Driver 2

Improving on the original was always going to be
tough. Driver succeeded partially because it was so
original - so that's one thing this sequel has got
against it for a start!

It also made the player feel truly in demand by leaving
an answering machine stuffed with messages relating to
potential 'jobs' (and a few comedy wrong numbers chucked
in for good measure) and allowing you the freedom to
pick and choose which mission you'd like to do. This
sequel eradicates this nice touch, instaed of favouring
one, long, continuous, drawn-out story that takes
original anti-hero, Tanner and his new, Huggy Bear-
voiced, side-kick to a succession of crime-riddled
cities. Tampering with such a successful formula was
risky, but thankfully Reflections has ensured that it
pays off.

Driver 2: Back On The Streets retains the same juicy
thrill-of-the-chase feel of the first game and builds
a new realistic structure around it so that you feel as
though you're essentially playing the same game, but
constantly noticing new additions. Including curved
roads. Indeed, until this 'revolutionary' (mainly because
it was so bloody hard to do, grumbled Reflections) new
feature was proudly pointed out did we realise that
every single road in the original Driver was rigidly
straight.

These new, bendy, roads do actually enhance the playing
experience though as the chases become a lot more
interesting when you can screech around bends and add a
new racing line into your strategy.

The biggest new feature though is Tanner's ability to get
out of the cars and clump around on foot. It's kind of
like how Grand Theft Auto would be in full 3-D and it
works surprisingly well. Tanner is no Olympic sprinter,
mind, when parhaps at times he should be.

The hectic missions when you find yourself having to
chase down a vehicle to steal are a chore - when Tanner
at times looks like he's doing the Jackson moonwalk. But
the ability to switch vehicles during missions adds a
nice new twist as you can actually start to fathom
which car might be best suited to the mission in hand.

Driver 2 is significantly bigger than the original - and
it comes with 2 discs. These contain about 40 different
missions that span four major cities, namely Chicago,
Havana, Vegas and Rio. The global switches in location
introduce yet more nice features, like the localised
vehicles and lingo. It constantly keeps the game feeling
fresh, as you explore new cultures and surroundings with
the cities being more realistic than ever before.

Driver 2 also works well as a two-player game. The
standard cops 'n' robbers game is a bit drab, but we had
a great laugh on 'catch the flag'. The idea is simply
to get to marker points before your opponent, but this
is heightened when you start spotting sneaky short cuts.

The difficulty of Driver was a problem - you could
happily breeze through most of the game before it got
obscenely difficult right on the final mission. The
challenge factor is up and down in Driver 2, with each
city having its fair share of easy and hard missions. It
certainly keeps you on your toes, though, Graphically,
Driver 2 suffers from crude pop-up and slow down at
times, but you forgive it because of the sheer weight
of the package it delivers. The cultish Director's mode
is back, and eaiser to use, so the option to save your
best 'takes' on the replays is still there. There are
bound to be many great moments as well, the architecture
sees to that. Chicago has its rising bridges that screem
out for the river jump, and Havana has streets so narrow
that problems with car speeding down the wrong way in a
one-way street are rife.

For all its minor faults we'll forgive Driver 2. After
all, we have been through the entire game several times
and still feel the draw. It is without doubt the best
racing game available on the PS one. it feels polished,
it plays as good as ever and it is twice the size. What
more could we ask?