N'Al on 11/4/2015 at 16:25

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I present to you: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_(video_game_series)) The Driver series.

Now, first, a disclaimer: I've only actually played (to completion) one of the games in this series, and touched - for maybe about 8hrs total - a further one. Nevertheless, I've always had a great interest in this series given the potential it seemed to both have and ultimately squander in most cases.

That potential being a driving/racing game not focused on circuit racing, or point-to-point racing, or any sort of racing for that matter, but on car chases the like you see in the best cop movies - Bullit, The French Connection, The Driver (funnily enough), heck, The Blues Brothers.

I remember the first game being quite a big thing back in the day. A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BmlhwUmQG0) hard-as-nails 'training' level, a bizarrely rectangular road layout (no matter which city you were in), but a fun driving model and even a reasonably decent story. That story introduced series mainstay (for most of the games in the series, at least) John Tanner, an undercover detective who would use his superior driving skills to work his way up the ranks of various crime organisations to try and take them down from the inside. Personally, I did actually manage to complete the training mission on this one - after much trial and error - once I played the game well after its initial release, but I gave up on the game a few missions in afterwards. Still, the time I spent with it was pretty great.

Driver 2, then, tried to improve on Driver's formula, with more cars to drive, cities outside the US to visit, curved roads (!), but most of all: the ability to get out of the car and run around the city on foot. This was pre-GTA 3, but from what I understand, the on-foot control was simply embarrassing. As such, even though the game was received reasonably well, it is still considered a lesser version of its predecessor.

Driver 3 - more like Driv3r - continued the downward trend. Remembered more for alleged (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/commment-driv3r-controversy-raises-questions-for-games-media) 'bought' review scores than anything else, the game seems to be an absolute mess. By this point, GTA was demonstrating how to seamlessly combine on-foot and in-car action in an open world, so I suppose the developers/publishers tried to get in on the action. Didn't really work, from what I understand.

Which is probably why Driver: Parallel Lines and Driver 76 - neither game starring John Tanner - mostly got greeted with indifference, I guess. I believe objectively both are considered 'better' games than Driver 3, but by that time no one really gave a shit anymore.

Which is why Driver: San Francisco was such a pleasant surprise. It paired the gameplay back to its basics - driving - yet still allowed you to switch vehicles via the (http://driver.wikia.com/wiki/Shift_(Driver:_San_Francisco)) Shift mechanic. That seems to have helped, reviews were generally very positive. I completed this game late last year and had tons of fun with it - the driving model was sublime, imo. Highly recommended.


Given this 'unexpected comeback' of the series, then, it wouldn't be a surprise to expect the franchise to continue with a slew of great driving games.



Except, 4 years after the release of Driver: San Francisco we get this instead:

[video=youtube;L6fAgEffDnY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6fAgEffDnY[/video]

W

the

fucking

F.

N'Al on 11/4/2015 at 17:59

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There's more than enough cruising in this thread, so keep your disappointment to yourself.

henke on 11/4/2015 at 19:11

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Ok I gave it a whirl. You know the speedboat race missions in games like the GTAs or Saints Rows, or hell, Driv3r? Yeah, it's like those. It's not very good is what I'm saying. You're racing around a small course littered with nitropackages. During jumps you can swipe the screen to make your boat do barrelrolls and backflips. Then after a couple races World Famous Hero Cop Tanner shows up and tells you that someone needs to infiltrate the underground speedboat racing circuit but he can't do it because he's World Famous Hero Cop Tanner so it's up to you, kid!

On the plus side (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLzjm9E1hwg) "Ocean Drive" by Miami Nights 1984 plays in the menu and that's a cool tune!

henke on 13/4/2015 at 07:49

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Oh cool, Droid Bishop is a new one for me. Listening to them on Spotify right now, good stuff! :D

If you haven't heard them I'd also recommend (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfoLqZ-gtwU) Electric Youth. They've got a bunch of great songs.