Drop, charge, and lose the cords
GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 07/09/1999
- Updated on: 04/28/2000
- Released on: 06/30/1999
- Originally published on GameSpot: Driver (PlayStation) Review
It's hard to compare Driver to any one game - you could almost say it's a 3D Grand Theft Auto except you're never on foot. You could almost say that it's just like the driving portion of Die Hard Trilogy except the cops chase you. Perhaps the best comparison would be to say Driver is just like Destruction Derby in a city with cops, traffic, and mission-based gameplay. After all, the same company makes both games. But that wouldn't be fair either, because while Driver resembles a lot of games, it's really quite unique, and fun. You play the role of Tanner, a former racecar driver turned policeman. Thanks to your past driving experience, you are selected to go undercover as a wheelman for hire to investigate the Castaldi family, the underworld's most dangerous organization. Before you can go through the game's story mode you must complete an extreme driving test that is really hard. You are asked to complete various driving maneuvers, such as a 360, a reverse 180, a slalom course, and other advanced driving techniques that will greatly help you later in the game. Once you complete this test, you can start taking jobs. Just about all the various jobs consist of getting somewhere to pick someone or something up, or dropping someone or something off before the time limit expires. Some of the most enjoyable missions, however, are the ones in which you must ram a fleeing vehicle until it's disabled. To help you find your way through the vast cities, there is an onscreen map that shows you the location of your objective point and the streets that you can use to get there. This map is extremely helpful and makes the game more about driving and less about navigating your way through the cities - a problem that Grand Theft Auto suffered from.
In total, there are four cities to progress through. You'll start off in Miami then move on to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and finally New York. Each city has about ten missions apiece, although after the first two cities the missions become a little repetitive. The change of scenery helps keep the gameplay fresh.
When you're not in the mood for Driver's undercover story mode, the game features several other play modes to try. There is free ride mode that simply lets you go around the various cities and explore them at your own pace. You can also try any one of the driving games, which are basically generic missions like pursuit, getaway, and survival.
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Driver (PlayStation):
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