Driver
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 Achieving Big Air Happens Often
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I remember those Thursday nights sitting in front of the the television. Clicking through the channels and coming to FOX and seeing "Scariest Police Chases 18" and just becoming mesmerized by how awesome those chases seem. The driver becoming overdosed with adrenaline, the police calling for back-up, road-blocks being set up, and the helicopter providing aerial views of the chase. Others, like myself, have always thought of what it would feel like to get behind the wheel and try to make a getaway from the cops. My precious, angel heart would never do something like that in real life but when I heard that GT Interactive was soon releasing a game involving car chases and getaways I was overcome with joy. Finally, my chance to see how good I really would be in chase, not that I would actually do it after playing the game.
I am not sure what it actually feels like in a high-speed chase (maybe we could ask some felons in jail for high tailing it away to play this game) but this game is a lot of fun. The game starts with a very good beginning intro portraying a chase through a parking garage. From there the fun is continuous with plenty of things to do. There is a Training Mode that "teaches" one the basics on how to get away via a ghost car. I recommend doing this in the very beginning because in order to become accepted in the Undercover Mode you must do the exact same thing as in the Training Mode. Plus a lot of the driving skills that it teaches become useful in later missions.
Probably 50% of the back-bone to Driver is the Undercover Mode. Upon starting this mode you take on the role of Tanner, an undercover cop as a driver-for-hire trying to shutdown the powerful crime ring spanning four cities. Tanner starts out in Miami but eventually make it to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and finally New York City. His answering machine is what Tanner listens to in-between missions and you must decide what mission that you feel like doing. After deciding the mission there is a video sequence, like a short fly through a part of the city, and the mission starts. By a black area showing vaguely where to go you must make it there in time. Sometimes missions are not timed and you are able to take many different ways. But when moving to different cities I found that I had to play a mission a couple of times till I became familiar with the city. The reason for this is because the cities are HUGE. There are many, many paths to take but the shortest route is usually the most favorable. Detail is something that Reflections took to heart and did a great job portraying each city. There are street cones, signs, cafe tables, and boxes that can all be destroyed by the car. This makes the replay at the end of each level look really exciting. Pedestrians are sprawled out everywhere but I could never manage to hit one (my precious, angel ways) because that run out of the way. What is great is seeing those pedestrians sitting at a cafe table eating and me come through 50 going 90 and the pedestrians run out of the way at the last minute just as I crash into the table. Also there are working street lights and weather changes (rain actually changes road conditions). You may start a mission in bright sunlight but end at night. Not only are the cities detailed but the cars as well. Damage to the car looks very realistic. Tail lights turn off when they shatter after slamming in reverse into something. Also the other pedestrian cars have damage.
It may seem that Undercover Mode is really great but there are a few flaws to this mode. For one the pedestrian cars seem to be programmed to get in your way. An example is when you are driving in the left-hand lane and at an intersection, from the right-lane, a car makes a left-handed turn. Really bugs me when I am about to lose the cops and they end up catching up to me. Another flaw is when in a chase the cops are able to make road blocks incredibly fast. Also the mission's difficulties range throughout the game. It does not gradually get more difficult, it gets difficult then back to easy then to difficult. The third level or so was ten times more difficult then the fifteenth. For some this is good but for me I like challenges. When at a busy intersection or a lot of cars are on the screen the frame rate drops a whole lot. This slowdown will bother many who enjoy all out speed with little drop in speed. Tanner's car has a very easy chance of flipping over in later missions and after he flips over he cannot turn over and you have to start all over. If his car would turn over it would have made me a lot happier when trying to finish later missions. In-between missions there is a video but the CG videos are not very impressive both in acting and graphics.
Probably the most innovative and unique part to Driver is the Director Mode. Here you are able to become a director yourself and re-create your mission like a movie. You can place cameras virtually anywhere and select how the camera will follow the action. This takes a long time and a lot of patience to complete a whole mission the way you like it but the efforts are rewarding. If you do not have a lot of patience then you can let the game tweak with it and create an excellent replay. For all those movie buffs this is just what the doctor ordered. Crashes and and big air make the replays look like they were taken from movies such as "Ronin" or "Bullitt".
If ALL these modes were not enough there are many other modes including Pursuit Mode where you must chase another car and damage it enough to win. Also there is a Getaway Mode where you are the one getting chased. In Cross-town you must drive across a city reaching checkpoints in certain amounts of time. Trailblazer is another mode where you have to follow specific routes within a time limit. There are four time trial missions to play with, a dirt track is accessible to drive around on, and finally there is Survival Mode where you must try to escape hell-bent cops aiming on taking you out.
Driver supports the Dual Shock Analog Controller. Bumps and crashes are all felt via the controller and it is another
nice addition. Even though there are minor problems, it probably will not bother most people, Driver delivers fun, excitement,
muscle cars, and astounding depth.
| -Nick Steinhauer |
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Enter these on the Main Menu screen. You should hear a chime after each one is entered.
Go to the Cheat Menu to activate each one. |