| Driv3r | Reflections Interactive / Atari | 2005 | |
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Nine months separate the PC release of Driver 3 from the release of its critically pounded console counterparts. You might assume that the large gap between the borderline-broken console versions and the newly released PC edition was used to fix the game's serious problems but no. The Driver series is helmed by an undercover cop named Tanner. This time around, Tanner is trying to infiltrate a Miami-based car thief ring, which is working to steal 40 exotic cars and ship them out of Miami. Part of the game's story involves finding out who the thieves in the car ring are working for, where the cars are going, and who's double-crossing whom. You'll start out in Miami, eventually make your way to Nice for some French car chases, and you'll also spend some time in Istanbul. The story is mostly told via some good prerendered cutscenes. Driver 3's main mode is a linear, mission-based game that sends you on mission after mission until you've unraveled the game's story. Each mission has clear-cut objectives, like chasing after a guy who double-crossed your gang, stealing three cars and driving them into the back of a moving truck before the truck gets to its destination, or driving around on an enemy's turf and busting up the place by crashing through exploding barrels and other objects. You may be surprised to find yourself spending quite a lot of time out of your car, and that's where the first significant gameplay problem comes to light: The on-foot action is awful. Your control over Tanner is stiff, at best. You can fire weapons, you can halfheartedly jump, and you can duck to perform some pretty lame rolls. The gunplay, despite giving you access to a number of different pistols, submachine guns, an assault rifle, a shotgun, and a grenade launcher, is decidedly underwhelming. The combat in the game isn't tense at all, and it mostly consists of running up to enemies and blasting them... before they blast back. However, the game is pretty liberal with the health packs, so you can certainly trade shots with most of your foes without worrying too much. Since most of the game's artificial intelligence is incompetent, you can usually get the drop on the bad guys. Michael Madsen voices Tanner, Michelle Rodriguez is Calita and there's also Mickey Rourke, Iggy Pop, and Ving Rhames, who plays your partner in the game and narrates most of the cutscenes. There's over 60 drivable vehicles, including motorcycles, boats, police cars, vans, mopeds, muscle cars and 18-wheelers, all fully destructible. There's also a mission called "The Hit" found only on DRIV3R's PC release. The Film Director Mode is one of the DRIVER brand's most popular aspects - gamers can record the action using multiple camera views, and edit original chase sequences which can be played back and stored. | ||
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