Driver San Francisco

Driver: San Francisco is not just "yet another" Driver title to tack onto the legacy of the first two games. The developers said that they wanted to go back to the drawing board and figure out what made Driver 1 so good and why Driv3r and Driver: Parallel lines was so bad. They figured it out.

I don't have to really talk about the good and bad because there's just not much bad to the game at all. But let's break it down:

Ghostly "Shift" mode
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The biggest change of the game is the ability to alter your mental perception from one driver in a car to another driver in another car. I thought that I'd hate this shifting experience, but it really works and adds something new to the game.

When you're in a tough chase or see a car that has the right speed or maneuverability, you can simply jam the A button and pick another car to drive.

Although I still like the original Driver better because you had to haul and make few to no mistakes to get away from the cops, the shifting ability still adds so much to the gameplay that I am forced to love it. And you can still drive hard to get away from the cops (or the bad guys) when you want to -- and sometimes the game makes you.

The Physics
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I really liked the physics of the first Driver game whereas many people didn't. This game sits somewhere between realistic and Need for Speed. You can get in a 200 mph front-end collision and be just fine. Your car will take a lot of damage, but the damage doesn't appear to take its toll on your car as much as you might think it should.

That said, you can still feel the rubber hitting the road. And when you get air, the car feels like you might think it should.

The Story and Its Presentation
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The story is presented in full-screen video between levels and in little dialog segments while playing. But they have done an outstanding job on the graphics, facial expression, character animation and voice acting.

You'll be drawn into the story of a drug/crime lord from Driver 1 (he may be in some of the other Driver games, too -- I'm not 100% sure). But you won't need any Driver 1 playtime to understand everything because of how it's all set up. You'll see strong emotional responses from the 3D models that will suck you in and relate with the characters as much as you might a decent RPG. More than you'd expect in a driving game.

Just Playing
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Some people just want a driving game. You can skip through the story elements and just follow the on-screen objectives. Or you can play one of several (it must be 20 or 30) other modes, both single and multiplayer.

Graphics
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The cars are realistic. The people on the streets look decent. The buildings look pretty good. What I love is that the motion blur is perfect. Not too much, not too little. Some games, you can't tell what's going on from all the blur. And in other games, it doesn't feel like you're really going fast. Driver SF pulls it off nicely.

Sound and Music
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The car sounds are quite good. The rumbling and roaring of the engines rarely becomes monotonous or annoying. That must have taken a miracle from their sound department. The music is often catchy or fun or simply takes a back-seat while the game's intense action pulls you in. You'll recognize a lot of the songs.

Quick Moral Note
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You play a good guy in this game. There are lots of shades of gray going on, but you're overall a good guy. So if you don't like to play games where you're killing cops and junk, don't worry about it here. Your goal is to lose the cops because they don't know you are a cop.

Overall Feel
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You may feel like me to start with: unable to drive. But with just a tiny bit of practice and just a little time, you'll have the game mastered enough to have an insanely fun time. I picked it up quicker than the first Driver game because the controls make more sense to me. Everything feels like it belongs where it is.

Final Judgment: A-grade Game!
Finally, Driver fans will get a game worth playing.

This game is so much fun and pulse pounding that it makes me sweat everytime I get into the action. Let's just say I haven't experienced this type of a rush in racing games since Burnout Revenge circa '06. So it's been a long time for me, I typically avoid racing games. This game absolutely lives up to its hype. I love everything about it. The story is awesome, however it seems like it gets off track just a little bit with the quirky side missions. Don't get me wrong they are fun but I cannot seem to tie them into the main story...anyway, that doesn't take away from any fun the game has to offer. I put about 3 hours into this game thus far and I'm in Chapter 2 right now. So far I am really enjoying myself. NOTE if you are a hardcore racer, then you may think this game is kinda corny. I played NFS Hot Pursuit and I had fun, but this game seems to be more of my speed. I like Driver San Francisco because it's Story Mode is cool, I think Driving/Racing games are cool as long as they have some decent story that I can follow. All and all, I highly recommend this game if you are a casual racing fan, but If you are hardcore with it, they I recommend you wait until a more hardcore racer comes out. Thanks

Ps. The cars are licensed so they look great, so far I've upgraded with prizes to a Dodge Challenger SRT-8 and boy does it move!!!!

I'll admit right at the top, I have been a fan of the Driver series since the first one. After the disappointing Driv3r, I abandoned the series. I've been wanting a Driver game for awhile now that got that feeling of the original back. This game does it.

Gameplay:

- I played the demo and was a little concerned about the controls. Once I played the actual game, the concerns disappeared. The cars all handle differently, some better than others. Some of the initial cars were pretty stiff in the handling department, but once I got into a Lamborghini, the handling was superb. Flying through the streets of San Francisco felt awesome, especially at 200+ m.p.h.
- This game is pretty laid-back. You can take it at about any pace. Don't feel like doing story missions? Just drive around the city, play the dares, finish challenges, etc. You can play this game at your own pace.
- The "Shift" mechanic is actually pretty cool. It is worked well into the story too. Some of the funnest moments I had were when I was chasing down some street racers, I would shift into a large semi-truck, park it perpendicular to the freeway, then watch as all the street racers smashed in to it totaling their cars.

Graphics:

- The graphics were about on par with anything else this generation. The best effects happened when you're speeding along at 150+ m.p.h. the blur effect really gives this game a sense of speed. I didn't notice anything really out of the ordinary such as graphical glitches.
- Cutscenes come in two shapes, rendered CG and using the in-game engine. Sometime conversations will happen while you're driving and you'll see two characters conversing, one on each upper corner of your screen.
- San Francisco looks great, from right down on the street to when you're looking over the entire city while in shift.

Sound:

- Lots of music, but to be honest I never really heard anything that caught my ear. The soundtrack was pretty forgettable.
- Dialogue is cheesy but it works. It gives this game a goofy, but good personality.

Other Notes:

- This game features a ton of licensed cars, not generic ripoffs like GTA.
- I 100% completed the single player and it was not very difficult, but I thought it struck a fine balance of fun and difficulty.
- I didn't play the multiplayer so I cannot comment on how that is.
- This game plays like an arcade game, not a simulation. Sim-fans look elsewhere.

Summary:

- This game won't appeal to everybody. If you enjoy car chases, fun but not-to-hard challenges, a laid-back gaming experience, this game is for you.
- This game is worthy of the Driver name and made me remember the good times I had with Driver 1 & 2.
- This game is a ton of fun and I really enjoyed it.
- Try out the demo on XBL!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 25 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars