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This thread has been linked to the game 'Driv3r'.
Umm... tough one...
I will s**tart off with saying that I couldn't agree more with the reviews the game received as quite simply if you s**tart to dissect it you will find a PSONE game with a PS2 s**tyle shell which does have the awful feeling of a multi format paint job. When Reflections took on Driv3r I don't think they realised what the public expect from games these days, merely patching up Driver 2 here and there (leaving the majority of faults from it in Driv3r) was never going to be enough as at its heart Driver 2 was a tired extension to the awesome Driver which was one of the bes**t titles on the PSONE. Yes visually it 'looks' better if you count firs**t eye impressions but when you get deeper into the game you will notice some truly unforgivable programming that was rightfully ripped to pieces. At its heart though it does remain true to the original Driver and despite my firs**t impressions of 'what the hell?!' I have to say, I am quite enjoying it now...
With the obvious technical flaws aside I can't help but enjoy the Undercover mode and if it wasn't for the fact that I enjoyed the original career mode I would have definitely taken the game back after my 40 odd minutes of firs**t play in Free Mode where I practically ran into every glitch the game suffers from. You probably don't need me to say this but the on-foot sections not only look early PS2 in terms of s**tyle but Tanner handles like a late PSONE 3rd person game ripped from a movie script, it really is that bad. Thankfully however the game's main focus is on the driving and as mentioned above it does s**tay true to the Driver format.
The handling on the cars is as great as it ever was only with more variation and the obvious inclusion of the bikes and boats which don't feel out of place. The bikes handle far better than the ones in Vice City which would be expected through natural progression, with this game though you can't take natural progression for granted, thankfully though they didn't tamper with the superb car physics which make the chases great fun and very cinematic despite the shocking vehicle AI...
During my firs**t 45 minute through of Free Ride I ran into some really bad on-foot AI however I didn't hit any 'smack bang obvious' vehicle problems which a lot of reviews pointed out, this was of course before I decided to have a play around further... Picture this, driving along a freeway in Miami, a tense police chase is coming to the end, I breath a sigh of relief after getting over some shocking slow down but overall a very interes**ting chase; as I hit the main freeway the screen flashes red and a police car on the other side picks me up. By this point I am thinking the wors**t as my car has basically been shot to sh*t and I am driving slower due to the high car damage. Jus**t when I thought I was in trouble again the perusing police car turns and drives s**traight into the 'smack bang obvious' (it had to be said again) road block which was separating the two sides of the freeway, I drive away without any further problems...
Jus**t one of many examples of what happened in Driver and Driver 2 on the PSONE which you would expect with today’s technology advancements would be eradicated from the game, especially with the extra CPU power to handle clever AI. An overlook? I don't think it was, I personally think it was down to the fact that too much time was spent getting a glamorous cas**t together and they jus**t didn't want to spend the extra time on something they thought people wouldn't bother about; how wrong they were...
I know I am playing on the negatives but it's so difficult to brush pas**t some glaring failures on the part of the development team and as seen with Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, it isn't enough to try and paint a pretty shell onto a series which needed to impress on next generation consoles.
On a positive note the FMV scenes are superbly directed and well cas**t, Michael Madsen plays the lead role of Tanner very well, suits the role perfectly for those who have seen the likes of Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill. The cas**t grows bigger although the inclusion of Michelle Rodriquez makes me ques**tion how much quality they wanted... As with Riddick, the voice acting though is second to none.
The Director Mode is excellent and would possibly agree that the game is worth it if you have someone on LIVE to swap with. I have a decent lad on my lis**t who I have swapped a few videos with across LIVE and the feature is practically faultless and it will certainly keep the life of the game going once I have knocked off the Undercover mode.
Another nice addition is the ability to slow down time with a cinematic camera during any of the driving modes. By pressing the Black button time will slow down showing your car from a 3rd person camera which rotates around the car, an excellent feature to use to make the cop chases look even better than they already do.
As mentioned at the s**tart, the reviews are spot on and it deserved all of the negative attention as at its heart the game feels/is a sloppy, rushed and overall pretty poor game... from a technical point of view that is. For a Driver fan like myself the game took a lot of getting used to as my expectations far exceeded what the game delivered which was quite the opposite of what I was expecting. All this aside I can't help but enjoy being back with a Driver title and all the GTA hype (well deserved I agree) and discussion in the world weren't going to make up for the fact that Driver is a very unique game of its own kind.
Full of flaws but excellent fun to play for Driver fans, everyone else will be gutted; I can pretty much guarantee that.
I will s**tart off with saying that I couldn't agree more with the reviews the game received as quite simply if you s**tart to dissect it you will find a PSONE game with a PS2 s**tyle shell which does have the awful feeling of a multi format paint job. When Reflections took on Driv3r I don't think they realised what the public expect from games these days, merely patching up Driver 2 here and there (leaving the majority of faults from it in Driv3r) was never going to be enough as at its heart Driver 2 was a tired extension to the awesome Driver which was one of the bes**t titles on the PSONE. Yes visually it 'looks' better if you count firs**t eye impressions but when you get deeper into the game you will notice some truly unforgivable programming that was rightfully ripped to pieces. At its heart though it does remain true to the original Driver and despite my firs**t impressions of 'what the hell?!' I have to say, I am quite enjoying it now...
With the obvious technical flaws aside I can't help but enjoy the Undercover mode and if it wasn't for the fact that I enjoyed the original career mode I would have definitely taken the game back after my 40 odd minutes of firs**t play in Free Mode where I practically ran into every glitch the game suffers from. You probably don't need me to say this but the on-foot sections not only look early PS2 in terms of s**tyle but Tanner handles like a late PSONE 3rd person game ripped from a movie script, it really is that bad. Thankfully however the game's main focus is on the driving and as mentioned above it does s**tay true to the Driver format.
The handling on the cars is as great as it ever was only with more variation and the obvious inclusion of the bikes and boats which don't feel out of place. The bikes handle far better than the ones in Vice City which would be expected through natural progression, with this game though you can't take natural progression for granted, thankfully though they didn't tamper with the superb car physics which make the chases great fun and very cinematic despite the shocking vehicle AI...
During my firs**t 45 minute through of Free Ride I ran into some really bad on-foot AI however I didn't hit any 'smack bang obvious' vehicle problems which a lot of reviews pointed out, this was of course before I decided to have a play around further... Picture this, driving along a freeway in Miami, a tense police chase is coming to the end, I breath a sigh of relief after getting over some shocking slow down but overall a very interes**ting chase; as I hit the main freeway the screen flashes red and a police car on the other side picks me up. By this point I am thinking the wors**t as my car has basically been shot to sh*t and I am driving slower due to the high car damage. Jus**t when I thought I was in trouble again the perusing police car turns and drives s**traight into the 'smack bang obvious' (it had to be said again) road block which was separating the two sides of the freeway, I drive away without any further problems...
Jus**t one of many examples of what happened in Driver and Driver 2 on the PSONE which you would expect with today’s technology advancements would be eradicated from the game, especially with the extra CPU power to handle clever AI. An overlook? I don't think it was, I personally think it was down to the fact that too much time was spent getting a glamorous cas**t together and they jus**t didn't want to spend the extra time on something they thought people wouldn't bother about; how wrong they were...
I know I am playing on the negatives but it's so difficult to brush pas**t some glaring failures on the part of the development team and as seen with Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, it isn't enough to try and paint a pretty shell onto a series which needed to impress on next generation consoles.
On a positive note the FMV scenes are superbly directed and well cas**t, Michael Madsen plays the lead role of Tanner very well, suits the role perfectly for those who have seen the likes of Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill. The cas**t grows bigger although the inclusion of Michelle Rodriquez makes me ques**tion how much quality they wanted... As with Riddick, the voice acting though is second to none.
The Director Mode is excellent and would possibly agree that the game is worth it if you have someone on LIVE to swap with. I have a decent lad on my lis**t who I have swapped a few videos with across LIVE and the feature is practically faultless and it will certainly keep the life of the game going once I have knocked off the Undercover mode.
Another nice addition is the ability to slow down time with a cinematic camera during any of the driving modes. By pressing the Black button time will slow down showing your car from a 3rd person camera which rotates around the car, an excellent feature to use to make the cop chases look even better than they already do.
As mentioned at the s**tart, the reviews are spot on and it deserved all of the negative attention as at its heart the game feels/is a sloppy, rushed and overall pretty poor game... from a technical point of view that is. For a Driver fan like myself the game took a lot of getting used to as my expectations far exceeded what the game delivered which was quite the opposite of what I was expecting. All this aside I can't help but enjoy being back with a Driver title and all the GTA hype (well deserved I agree) and discussion in the world weren't going to make up for the fact that Driver is a very unique game of its own kind.
Full of flaws but excellent fun to play for Driver fans, everyone else will be gutted; I can pretty much guarantee that.
I'm glad that Mav and Ali are giving honest views on the game, it certainly helps you decide on whether or not this game is for you and I must admit I gave it a few more goes before decided it wasn't my thing, based one what you two have both said, but in the end I personally couldn't look through it's flaws, it's a shame because I wanted to like it, I'll certainly pick it up when it's £20.
A nicely balanced review, and I'm glad you've given it the time it deserves.
I'd disagree with you on a few points - I've found the vehicle AI to be rather good on the whole, making for some exhilirating and unpredictable chases, though it's certainly flawed, as you say. Try driving to the top of a multi-storey car park for example, while being pursued - disaster.
I also personally feel that the majority of problems are identified in the Undercover mode. While brilliant at times, it often highlights key points of annoyance in the game - such as trying to get off a boat onto a enemy-ridden narrow pier (you're almost certain to fall into the sea or get shot to death). For me, the Take A Ride mode hasn't been so problematic.
Finally, I think the on-foot combat has been rather well implemented - aiming and shooting is certainly an improvement on Grand Theft Auto, in my opinion. It is, however, at the end of the day a heavily flawed game and a shadow of what it could and should have been.
I'd disagree with you on a few points - I've found the vehicle AI to be rather good on the whole, making for some exhilirating and unpredictable chases, though it's certainly flawed, as you say. Try driving to the top of a multi-storey car park for example, while being pursued - disaster.
I also personally feel that the majority of problems are identified in the Undercover mode. While brilliant at times, it often highlights key points of annoyance in the game - such as trying to get off a boat onto a enemy-ridden narrow pier (you're almost certain to fall into the sea or get shot to death). For me, the Take A Ride mode hasn't been so problematic.
Finally, I think the on-foot combat has been rather well implemented - aiming and shooting is certainly an improvement on Grand Theft Auto, in my opinion. It is, however, at the end of the day a heavily flawed game and a shadow of what it could and should have been.
I remember doing a certain mission (something about a train, or something), and really enjoying it.
Though you could've run over people. Which disappointed.
Though you could've run over people. Which disappointed.
You won't go wrong with Driv3r if you really enjoyed Driver 2. I personally feel that game is closer to the original than the sequel (the original is far superior) however the majority of reviews seem to think it carries on where Driver 2 left off.
I really enjoyed Driver 2, but never owned it, unfortunately.
By then though, you have to remember that people who bought it early on won't be playing it so you will be left with those who aren't Driver fans picking up the game. As I mentioned, if you aren't a Driver fan I really can't see you liking Driv3r because it is basically the same game only if you aren't a fan the chances are you won't be so forgiving for the shocking technical over looks.
I might get it towards Christmas on the cheap, just for directing.
Umm... tough one...
I will s**tart off with saying that I couldn't agree more with the reviews the game received as quite simply if you s**tart to dissect it you will find a PSONE game with a PS2 s**tyle shell which does have the awful feeling of a multi format paint job. When Reflections took on Driv3r I don't think they realised what the public expect from games these days, merely patching up Driver 2 here and there (leaving the majority of faults from it in Driv3r) was never going to be enough as at its heart Driver 2 was a tired extension to the awesome Driver which was one of the bes**t titles on the PSONE. Yes visually it 'looks' better if you count firs**t eye impressions but when you get deeper into the game you will notice some truly unforgivable programming that was rightfully ripped to pieces. At its heart though it does remain true to the original Driver and despite my firs**t impressions of 'what the hell?!' I have to say, I am quite enjoying it now...
With the obvious technical flaws aside I can't help but enjoy the Undercover mode and if it wasn't for the fact that I enjoyed the original career mode I would have definitely taken the game back after my 40 odd minutes of firs**t play in Free Mode where I practically ran into every glitch the game suffers from. You probably don't need me to say this but the on-foot sections not only look early PS2 in terms of s**tyle but Tanner handles like a late PSONE 3rd person game ripped from a movie script, it really is that bad. Thankfully however the game's main focus is on the driving and as mentioned above it does s**tay true to the Driver format.
The handling on the cars is as great as it ever was only with more variation and the obvious inclusion of the bikes and boats which don't feel out of place. The bikes handle far better than the ones in Vice City which would be expected through natural progression, with this game though you can't take natural progression for granted, thankfully though they didn't tamper with the superb car physics which make the chases great fun and very cinematic despite the shocking vehicle AI...
During my firs**t 45 minute through of Free Ride I ran into some really bad on-foot AI however I didn't hit any 'smack bang obvious' vehicle problems which a lot of reviews pointed out, this was of course before I decided to have a play around further... Picture this, driving along a freeway in Miami, a tense police chase is coming to the end, I breath a sigh of relief after getting over some shocking slow down but overall a very interes**ting chase; as I hit the main freeway the screen flashes red and a police car on the other side picks me up. By this point I am thinking the wors**t as my car has basically been shot to sh*t and I am driving slower due to the high car damage. Jus**t when I thought I was in trouble again the perusing police car turns and drives s**traight into the 'smack bang obvious' (it had to be said again) road block which was separating the two sides of the freeway, I drive away without any further problems...
Jus**t one of many examples of what happened in Driver and Driver 2 on the PSONE which you would expect with today’s technology advancements would be eradicated from the game, especially with the extra CPU power to handle clever AI. An overlook? I don't think it was, I personally think it was down to the fact that too much time was spent getting a glamorous cas**t together and they jus**t didn't want to spend the extra time on something they thought people wouldn't bother about; how wrong they were...
I know I am playing on the negatives but it's so difficult to brush pas**t some glaring failures on the part of the development team and as seen with Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, it isn't enough to try and paint a pretty shell onto a series which needed to impress on next generation consoles.
On a positive note the FMV scenes are superbly directed and well cas**t, Michael Madsen plays the lead role of Tanner very well, suits the role perfectly for those who have seen the likes of Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill. The cas**t grows bigger although the inclusion of Michelle Rodriquez makes me ques**tion how much quality they wanted... As with Riddick, the voice acting though is second to none.
The Director Mode is excellent and would possibly agree that the game is worth it if you have someone on LIVE to swap with. I have a decent lad on my lis**t who I have swapped a few videos with across LIVE and the feature is practically faultless and it will certainly keep the life of the game going once I have knocked off the Undercover mode.
Another nice addition is the ability to slow down time with a cinematic camera during any of the driving modes. By pressing the Black button time will slow down showing your car from a 3rd person camera which rotates around the car, an excellent feature to use to make the cop chases look even better than they already do.
As mentioned at the s**tart, the reviews are spot on and it deserved all of the negative attention as at its heart the game feels/is a sloppy, rushed and overall pretty poor game... from a technical point of view that is. For a Driver fan like myself the game took a lot of getting used to as my expectations far exceeded what the game delivered which was quite the opposite of what I was expecting. All this aside I can't help but enjoy being back with a Driver title and all the GTA hype (well deserved I agree) and discussion in the world weren't going to make up for the fact that Driver is a very unique game of its own kind.
Full of flaws but excellent fun to play for Driver fans, everyone else will be gutted; I can pretty much guarantee that.
I will s**tart off with saying that I couldn't agree more with the reviews the game received as quite simply if you s**tart to dissect it you will find a PSONE game with a PS2 s**tyle shell which does have the awful feeling of a multi format paint job. When Reflections took on Driv3r I don't think they realised what the public expect from games these days, merely patching up Driver 2 here and there (leaving the majority of faults from it in Driv3r) was never going to be enough as at its heart Driver 2 was a tired extension to the awesome Driver which was one of the bes**t titles on the PSONE. Yes visually it 'looks' better if you count firs**t eye impressions but when you get deeper into the game you will notice some truly unforgivable programming that was rightfully ripped to pieces. At its heart though it does remain true to the original Driver and despite my firs**t impressions of 'what the hell?!' I have to say, I am quite enjoying it now...
With the obvious technical flaws aside I can't help but enjoy the Undercover mode and if it wasn't for the fact that I enjoyed the original career mode I would have definitely taken the game back after my 40 odd minutes of firs**t play in Free Mode where I practically ran into every glitch the game suffers from. You probably don't need me to say this but the on-foot sections not only look early PS2 in terms of s**tyle but Tanner handles like a late PSONE 3rd person game ripped from a movie script, it really is that bad. Thankfully however the game's main focus is on the driving and as mentioned above it does s**tay true to the Driver format.
The handling on the cars is as great as it ever was only with more variation and the obvious inclusion of the bikes and boats which don't feel out of place. The bikes handle far better than the ones in Vice City which would be expected through natural progression, with this game though you can't take natural progression for granted, thankfully though they didn't tamper with the superb car physics which make the chases great fun and very cinematic despite the shocking vehicle AI...
During my firs**t 45 minute through of Free Ride I ran into some really bad on-foot AI however I didn't hit any 'smack bang obvious' vehicle problems which a lot of reviews pointed out, this was of course before I decided to have a play around further... Picture this, driving along a freeway in Miami, a tense police chase is coming to the end, I breath a sigh of relief after getting over some shocking slow down but overall a very interes**ting chase; as I hit the main freeway the screen flashes red and a police car on the other side picks me up. By this point I am thinking the wors**t as my car has basically been shot to sh*t and I am driving slower due to the high car damage. Jus**t when I thought I was in trouble again the perusing police car turns and drives s**traight into the 'smack bang obvious' (it had to be said again) road block which was separating the two sides of the freeway, I drive away without any further problems...
Jus**t one of many examples of what happened in Driver and Driver 2 on the PSONE which you would expect with today’s technology advancements would be eradicated from the game, especially with the extra CPU power to handle clever AI. An overlook? I don't think it was, I personally think it was down to the fact that too much time was spent getting a glamorous cas**t together and they jus**t didn't want to spend the extra time on something they thought people wouldn't bother about; how wrong they were...
I know I am playing on the negatives but it's so difficult to brush pas**t some glaring failures on the part of the development team and as seen with Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, it isn't enough to try and paint a pretty shell onto a series which needed to impress on next generation consoles.
On a positive note the FMV scenes are superbly directed and well cas**t, Michael Madsen plays the lead role of Tanner very well, suits the role perfectly for those who have seen the likes of Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill. The cas**t grows bigger although the inclusion of Michelle Rodriquez makes me ques**tion how much quality they wanted... As with Riddick, the voice acting though is second to none.
The Director Mode is excellent and would possibly agree that the game is worth it if you have someone on LIVE to swap with. I have a decent lad on my lis**t who I have swapped a few videos with across LIVE and the feature is practically faultless and it will certainly keep the life of the game going once I have knocked off the Undercover mode.
Another nice addition is the ability to slow down time with a cinematic camera during any of the driving modes. By pressing the Black button time will slow down showing your car from a 3rd person camera which rotates around the car, an excellent feature to use to make the cop chases look even better than they already do.
As mentioned at the s**tart, the reviews are spot on and it deserved all of the negative attention as at its heart the game feels/is a sloppy, rushed and overall pretty poor game... from a technical point of view that is. For a Driver fan like myself the game took a lot of getting used to as my expectations far exceeded what the game delivered which was quite the opposite of what I was expecting. All this aside I can't help but enjoy being back with a Driver title and all the GTA hype (well deserved I agree) and discussion in the world weren't going to make up for the fact that Driver is a very unique game of its own kind.
Full of flaws but excellent fun to play for Driver fans, everyone else will be gutted; I can pretty much guarantee that.