which may entertain the more intellectual action-gamers, but seemed to me a bit dull for an action game. The pace of the game is disrupted often by these missions. Puzzles really put a downer on that adrenaline rush that comes with blowing cops away and driving 90 down the avenues. But, once again, if you’re into that, it’s there. For example, one mission has you re-arranging crates in a loading dock to get the right one on a truck bed. I’m sure any longshoreman will attest that this is a scenario that belongs as a job, not in a game.
Driv3r offers one of the best combinations of cinematic and in-play graphics of any X-Box title to date. There are magnificent views of the Hagia Sophia and other landmarks in Istanbul, and beauty all around in Nice.
The magnificent graphics do not end at the city skylines though. Movies in the game are top of the line. Driv3r is worth taking a look for anyone who is seriously interested in CGA. The cars are exquisitely detailed, damage is accurately portrayed, and human movement is among the most lifelike I’ve ever seen. My only complaint was that the deaths seemed a bit unrealistic, when shot, people still crouched down and vanished in that old arcade-game style.
The gamemakers apparently took sound very seriously, because, as you will notice, half of the game’s book is occupied by information about the musicians that provided the soundtrack. Perhaps because of this, the music always fits the mission. I was surprised by how well the music matched up. This made up for the annoying variance of pace which I mentioned earlier. If you listen loud enough, the sound of the music, gunfire and engines in each mission will always provide the correct dosage of adrenaline. There are occasionally a few glitches during heavy firefight scenes, but nothing that becomes a nuisance or anything.

Basically, Driv3r attempts to offer something for everyone. It has lots of action, lots of drama, and lots of thought. In doing this, Driv3r is rising that there are people who desire all three of these in one title. A bit of the joy provided by each of these individually is always diminished by the other two, so it seems to me that this is not a very enjoyable style of play, but there certainly a few people who will enjoy it. Anyone looking for pure Vice-City mayhem, be forewarned, the two games are not comparable, Driv3r attempts to take some sort of moral high ground, embedding a massive plot line and several dull, over-realistic missions. In doing so, it has seriously compromised the playability of what could have been a great mafia game.

Complaints
I have a few: There is a huge issue with distinction of mass. Some objects, such as parking meters and trash cans fly away with no damage to your vehicle and no loss of speed as you hit them while driving, while other, more solid objects, like street-light poles and sides of buildings, stay put and put a huge dent in your hood. Apparently, there are different grades of chain-link fence, some which act like concrete walls, and some that apparently were never concreted to the ground. The game-makers forgot to tell us which is which. There are many other similar scenarios, which create a big problem in car chase missions.
Also, there are quite a number of missions that involve driving across long distances to arrive at the scene of a fight. If you die in the fight, you have to start at the beginning. These missions are definitely not suitable for the impatient or short-nerved, myself included. Also, if you’re a person who likes to play the massive battle missions over and over again after you’ve already completed them, this game unfortunately sucks for you. Most of the really enjoyable parts are at the ends of missions, after at least a good 10 minutes of travel time. Every time, you have to complete all the boring stuff all over again. This aspect makes the game severely frustrating, almost worthless.
I’ll be the first to admit that I anxiously awaited Driv3r’s launch and distribution, but unfortunately, Atari threw us all for a loop. Anyone expecting an improvement from the second Driver will be dissatisfied. Certainly graphics and sound have improved, but that comes more as a sign of the times than an actual accomplishment by the developers. Driv3r had the potential to be great, it had everything from Hollywood stars, and primetime television commercials to an epic storyine that could have mattered. Unfortunately, Driv3r took us on a slow, bumpy ride to grandmother’s house, rather than a fast paced race down Main St.

Breakdown
Favorite moment: First catching glimpse of the expansive world in which we get to play in.
Forgettable moment: Playing in that world and realizing that it wasn’t all to exciting, fresh, or exhilarating after all