Driver: San Francisco Thread

[Havok83]

http://www.neoseeker.com/news/14120-driver-san-francisco-confirmed-with-screens-full-trailer/

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First teased last week, Ubisoft's new Driver game has been revealed as Driver: San Franciso, a new installment in the acclaimed franchise, built "under the direction of the [original creators]" as Ubisoft Reflections.

As previously noted, you'll again be playing series mainstay John Tanner, this time on a manhunt for crime lord Charles Jericho through San Francisco -- a fitting location for the series, we'd say.

Driver: SF will feature a new gameplay mechanic dubbed "shift", which allows you to alternate between over one hundred vehicles mid-race.

 

[Havok83]

Yay, this game still exists

The last time I saw Driver: San Francisco was nearly a year ago, and I remember walking away thinking that this game was a really dumb idea. You're always playing from behind the wheel -- and I'm fine with that -- but the whole thing happens in the main character's head. He's in a coma and you have these body-swapping abilities; it's ridiculous.

After finally getting the chance to play the game, I still think Driver: San Francisco is absurd, but the dialogue and action seem to hint that the developers are also in on the joke.

The game starts with a polished cutscene six months after the events of Driver 3. The super-evil Jericho breaks out of jail, and storied Driver protagonist John Tanner gives chase, gets in a car accident, and --voila -- he's in a coma. From there, the game takes place in Tanner's coma dream. He's not really awake, but he's awake in the coma dream. At first it seems like Tanner's just driving around San Francisco, but in a flash he's out of his body and I'm controlling a floating camera that I can use to target other drivers and teleport into their bodies.

Crazy, right? Throughout my 45-minute demo I used this power -- called Shift -- to take on side missions. These unlock story missions but were more notable for being goofy. I'd teleport into the body of an ambulance driver and have to take the patient to the hospital. I'd teleport into the body of a nerd driving a sports car and have to scare the passenger riding with us. When I jumped back to Tanner, he had just been silently driving around the city with his partner. The game went on like this and I heard goofy dialogue for pissing off people as I careened around corners, smashed into walls and took various cars off of moving ramps.

The action matches the setup with e-brake turns, the inability to run down pedestrians, and billboards that send Tanner subliminal messages. But, it gets better. The soundtrack is this bass-y mix of '70s style instrumentals and newer stuff from folks like the Beastie Boys; Tanner's voice work is hokey but charming (like his overacting when he warps to another car and exclaims "I'm IN the ambulance!"), and there are more than 200 miles of street to speed down in the game's eight chapters.

Do I think Driver: San Francisco is in line for IGN's Game of the Year award? No, but I definitely had a grin on my face when I played it. The setup and dialogue may be goofy, but the driving and challenges are also fun. There are stunts to perform, cars to unlock, and you're earning money for upgrades. It's early and I'm sure the inherent ridiculousness of Driver: San Francisco will be a turn off to some, but I'm down with the b-movie vibe.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/116/1164746p1.html

 

[BattleCat]

instant buy.

 

[Havok83]

Anyone play the demo? I wasnt feeling it. This looks like it will end up being a 6.5 type game. I can see it having some potential but only worth a look when it becomes a budget title or a rental. The whole mechanic of jumping from car to car just feels weird. Its different but Im not sure what to think of it. Plus I hated the driving mechanics and didnt find it that easy to control

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Haven't tried the demo but was never feeling the premise. It would of been much better as a Bullit type game.

 

[cherokeesam]

Anyone play the demo? I wasnt feeling it. This looks like it will end up being a 6.5 type game. I can see it having some potential but only worth a look when it becomes a budget title or a rental. The whole mechanic of jumping from car to car just feels weird. Its different but Im not sure what to think of it. Plus I hated the driving mechanics and didnt find it that easy to control

I'm actually a long-standing fan of the Driver series (1, 2 & Driv3r, with the latter being one of my guilty pleasures), so I had high hopes for SF. After playing the demo tonight, I gotta say those hopes are pretty much dashed completely. Not only is the body-switching OOBE both goofy and arbitrary, but the driving mechanics altogether are just 1980s style arcade-stupid.

This is a big step back from Driv3r and Parallel Lines. It's a plus that they finally get licensed cars in the game, and the city graphics are adequate (but nothing to write home about), but the driving mechanics just don't cut it (not even against previous installments in the series; but it's even worse when you try to stack this game up against other street driving/racing games out there right now).

 

[BattleCat]

I'm actually a long-standing fan of the Driver series (1, 2 & Driv3r, with the latter being one of my guilty pleasures), so I had high hopes for SF. After playing the demo tonight, I gotta say those hopes are pretty much dashed completely. Not only is the body-switching OOBE both goofy and arbitrary, but the driving mechanics altogether are just 1980s style arcade-stupid.

This is a big step back from Driv3r and Parallel Lines. It's a plus that they finally get licensed cars in the game, and the city graphics are adequate (but nothing to write home about), but the driving mechanics just don't cut it (not even against previous installments in the series; but it's even worse when you try to stack this game up against other street driving/racing games out there right now).

Sadly, I agree with everything you said.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

Yeah. Me too. I hadn't followed anything, at all, on this game. But, I did hear about the body switching thing...but I think, since I'd only heard it in passing, that it was going to be a multiplayer mechanic.

But, them going for a comedy game was...surprising. And, felt out of place. I loved the first driver game. Thought it was just a cool way to play some badass driving missions, and feel like I was playing chase sequences from Bullit or Gone in 60 Seconds. But, I remember them taking it more seriously than that demo did.

I think if they wanted to go for comedy, maybe making it into an over-the-top chase game might be better. Maybe go for more Transporter 2? Making a crazy jump to pull a bomb off the bottom of the car-type of thing.

I think the worse part is that the comedy strokes they went for in the demo, kinda fell short. The funniest parts were when Tanner, in the body of another driver, kept freaking out that host's passenger by saying "we should turn ourselves over to the police" or "punch me in the face in a few minutes".

But...it was just weird. Maybe I'd have felt differently if the game was called Quantum Leap Driver instead?

And yes, cherokeesam, you are indeed correct. The graphics are adequate at best, and the driving mechanics are just too loose. Especially considering that I'm dodging oncoming traffic and being chased by police, and needing to make sharp turns...the demo doesn't feel tight enough for me to make those great, cool, split-second movements to avoid hitting a car or make a quick turn.

I felt letdown, and I didn't really even have my hopes up for anything more than a good car chase game.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

By the way, the best thing that came out of me playing this demo...was my mentioning The Transporter in my previous post, then me googling The Transporter to see what's new...and learning that there's a new Transporter tv series, 12 episodes long, being produced by HBO that will air on Cinemax next year.

So, I did get something good out of this experience.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Lol.

 

[Havok83]

Oh and the voice acting is awful. It really bothered me

 

[Sam Fisher]

I've played the demo too. Wasn't impressed.

 

[Havok83]

Anyone play the new multiplayer demo? Surprisingly its alot better than the single player one. I found the two online modes fun and competitive. The only bad thing is you can do the shift online as well and to me that comes across as cheating

 

[BlackLantern]

demo was ok....been a fan of the series, Driver 3 has one of the best soundtracks of any game period

 

[RED_Rider]

The game has getting surprisingly good reviews. I honestly didn't think this could be the game to restore Driver to its former glory (Driver 1 and 2 days).

 

[Havok83]

The game has getting surprisingly good reviews. I honestly didn't think this could be the game to restore Driver to its former glory (Driver 1 and 2 days).

yeah I saw that. Hopefully the final game is much better than the single player demo they put out. I did mention that the multiplayer was surprisingly better. I wont be buying it though. Maybe I'll check it out next year after Im done with the fall big releases

 

[RED_Rider]

yeah I saw that. Hopefully the final game is much better than the single player demo they put out. I did mention that the multiplayer was surprisingly better. I wont be buying it though. Maybe I'll check it out next year after Im done with the fall big releases

Speaking of fall releases, I still haven't played Deus Ex and there's already a storm coming. Skyrim, Gears 3, Assassin's Creed R, Battlefield 3, MW3, Sonic Generations, Rayman... AND DARK SOULS! Dammit I want Dark Souls now.

 

[jacobed]

I got this game in redbox today and it is really fun. The shifting is a fantastic idea and it works great in the game. There are many side missions that require to use some sort of strategy with the shift in order to complete them. The campaign is kind of short if you don't do side missions. The graphics are fantastic and the cutscenes look great. The online is really fun and very addicting. The different modes where you can use shift can get really chaotic and awesome. I'm a level 10 already online and I have yet to experience any type of lag or any glitches.

 

[jacobed]

There's a sweet little easter egg. If you unlock the Delorean and you drive it up to 88 mph, a yellow trail will start to follow it and then you unlock the blast from the past challenge. It's you in the parking garage with the black car from the first game and you have the list of things you have to do. The exact same first mission from the first game, still frustrating but awesome.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

That sounds awesome. Once we get a used copy in at work im gonna check it out

 

[jacobed]

It's a surprisingly fun and addicting game. My biggest problem with it is the that the cars control a little too loosely. Maybe its just me but when I play an arcadey driving game I expect to have the perfect control like the Burnout series does.