Game Information

PSM Quote: "Gorgeous to look at and statisfying to play ..."
PSM Score: 9/10

Price: £29.99
Released:
March 1999
Extras:

Lets start by looking at the options Driver comes with...Undercover, Take a ride, Driving games, Training and The Film Director. The main option is the Undercover mode where you take the role of Tanner, a maverick cop who hands in his badge to go undercover to take on the kingpin of crime - Castaldi! The plot thickens as you get further into the game, and you will find yourself driving around Miami, San-Francisco, LA and New York, and all four cities are beautifully mapped giving you a real sense of 'being there'.

This mode of play starts by you having to complete a series of task, such as doing a hand break turn, or spinning around backwards...this all has to be done in a set time and this sets the scene perfectly for what is to follow...

This option is mission based, however, you could just simply drive around any one of the four cities, admiring the graphics, the lighting effects, the way the computer controlled cars(and there are a few) drive around the city like real people...stopping at red lights, and beeping their horns if you decide to crash into them or cut them up, then there's the police...

"the missions are such that you really want to complete them...and you do get some satisfaction from completing a mission..."

You could, but the missions are such that you really want to complete them...and you do get some satisfaction from completing a mission. Missions range from picking up bank robbers and taking them to a certain point on the map, or just simply trying to get to the other side of town within a set time limit. All these missions take place with police cars on the lose, and if they see you spinning down the street being reckless...they'll have ya!

There is loads of fun to be had simply by getting the cops on your tail...once they get onto you, there's no stopping them, but that's another story. The missions are really well thought out and get harder and harder...lets just say, you won't be completing this mode in one sitting! It does have to be said that this mode is let down by a poor last level, however, more on that later...

So the remaining options, Take a Ride is simply that...select a city and take a ride, do what you want, the choice is yours...the cops are on the lose and so you still have to watch your tail, but this mode can be played anyway you want to.

The next option, 'Driving game' is a great little addition and is good fun for both one or two players...it isn't an out and out two player game, but most of the tasks are time based, and so you could play your mates to see who can get the fastest time. These times can be saved to memory card and are then arranged in a high score table. The 'Driving game' option is spilt into 6 little games, and these range from trying to smash up a bad guy, read chase HQ, or simply trying to lose the police from your tail...the modes are well thought out again and offer a great challenge!

There is also a training mode where you can race around a race track set in the desert, again this is time based and so you can try to improve on your lap time until you reach a perfect lap...this option is really used to get to grips with the handling of the cars! Then there's the Film Director option, this option is simply too complex to explain in this review, but the basic idea is that once a mission has finished you can save the reply onto a Memory card and then create your own 'film'. This is a fantastic option and works wonders...the only problem is, that it takes a while to master and some people simply won't find out what fun can be had from this option...due to it's complexity.

"it's simply breath taking...you will be amazed!"

Well, that's the options covered...what about the sound, the graphics and more importantly how the thing plays, well, read on...Firstly the graphics are simply stunning, the level of detail, not just on the cars, but also on the tracks and the track side obstacles, it's simply breath taking...you will be amazed! The sound is at an equally high level, the sound of the engines is fantastic and the music is 70's car chase music...really good and fits in perfectly to this game...

Now, the most important part...how does it play? Well, it plays like a dream, a wet one...it really is an absolute joy! This is down to the same reason why Super MarioKart is so good, the handling! Its just perfect and feels so right, before you know it, you'll be sliding around corners, smashing into barriers, just missing a cop car as a passer by runs for cover and then you'll hear the horn from a passing car...then you'll hear the police siren!!! It's moments like this that are just few and far between in games now a days, this is a completely original concept.

Even the way in which missions are given to you is original...you stay in a motel and collect missions via your answer phone, this is great fun and you can select which mission you wish to accept if you have more then one. The missions are fun yet challenging and they do get harder and harder...you will be challenged to the max with this game, and you will be loving every second of it...or will you?

The game, like most, does have its bad points firstly, it is full of bugs, especially on the later levels. The funniest one this reviewer has come across, has to be the 'get out of my house' bug. On the last level, were total mayhem is happening, you can actually get hit with such force from a Police car, that you actually get pushed inside one of the buildings...once inside, there is no way out. You are simply stuck inside and are forced to press the Reset button on the good old Playstation.

There are many other bugs, and this really isn't acceptable for a Playstation game after all, it would only have been a case of a few extra weeks in the testing department to iron the bleeders out. There are other problems with the game, such as the way the computer cars, as good as the AI is, seem to drive around without knowing where the player is. They will sometimes simply pull out right in front of you, or simply drive into you at the traffic lights.

These are small problems, and this reviewer is really only nit picking...but feels that it does have to be said! All in all...Driver is not only an original game, but also a game that will start a whole new genre! I'm not sure if it will go down as a classic, due to the bugs, but if it does...it deserves too!

Kevin Preston

Return to HomePage