Given the amount of advertising that has been going on since the winter months, I don’t think that Atari’s blockbuster needs any real introduction. If you have been living under a rock by a stream for the last year though, DRIV3R – in its most basic form – is a mix of Grand Theft Auto III and Metal Gear Solid, with a little bit of Rainbow Six thrown in for good measure. A heady brew indeed, but have the hard work, expensive commercials and copious amounts of column inches brought us to the beginnings of a revolution’
From the moment the game first loads up, you can tell that a lot of work has gone into making DRIV3R into a cinematic experience. From the DVD styled menu system to the wonderfully clever “Previously in DRIV3R” refresher that appears when you reload a saved game, everything smacks of a higher level of quality. The star of the show, Tanner, is portrayed beautifully in the cutscenes (as are everyone and everything else), with the storyline throwing up a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns that will keep even the most skeptical of plot-watchers happy.
Some of Tanner’s moves are impressive too. The “leap from a moving car” that is quickly becoming the norm in games like this can be accomplished to good effect, and the ability to go for a swim in the sea after you’ve fallen from your boat is an unexpected bonus when you’re used to the instant death that water provides in GTA3. Explorable building interiors provide a welcome change to running about in the open air, and the mission possibilities that this development provides are used to great effect.
However, not is all rosy in the DRIV3R garden. The high quality of the cutscenes can cause a real sense of disappointment when they fade out and the gameplay graphics appear on screen. Obviously, we aren’t at movie-quality CGI level yet on the Xbox but nowhere is the contrast starker than here. The level of popup and slowdown that occurs is also somewhat of a fly in the soup here too, especially when you recall that the game is somewhat cruelly locked at a rate of thirty frames per second.
As was said before, some of the missions are wonderfully inventive and provide enough cinematic action for the game’s “Film Director” mode to show off its “Auto Director” option with aplomb. Early on, a mission sees you wrecking a late-payer’s car yard. You have a set amount of time to complete the destruction, and only your car as a weapon. Very quickly you realize that the barrels set up around the yard (generally placed conveniently just after a ramp) are filled with some sort of flammable liquid, so busting your car through them will cause a suitably large explosion. Whilst driving, the paintwork is being riddled with holes from the copious amounts of gunfire coming from the defenders of the yard, but for the most part, this can be ignored as your car will have to take a lot of damage before being classed as a write-off.
As for that damage, there are a fair few different breakable parts on your car. Wheels come off when they take a big enough hit, with the tyres puncturing when shot. Fenders drop off, hoods fly up and lights get blown out. The vehicles really are well done, with seventy or so to choose from, including boats, big rigs and motorbikes. We like variety, and as Michael Madsen points out in “The Making of DRIV3R” that comes as an extra on the disc, they really all do handle and take damage differently, and will take a few moments to get used to as you switch between them.
Unfortunately, the mission goals are not generally pointed out particularly well and this can lead to confusion when the mission is almost over. On another early mission where you must sink a boat, you obtain and plant some explosives and make a run for the exit. Hopping on your boat, you speed away from the impending explosion, trying to get as far away as possible before…beep. The timer hits zero. The cutscene begins to play. Your boat is not visible in the cutscene and then…BANG!…down she goes to Davy Jones’ Locker. Another mission complete, you think, until a message appears on the screen stating that you were too close to the boat and have failed. Try again. And again. And again. Infuriating to say the least, and if it only happened on that mission you could forgive it, but it doesn’t. Time and again you’ll see a cutscene that doggedly promotes the idea that you have done well when in actuality, you’ve failed.
So the final verdict’ This is a tough one. When a game receives as much hype as DRIV3R has, there is generally (with a few notable exceptions) enough substance to the game to warrant a high score. When a game has as many nice touches as DRIV3R does, that generally warrants a high score too. On the other hand, when a game has some fairly basic flaws and not particularly outstanding in-game graphics, that could constitute a low score. The reason that I’m giving DRIV3R an above average mark is that it is an above average game. Most people will love the intense action and gunplay that features so prominently, whilst putting up with the control issues, occasional camera problems and sometimes downright annoying fact at you can complete a mission and feel very proud of yourself, before being told that you failed and that you have to do it all again.
If you liked GTA3 and/or True Crime: Streets of L.A., then this will tide you over until your next fix. If you didn’t, then you should probably give it a whirl anyway, even if just to find out what all the hype is about. DRIV3R is a potentially great game, marred by some lazy execution in some of the most basic of areas.
