Driver San Francisco Review
DRIVER SAN FRANCISCO REVIEW
I’m afraid you’re just going to have to trust me on this one.
Now, I have a confession to make.
A little over eleven years ago when I was a whippersnapper at a mere *cough mumble cough* nineteen (eighteen and a half for those few that like us to be very very specific) *cough mumble mumble* a little game called Driver was released…………and it broke me.
At that point in my life I had been gaming on an almost daily basis for around fourteen years, give or take a birthday, so I was in no way a new comer to this joyous world we called video games but I just couldn’t do it. Having grown up in an era where games actually had lives and the only way to beat them was to memorise the sections you had passed and work on a basis of trial and error on those that you hadn’t until the entire game was etched into your corneas, I have a very high tolerance and patience level. What Reflections Interactive and GT Interactive did was to systematically destroy my soul and break my will.
In the eyes my friends, my family and of God himself (probably) I was a failure.
Now here we are, a decade later, and with the daily torment beginning to subside and my confidence as a functioning member of society somewhat restored, Ubisolt Refelctions have decided to have another crack at it.
Awesome…..
Having read the above statement I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing as I was when I learned that it would fall to me to review this game. That thought, of course, being ‘Oh God, here we go again, another two thousand words of bad jokes and obscure references, just what the world needed’. Thankfully for both of us only two of these statements is going to be true.
I’ll leave the word counter to determine which one.
So where to begin…
Let’s not beat about the bush here, Driver San Francisco is fantastic. There I’ve said it and I can’t take it back now, mainly because my backspace key is broken and using the trackpad to highlight that section is just far too much effort (I bet you’re glad I’m letting the word counter do the speaking and not the bad joke counter aren’t you). There is no denying that Driver does things that no other driving game has done before. The only question now is ‘Can I convey why Driver is so good in a spoiler free way?’
I genuinely hope so.
The main problem with this is that a lot of the best features of Driver SF are going to lose a lot of what make them awesome if you know they’re coming ahead of time. So how do I purvey the enjoyment that can be had with this game without telling you why you’re going to enjoy it so much?
Well it’s simple.
I’m going to have to rely on bad jokes and obscure references.
I also have to hope that my passion for the game comes shining through enough for you to take me at my word and procure yourself copy to experience it first hand.
Everything that Driver SF has to offer is best experienced first had, not least of which are the story (that’s right, there’s a story, and a bloody good one at that), the cars, and the location.
Although I’ve never been to San Francisco I instinctively know that I want driving games set there.
Why? This is why:
San Francisco is home to some of the greatest and most iconic car chases the world has ever seen and this is what the game wants to give you and can give you…..if you let it.
Sure you can go and get yourself any number of exotic super cars and blitz through the story in a very short amount of time but this is just a waste of an experience that you’ll be able to treasure if you slow your pace to fit the ‘70s stylings that Driver SF places, like a loyal pet, at your virtual feet.
Grab yourself a classic muscle car, turn up the wonderfully compiled soundtrack and just drive. Do this and I guarantee the hours will pass without you knowing a thing about it apart from the dull ache in your face where you’ve been grinning away like a child with a Mr Whippy.
I could sit here and tell you all about the types of missions available throughout the game but that would be a waste of your time and mine as I’m sure you can guess that the majority of them involve some form of Driving. All you need to know is that there is a variety here to rival any other driving game on the market and every time you begin to feel as if things are getting a bit repetitive there are additions that keep things fresh and innovative.
I could also sit here and tell you about the dozens upon dozens of references to classic and cult movies but why would I do that? For every one I told you about I’d be taking a smile from your face when you experienced them for yourself.
What I will tell you is that almost everything you do I Driver SF will unlock something else for you to experience. Story missions unlock side missions which in themselves unlock story missions. Completing any of these will also unlock ‘Dares’, completing dares will unlock vehicles, unlocking vehicles will give you more of an opportunity of being able to reach the more tricky collectables, for every ten collectables you successfully obtain you’ll unlock a challenge, and so it goes on. There are also challenges for completing certain challenges with certain vehicles so it’s advantageous to experiment and once you start to understand the concept of the movie/ cop show references you’ll begin to piece these together with some frequency.
There are very few games that I have played where I do not want to talk about the details but Driver SF is definitely one of them. I just want people to have the same experiences that I’ve had with it and understand why I was being as vague as I am.
Ubisoft Reflections know exactly what they’ve created here. It’s a game adaptation of every one of your favourite buddy cop shows all rolled into one and in my opinion they couldn’t have dome a better job, well, they could have in places, I mean, no game’s perfect.
Graphically the game is also very impressive. The cut scenes have some very impressive textures and flow brilliantly into the gameplay where they continue to impress with no real pop in on screen tearing to speak of. For a game that moves quite frantically I was also impressed that there was no slowdown at all.
So where does Driver SF fall over? Well, I’m sorry to tell you that it falls at its fantastic multiplayer. I know what you thinking. What’s the word count Dave? (1009 and climbing, bugger!) Also, how can a game with a fantastic multiplayer be its downfall? TWAT!
Although the multiplayer offers some of the most enjoyable that I’ve played for quite some time, it’s the implementation and a few design choices that ruin parts of it. I say design choices but really I suppose I mean the way the have chosen to assign certain achievements.
Whether you play for achievements or not there is no denying that in Driver SF you will be affected by them.
For starters all of the game modes are split into playlists with each playlist containing two alternating game modes and all of the modes having one designated achievement. The problem is that the achievement in one of these two game modes is inevitably much easier and quicker to obtain than the other.
This results in a mass exit of players every other round as people quit out, not wanting to play a mode that they do not need to and opting to find another game where there is a chance they will unlock an achievement rather than just ride out a five minute game to get beck to where they want to be. Alongside this there are team playlists with corresponding achievements that reward individual play. What does this mean for you? It means that as well as fighting the opposite team for victory you will also be fighting those members of your own team whos only objective is to gain the achievements as quickly as possible.
All of this could have been easily avoided if players were given the option to play an individual game mode, the option to have one large play list containing all of the available modes or team based achievements that are actually rewarded for team play and team performance.
What do we think? Time to sum up? I think so.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot to do here. A massive variety in activities, a compelling story with a type of dry humour that had me on the floor (I think the kids called ROFLing or something along those lines) and an atmosphere that just begs you to take your time and really pay attention because there little gems are both numerous and worth it.
No, the game didn’t break me, and yes, Driver fans are probably going to find it a bit of a cakewalk but who cares? If at the end of your time with Driver SF you find yourself caring about these things then I put it to you that you didn’t sit back, relax and let the game come to you.
Successes:
- Impressive Visuals
- Smooth Stable Environments
- Wide Range of Vehicles
- Compelling Story
- Fresh Approach in a Difficult Genre
Failures:
- Multiplayer Playlist Restrictions
- Minor Glitches still Present
- Early Access to some High End Cars can Spoil Early Events
Score: 9/10
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