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Eurotrash

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

It's pretty funny that a developer can record a "making of" segment on its game disc that chronicles its own screw-ups without even realizing them. Mr Edmonson brags that many years were spent just photographing and building the game's three cities, apparently oblivious that this waste of time was a primary reason for the game's failure. Had the team spent more time on gameplay and mission structure, and spent less time on architecture and idiotic neo-cool music videos, Driv3r could have been a smash.

Alarms begin to ring as soon as the game is fired up. The amazingly awkward main menu interface flummoxed me as I tried to simply go back and forth between settings menus. (And why cant I modify sound settings in game? And why in the world do I have to choose between English and BRAZILIAN languages at each startup, even after saving my profile?) It unfortunately gets worse the further you proceed through the game. As mentioned in other reviews, the amazingly awful default control scheme can be fixed with an analogue gamepad and some remapping. While the turning analogue sensitivity is perfect, there is strangely-or appropriately, considering the rest of the game-no analogue input for acceleration, making steady driving difficult.

The architecture of each city is pretty stunning. It's easy to see how the team spent years building the virtual landscapes, yet amazing how they could put such a weak game into them. Miami, while not the pink neon paradise of Vice City, is more realistic with a lot of white stucco structures and fantastic water effects. The only serious graphical criticism I can levy is the bizarre and unfixable lighting problem that causes many surfaces to flicker on and off. Brightness levels on certain objects are wrong, and there is a ridiculous bug in all car brakelights, which only illuminate when an outside light source shines on them. The exact opposite of course of how they should be (brighter in darker surroundings).

Lots of hidden stunt points and vertically explorable architecture are built into, but sadly unused by, the game. Tragically only one Miami mission is conducted at night, when the city really comes to life visually. Nice and Istanbul are similarly underused. The game had so much potential for great chase sequences going far beyond the very limited and frustratingly stifling scope of those built in to the story.

Based on the review so far, you've probably concluded that all copies of the game should be assembled for a giant burning ceremony. Well, yes, but not until you've played the two or three great driving sequences in each city. If you have even the slightest affection for the wonderful Driver: You Are the Wheelman, then Driv3r is worth the trouble. The detail, physics, engine sounds, etc of each vehicle are fantastic. Every car has a distinct rumble, and appropriately tears apart bit by bit with each crash. While a bit too floaty, the screeching powersliding nature of the vehicle physics fits a wild chase game like Driv3r perfectly. It's a shame the people who made the game have no clue how to balance difficulty, or maintain suspense through a sequence lasting longer than 30 seconds. The most difficult part of every chase mission is the first five seconds, when the player is allowed barely enough milliseconds to turn the vehicle around to begin the chase. And the pursuant can be inexcplicably lost while still in plain view. (And why is a green GPS-style dot provided on the map when the mission fail distance is unrelated?) The on-foot missions are as bad as mentioned everywhere; I wont bother ripping into them because no amount of expletives can do them justice.

Worst of all, or perhaps mercifully, the game is short. I was amazed at how quickly I finished the story mode, even with the number of controller-tossing restarts due to bugs and random illogical mission failures. And the story itself, while intriguing, is disastrously told through the "flashback" convention. Only, the game mixes present and past tense in its presentation and cant decide whether to unfold events naturally or through Ving Rhames's voiceovers. I giggled at the asinine cutscenes, which reminded me of the two guys from SNL's "Roxbury" dance club sketch: trying too hard to be Euro-cool with too much cologne on their purple zoot suits. Worse, in their attempt to be so stylized with the storytelling, the developers did a poor job of conveying the relations of any of the characters with their connection to the mission. I generally spent my time rolling eyes during a cutscene, only to have it end with instructions to chase a green dot with no relevance to the cinema. And the hipster-doofus London techno punk bands used for the soundtrack can all stay underground as far as I care.

So while it would be easiest to throw away Driv3r as a complete failure, it does have great redeeming qualities in its arhitecture and fun 70s-style cop movie driving. It stands at least as a blueprint for sadistic game development: work extremely hard for five years, spend a truckload of your publisher's money, and make one of the most un-fun big budget games to hit the shelves this generation.

Supposed to be better than GTA, but not

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game spent a lot of time in production delays and was hyped up to be better looking (which it was), with better gameplay and storyline than GTA. However, the only fun thing to do is try to hit pedestrians and bash into other cars. When it was reviewed by many game magazines, it was apparent that they too were underwhelmed with it and immediately wrote it off. Driver, Parallel Lines though, is much better. It was created after the take-over by Ubisoft. The graphics are much better and the gameplay and storyline are also very good. It is still trumped by the new GTA 4, but nonetheless a major improvement and shows promise that the next one (if it is produced) will deliver on its promises. The best thing about this game is you can buy it cheap and it doesn't make a modern gaming pc break a sweat.

Lousy Support

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: January 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

this game does not load on the most common video cards. I am a Microsoft Partner, etc. and can't even get the game to load and run properly. Over a dozen documented contacts to tech support never get replies. To date, it has been 3 months and I have given up on the product and support.

far from reality

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 10
Date: October 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've been living in Istanbul for 25 years and I adore it's atmosphere and everything. but in this game you notice extreme differences if you've ever been to Ýstanbul. layouts and buildings are terribly designed, I'm just wondering who came over here to model the terrain and structures, graphics are totally disaster. layout looks like more Arabic or like 3rd world country. for those who want to convince themselves that Istanbul is like baghdad or any other middle eastern city they gotta come over here and take a look for a while. apart from this I already played the software and controls are wreckage!

Must have T&L video card!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 9
Date: October 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Don't buy this game unless you have a video card that supports transform and lighting. It won't work without it. Even many new video cards do not support this!

Eh.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: May 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game hoping it was something along the lines of the GTA series. It isn't really. It is very linear, which might be somewhat forgiveable, but its also very hard. In GTA, if you failed a difficult mission, you could just move on (unless you attracted a big police presence). Fail here, you start over from the beginning of the mission. I suspect the game might be a bit easier if the controls weren't so bad. I've tried modifing them to be more like GTA controls but it just can't quite be made to work.

Kinda dissapointed... but hey, whatever.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I walked into the game store, itching for a new game that could entertain me for a while. I picked up Driver 3 because all my friends said it was the shizznit (I forgot that was years ago when it first came out). The manager walking by said it was a cool game and it was only ten bucks (that kinda sold me).

First thoughts of the game where that the default controls are awful. Of course you can just change them in the options menu, but still, what was Atari thinking? Were they actually expecting me to steer a car using the "Z" and "X" keys? The rest are all messed up, it's as if when they were first setting the controls they put a blindfold on and started smashing buttons at random. Could have been avoided easily.

Don't be fooled by the pictures on the box or the images on amazon. The graphics are decent at best. Some things like cars, bikes, and water were all well done. But some of the scenery was real crappy. They could have done a better job with the roads as well.

The gameplay is hard. I have played all the Driver games in the series, and I feel that as the graphics got better, the gameplay got worse. THIS IS THE FIRST GAME THAT I HAVE EVER FLIPPED THE BIRD TO. Pretty frusterating levels, that you will have to restart over and over again. It's funny, at first Driver was strictly a driving game. Then in Driver 2, you could get out of your car and steal others. Now they're strapping you with guns (jump on the GTA band wagon why don't cha). The missions where you are on foot are lame. Tanner doesn't seem too agile. Simple things like jumping or swimming are laughable.

The music on the game's soundtrack is actually not that bad. It's worth looking up some of the artist and adds to the cutscenes. It really makes the game feel like a movie.

The cutscenes are pretty nice to look at, probably the best part of the game sadly. But it's also a lotta fun to jump cars off of make shift ramps and watch them explode into pieces. I guess it's worth a 10 spot if you've played all the recent games and need something to satisfy your craving. But don't say I didn't warn ya.

Good game!!!!!!!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: August 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game will provide hours of fun!!!!!!! After wining the game there is a freestyle mode called "take a ride", you can steal people's cars, shoot them up, crash the cars, kill COPS and more!!!!!!! You can choose from 3 different cities, Miami, Nice, and Istanbul. Istanbul is no fun at all...but the other 2 are great!!!!!!!
I do agree with some of the other reviews, the controls for when your out of the car are really bad!!!!!
But once your inside the car its Great!!!!

P.S. Its so fun racing around the cities tring to get away from the cops, I do that for hours.

just plain boring

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 11
Date: August 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game has got to be the most boring game I have ever played. It gets tough, and all you do is hide in the shadows and wait for the enemy to pass. The AI is very well done and very smart. The graphics and sound are very good as well. Thats why I gave it two stars. But the game play is just boring. This would be a great game if you did other things then just hide in the shadows. I know your a thief and everything but if all you do is hide, the game gets dull very fast.

Best Driver yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: August 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I cant even compare this with the first one. Great physics, Great grahpics, Great sound, Great Varity of thing to blow up, shoot, crash, dent up and break. The sound track is great too. If you want a cool game get this one. Plus you can make cool replays somehow.

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