![We need a Driver, and we hear you're the best.](drivercar.jpg) ![We need a Driver, and we hear you're the best.](DriverLogo.gif)
"The wheels you drivin'
around this town making a whole lotta noise.."
If not
from the word on the street as you churn out several legendary
driving maneuvers per second to send the pursuing cops to an early
grave, then from the screech of tires preceeding a rather nasty
crash. All in a days work for your average road user's misguided
mind, but with the conversion of Driver from the Playstation to
the PC after a very long wait, that false confidence in abilities
can be put to the test. So was it worth the teasingly long conversion
period? As sure as grandmothers grow beards that can put ZZ Top
to bed with something to think about. So let's see what the fuss
is all about.
Easy
Does It.. Watch the Paintwork.. Doh!
Driver
has a good reputation, and it's well deserved in all honesty.
One of the first things you notice upon throwing your new endowment
into a 180 handbrake turn from full speed is how realistically
the cars handle. Throughout the game you get a wide selection
of cars to drive, all ranging in performance from crusty ol' bangers
that cough their sluggish way to the end of the turning before
dying at the sight of the first cop car, through to superfly love
machines tuned up and ready for take-off.
After
each mission you have the opportunity to practice your smooth
moves around town between missions for as long as you like and
as many times as you like, before checking your answer phone which
will usually have several messages from super-cool gangsters looking
for your driving services. You can choose whichever you wish,
and the storyline will always continue on it's merry way as you
go. Some of these missions give you the chance to select weird
and wonderful cars to drive, while others are recipes for hair-loss,
which leads me onto an issue which instantly becomes apparent..
If you've played the Playstation version of Driver for any length
of time, you cannot fail to notice that the PC version is a touch
more difficult. There's not one individual thing which can be
pointed out as more difficult, in fact some of the more insane
missions have been toned down a little, but in general the gameplay
is balanced off at a more competitive level.
Driver
has a range of missions spanning four cities; Miami, San Fransisco,
Los Angeles and New York. As you steer your way successfully through
each mission, cheats become available in the main menu screen,
some amusing and some designed for those who can't seem to get
their headlights around the cops. All weather conditions seek
to make life difficult for all involved, and missions are undertaken
at all hours of the day and night. If that doesn't tickle your
fancy, there are a whole range of mods included in the game to
test your 'mad skillz' against, which include Pursuit, Getaway,
Cross Town Checkpoint, Trail Blazer, Survival, Dirt Track and
Carnage. All of which provide endless hours of frustration, joy
and other feelings related to scoreboards and friends/family playing
against you in a hopeless quest for glory ;)
We
Got a Snitch, Boys. Someone on the Inside..
So how
did you wind up driving gangsters around town for a handsome living?
Perhaps you have plans to become the gang-leader and run things
the way you want them, with double scoops of icecream instead
of one. Well, that'll have to take a back seat, because you've
been placed undercover in order to break apart this crime syndicate
from the inside. Brave of you to single handedly take all that
on, sure, but you're down with the crew, you have the brylcreem
in your hair and know how to deal with the nasty character types.
As if that wasn't blessing enough, you're the best driver out
there. Not a bad reputation to have before you've even put the
pedal to the metal. It's all in the way you look at 'em.
So with
a flawless storyline and proven skills, what could possibly go
wrong? Well I'll let you into a little secret. Something which
doesn't really bother me, but have heard complaints about, and
that is the lack of an ending. I hope you don't mind me killing
it for you.. you can go straight to the next paragraph if you
don't want to read it.. but once you finish the last mission,
you are treated to the credits while watching what is obviously
a two fingered monkey driving around the streets of Newcastle,
England, in a car your other half wishes you could afford.
It's
All fun and Games Until Someone Has Their Eye Out
..And
inevitably someone always does have their eye out. Many times
over. One of the beautiful things in Driver is crashing, and there'll
be plenty of that. You car will take damage and look worse for
wear specifically where there has been impact. The cop cars will
help you along with that, with a disturbing disregard for innocents,
sometimes even ramming civilian cars in your way, whether on purpose
or not. Oh, don't forget that as the missions get harder, so do
the cops. They are demons towards the end of the game, with their
cars buffed to the point of bending the laws of physics. As if
all this stress and hair-pulling wasn't bad enough, they throw
undercover cops at you in some missions, and for a brief moment
of madness you'll wonder if perhaps the whole game is out to get
you.
Continued
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