When I was young, there was always 2 games I would turn to if I was bored or wanted some good fun. I constantly played the 2 Driver games, whether it was playing the story mode, doing the driving games or just screwing around in Take a Ride, I always found something fun to do within the two games.

Driver 1 introduced a full 3-D city for gamers to drive in, and was a surprise hit of 1999. It featured some challenging but fun gameplay and had a pretty good story to boot. I actually received this game accidently but once I played it, I didn’t mind.
The one small thing I always loved about the game was the first mission, which saw you in a carpark with a few objectives to do such as a Reverse 180, 360 donut and a full lap around the car park. What I liked about it was the fact that at the time, it was one of the hardest tasks I had ever done. You only had 60 seconds to do each of the objectives and it was hard because even when you did the tasks, sometimes it wouldn’t register in the game so you would have to do it again. It took me ages to get past it, but when I did I felt awesome. Click for IGN’s review of the game.

Driver 2 released on 17/11/2000 and was also an awesome game. Although IGN didn't seem to think so.
I actually enjoyed this new title more then the first game in the series as I enjoyed the cities more and the idea of getting out of the car and flogging another one was awesome. (I hadn't played a GTA game back then)
Cities included were Chicago, Havana, Las Vegas and Rio.
I mucked around so much in Chicago and Havana that I knew every street and turn in my head. And could actually draw the map onto a peice of paper without even looking at the game. I just couldn't stop playing these two cities for some reason.
It didn't improve that much over the original but I still think it was the better version.

And now we have Driv3r on the horizon. IGN have hands on impressions here.
I've been looking forward to this game ever since I heard about it and have already set aside enough money for the purchase in two weeks. :)
Judging by the videos it looks like it will be just as awesome as the previous two titles and I can't wait. :)

Tanner rocks! I too have both Driver games, but I still think that the first installment is better than the sequel. Although Driver 2 had some cool settings, the graphics were like what GT2 was when compared to its predecessor (sp?).

I just hope the loading times are less long in Driv3r!! :(

Sounds like the foot sections are a bit weak, but at least the driving part sounds good. I'll wait and see what people say before getting this first though.

Driver 2 was easily one of my favourite games on the PSone. Despite some of the negative reviews I felt the game was real gem, introduced on foot gameplay, had a compelling storyline, and the only real thing holding it back was the console it was developed for.

Needless to say I can't wait for the third iteration. :)

I was all set for this game, then all of sudden I lost interest. :unsure:
I'll wait for reviews before I decided whether it's even worth getting.

Well I was going to wait for reviews of the game as well, but because a lot of reviews for Driver 2 weren't exactly good I'm gonna ignore them and get it anyway. I'm doing this because I enjoyed Driver 2 too much, regardless of the faults that the reviews focused on..

I'm a little peeved to notice that Reflections dropped a proposed GCN version of the game a little while back...

Yeah, I remember that. Shame as the Cube missed out again. :|

Ninty fans are gonna be missing something great! :)

Was it Reflection Studios that made Destruction Derby or was it Psygnosis? Sorry to go off topic... :|

Reflections.

Well I got mum to go into my local EB today (yesterday actually) and ask for it. According to them the game isn't out until this friday. So when I found out the news I just though "oh well, I can wait". Then I jump online to find that apparently it has been released at a Coffs Harbour EB and also up in Queensland in some places too. This annoys me quite a bit because I was told friday. <_<
Now I have to give EB a call again or something and find out what the.. is going on.
Oh and there is a (reader) review over at the Hyper forums so I guess it is out.

IGN didn't really like the game and neither did Gamespot. Like I said before, I won't use these reviews as a judgement until I play the game myself. Now to find out what's going on...

After reading several Net reviews I think I may not take the plunge and instead rent the game instead of buying immediately. Despite the rather mixed reviews for the sequel as well Gamespot did give the second installment pretty high praises yet it and IGN have said the third iteration is extremely average in almost exactly same areas.

All I can say is wow. Seriously, if the Xbox can't handle it's graphics then what the hell is it gonna be like on PlayStation 2?!? I'm giving this game a very wide berth, no doubt about that. Bring on GTA SA!!

*throws Reflections under an oncoming truck*

For those who can't be bothered reading any reviews, here's some of the things I've found in the last 20 mins-

-Pop-up that would make rice bubbles jealous.
-Cars get stuck in objects like streetpoles and benchs.
-AI is terrible. For example, if a cop is chasing you in a car and you get out then jump over something like a barrier on a freeway, the cop will just keep ramming the barrier trying to drive through it.
-There's no targetting for guns. You face the general direction of the enemy, shoot and hope for the best.
-Missions ARE NOT COMPLETELY OPEN AS WE WERE PROMISED.

For crying out loud, GTA3 had things better than this! The noodle stand owner you have to chase out of town? Why chase him when you can just put a bomb in his car? Or making a mess of Salvatore Leone's convoy? Why do that when you can snipe him as he leaves his club?

-I don't think I quite covered pop-up well enough. It's so bad (even on Xbox) that when a car pops up in front of you, you don't have enough time to react and crash into it.
-It suffers from GTA3's "blue hell" problem (textures not loading fast enough), but on buildings (and anything else that has a texture assumably).
-There's problem's with the game's scripting.

NO!!! BAD REFLECTIONS!!! :flamethrower:

Why the hell have they done this?!? Why have they released a game that clearly hasn't had enough development time? Is it because they were trying to beat the release of San Andreas and gain entry to the "Greatest Driving-Crime-Action Game" hall of fame first? Well ACCESS DENIED!!! Try the "Biggest Turd of a Driving-Crime-Action Game Since The Getaway" hall of shame, second door on the left.

This really pisses me off. They promised us a brilliant game, they said it wasn't going to be "another GTA3 clone". Well at least they delivered on that last part, a GTA3 clone wouldn't be SUCH A BIG STEAMING TURD OF A GAME.

:pole:

As I said before, bring on San Andreas.

Hey guys, check it out! Its Tommy! In Driv3r!!!


:P

I think you are being a little harsh TJO, especially since you are yet to play the game and all.

I used to get Official PS2 Mag, but its way too expensive for me right now. Plus HYPER covers almost everything, except a demo. :( Does anyone know when we'll be seeing a Driv3r demo? Thanks!

I think he raises valid points. He's only reinforcing what almost every review says about the game - it's unfinished and clunky. I doubt anyone would all of a sudden like or appreciate the game as soon as they play it.

I'll give it a rent to see how bad it really is.

Well I have the game now but I haven't really formed an opinion just yet as I haven't really had the chance to play it much.
After the first 5 minutes of play though I can definately see where every review is coming from as the popup is quite pathetic. The camera while you're on foot absolutely sucks as well. <_<
All I did today really was Take a Ride in both Miami and Nice to get used of the controls after playing so much GTA3. I did start the missions but found that even with the TV quite loud I couldn't hear the voices so now I have to restart and have the subtitles on. (something I should've done anyway)
The game has definately been rushed though and I think it's quite clear they released it early because they knew how good SA will be. What I'm disappointed with the most is that Reflections used to take their time with their games and now they just rush them. (Stuntman anyone?)
Also what sucks is the fact that Reflections were taking their time with this title and then all of a sudden it's out. :rolleyes:

I shall give it a thorough play after I get offline and also tomorrow and I'll be back with proper impressions. Although to be honest I can't see it being anywhere near as good as the first two....*


*and that's saying something, considering how much I enjoyed the first two.

hmmm i had high hopes for this game now i dunno if i want it lol
i heard it was wicked and now i can`t be bothered but i might see if i can get it ........

Well the PS2 version is averaging around 70% on gamerankings which suggests that it is definitely above average. I'm not trying to vividly defend the game, however what happened to games that recieved mixed reviews Civic that have either a love/hate relationship?

I was having a little muck around on this game at a friends house and I hate it. If anyone owns this I would look at trying to offload this steaming piece of shit as fast as possible.

A lot of the reviews have really hacked it pieces. Disappointing, but when there's so many negative things said about it from just about everyone, then you can't really say it would be a positive purchase. Oh well, I'll put the $90 towards something else.

I noticed it has mixed reviews, but in my eyes, for this game to be getting mediocre reviews is just not on. It's meant to be like a "hollywood blockbuster", but what we got was an unfinished and obviously rushed product.
One thing is to get mixed reviews because of gameplay, and another when the game has so many glitches, bugs and uninspired gameplay that it brings the game down, which I believe is the case with Driv3r. Heck, I'm sure driving around recklesly in the city is fun, but what's the point when glitches like your car getting stuck on a roadside pole happen mid-mission?

I've heard of some rather amusing bugs from one reviewer

I'm so glad I didn't pre-order this game

*hugs non-spent cash then loses it all playing online Blackjack with my credit card*
damn card glitches...

Whatever! We should all wait for the Hyper review! :rolleyes:


EDIT:

I don't read Hyper anymore :P

Same. :D

Neither.

I find it unreliable and boring.

I agree its kinda [/i]different[i] now that Eliots gone. With the mannerisms, the whistles, the Amos'... :rolleyes: And that E3 report is way too late!!

:lol:
That first one is good.

Why? Will that make the game good? :P

Well I've played a bit more of the game and I can easily say that it's the worst Driver game in the series. It's not pure crap and I have had some fun but it seriously is a disappointment. I'll probably finish it, find all the secrets then go back to the legendary GTA.

Oh and so much for the whole 75% car, 25% on foot mission ratio. I feel like I've been on foot more then in a car...

Damn, that does sound like a steamy pile of crap. Tough luck Nismo, you should take it back.

Boy am I glad I didn't buy this one on my impulse shopping fits.

I gave it a rent and didn't find it too bad. Definitely above average but still a game that was unfinished and incomplete at time of release. For some reason I can seem to pass aside faults in games like this though, I for one throughly enjoyed both Driver 2 and The Getaway, two games that also recieved mixed opinions.

But wasnt GTA quite buggy as well on First impressions? I remember people calling it deeply flawed, but revolutionary,

Ditto.


I want to see what EDGE give it! :dance2:

I'm guessing they'll give it a score of.....3 out of 10. :P

As much as it was a disappointment I don't think I will...

To be honest I kinda knew you that you would like Driv3r. You seem to be like me when it comes to these types of games and you can find the fun in them or something. Although if you ask me Getaway was a dog..

Well I'm not sure about first impressions but it sure does have it's bugs. The difference between Driv3r and the GTA games is that the GTA games are fun no matter what you end up doing. Driv3r is only fun in parts..

Okay some impressions or something.

I've finished the missions in both Miami and Nice and I'm now up to Istanbul. Personally I think the story doesn't really tie in with the previous installment but I haven't finished it yet so we'll see.

The cities themselves are huge but I think Turkey is rather dull and boring. The same can be said for Nice aswell so this is another problem with the game. The vehicles on offer are relatively good with some sweet bikes and cars to be found in the first two cities. (Nice and Miami) Unfortunately the secret cars are way too easy to find and are pretty bad as well. When finding secret cars I don't particularly want to be finding vans with flowers on the side. <_<

Meh that'll do for now, once I finish the game I'll do a review of my own.
One thing to take in account though, what all the reviews are saying is true, but there is fun to be had with the title. (even if it only last for 10 minutes...)

I was thinking of getting Driv3r but after reading all this I think I'll just wait for GTA-SA :ph43r:

I finished Driv3r last week. It only took me about 3-4 days to complete it. I only consider myself an above average gamer, but when I like a game/series I really wanna finish it. So here are my final impressions.

Why have a shooting game for the last level when the game is called Driv3r??

This has the worst..ending...eva. I won't spoil it for you but after the last few tough missions..it was certainly dissapointing.

As I'm a fan of the Driver series, I can certainly appreciate some of the games finer points and these are bloody good. But there are some serious flaws as well.

The Driver games have always been about long car chases, hence the need for large/massive/uber cities. Trying to cram all this texture detail and have everything run smothly into 3 MASSIVE cities will cause some graphic issues...which the game clearly showed ie. framerate issues galore, horrendous pop up and some very bland, blurry textures ie cliffs, grass. The building textures however were damn good. As were the lighting effects, driving in Nice with the sunset and shadows were pretty stuff indeed. Maybe having 2 cities could have nullified the above problems (and no shooting missions )

What this game didn't need were the shooting missions. Give me more long speed car chases. The shooting missions were just generic, run of the mill, trial and error wish wash. Some of these got hard as the game went along, but after you knew where the enemies were (and the health packs) they weren't so hard. It was good how the target changed to red when it was aimed correctly at the enemy, but moving the aim cursor was too slow and cumbersone. In the last shooting level, the AI of your teamates is horrendous. They suicidally (especially Jones) run into 6 guys firing bullets left, right and centre. I swore at this bugger so many time...lol.. Mission over

The 2 levels were you shot enemies in the back of the car however, weren't so bad. In one level in Istanbul, you get to use the grenade launcher in the back of the van on the police cars chasing you. Man, seeing a well timed shot and these cars go flying for a good 20 meteres or so is hilarious.


Car handling...AWESOME. The game's strength by a mile. Great job Reflections. The car chase missions in Istanbul were do-able but challenging. Especially when chasing the Bagman and Calita. You really need to use the handbreak and apply the right amount of pressure. When you pull off a sliding, well executed turn it's a sweet, sweet feeling.

The car explosions were awesome. I love seeing the wheels go everywhere as well as the car's body parts. The bullet holes in the car are a mixed result. One bit I found funny was in the speed mission (go under 50 k's and your car blows up) and the car explodes, Tanner one time was just sitting in his seat after 20 metres or so of bouncing around

I'm not sure about the thrill cam, as the game requires lots of concentration..it's probably better left to the film director.

The video scenes are well done and smooth..but the story isn't really gripping. Most of the time I was just wanting them to hurry up so I could play the missions. The recapping of the missions after a loaded saved game however was a nice touch.

Music wise, this game had some good tracks, mainly heard in the video sequences. In Istanbul you had appropriate Middle Eastern music playing. And in other cities after when you were in the middle of shooting bad guys, fast music played but after you shot them it went back to "normal". Same if you were spotted by the bad guys when driving, sometimes the music change its tempo.


I had a lot of fun with Driv3r, but it could have been oh so much better. While it was dissapointing, in my honest and non fanboi opinion, it's not quite the complete rubbish some people in reviews and forums have suggested.

Exactly what I was going to point out. I distinctly remember Hyper doing a small preview of GTA3 around one month before its release and pretty much tearing the game to shreds stating that Rockstar had a lot of bugs to iron out before release. I think critics ignored some of these faults that were still in the game upon release due to the ambitious and revolutionary game engine Rockstar had developed. I for one definitely did not find the mission structure within GTA 3 or Vice City revolutionary to say the least.

After hiring the game I'm pretty sure I won't be purchasing it, especially at its RRP. The on-foot missions are really bad and definitely come as a chore in comparision to the driving aspect. Similar faults with the on-foot elements in Driver 2 weren't nearly as apparent due to the fact no weapons or swimming modes were incorporated, complicating things in this installment enomously. Much more benefical to rent the game several times to complete rather than have it sitting after completion with a $100 price tag forever.

A couple of weeks ago I said I was going to purchase Driv3r... I got Manhunt instead! :D Its pretty good. My version is uncensored (NTSC) and there's heaps of naughty stuff. Should keep me busy for atleast 3 weeks...