Review

Nothing is more damaging to our perception of a game than misleading hype. It was obvious from fairly early on in the development that Driv3r was going to be a return to form for the series, but then both Atari and Reflections started claiming this was going to be an action adventure title to rival GTA: Vice City. There are undoubtedly similarities but the driving element of GTA is a very small part of the bigger picture. In Driv3r, it is the whole picture. Comparing the two games is not only musleading, it's completely inaccurate.

There is a plot – something to do with an organised car theft ring – but this merely serves as an excuse to connect the missions. Admittedly, the Undercover mode is incredibly frustrating at times and also seems like a chore but the just one more go feeling is unmistakeable. Fortunately you’ll finish playing through all missions in a couple of days, which unlocks all the cities and cars so that the real fun can begin.

What Reflections have done extremely well is capture the thrill of the high-speed car chase. Which, let’s face it, was the initial remit of the series! The joy of this series has always been in taking you car for a spin and the freedom to explore each of the vast cities, this is no exception. Before you take the Undercover mode into account it’s great fun to try out the Quick Chase or Quick Getaway options and tear up the streets.

The car handling is nothing short of fantastic. Weaving through the traffic sliding round corners in big American muscle cars is just as much fun here as it ever was and reminds you why you liked the series in the first place. Driv3r also throws motorbikes into the mix for the first time and once you’re used to them, they can provide just as much entertainment as the cars.

What drags it down is the shooting segments. Here you are required to get out of the car and take out some bad guys. These descend into nothing more than a shooting gallery where all the player is required to do is memorise where and when each enemy appears, which you can only achieve through trial and error. The control over Tanner here is much better than it was in Driver 2, especially if you switch to the first-person view, but you’ll only keep playing them as a means to get to the next bit of driving.

Miami, Nice and Istanbul are all included and feature massive play areas for us to explore (Having never visited any of the cities I can’t argue with Atari’s claim that the maps are accurate!) and they all look fabulous. There is a little pop-up, but it’s acceptable as most of the time you’re concentrating on the road and the traffic rather than the scenery.

My main concern before release was for the loading times for restarts, especially as they all but ruined Stuntman, but I’m pleased to report that they are quick and painless.

For my money, Driv3r is everything I was expecting it to be and well worth your time and effort. Don’t get caught up in hype and start thinking it’s anything more than a damn good arcade driving game.

About the Review

Platform

Microsoft Xbox

Developer

Reflections Interactive

Publisher

Atari

Released

25th June 2004