Driver: San Francisco is a sandbox-style action driving game developed by Ubisoft Reflections and published by Ubisoft. The game takes place six months after the events of Driv3r (Driver 3). It is revealed that both John Tanner and Charles Jericho survived the shootout in Istanbul. The game opens by showing that Jericho is being transported in the back of a prison truck, but manages to escape with a vial of acid hidden in his mouth by a paid off guard. He overpowers the guards, and hijacks the truck. Tanner and his partner, Tobias Jones, witness this from Tanner's car, pursuing Jericho as he causes havoc on the streets of the city. Tanner ends up driving in front of Jericho in an alleyway, who, using the truck rams Tanner's car into the path of a tractor trailer, resulting in a devastating crash, putting Tanner into a coma.
gameplay
There are two types of driving games that can usually be found on the market: simulators, such as Gran Turismo, and arcade style racers like Rockstar's Midnight Club franchise. Driver: San Francisco solely fits into the latter category with gameplay mechanics such as speed boost and ramming abilities. The majority of the game takes place in Tanner's coma dream and with that as a player you have the ability to “shift” into another person's body, retaining his persona but to everyone else, looking and sounding exactly the same as the person he has shifted into. The Shift unique mechanic gives gameplay an unparalleled dynamic, for instead, in the middle of a car chase you can float to a bird's-eye view of the city, highlight any car—say an SUV—in the opposite lane to ram a law breaker.
What adds to the amazingly fun and innovative Shift ability is the sandbox-style streets of San Francisco. With a large driving environment which recreates roughly 208 miles of roads that include half the Bay Bridge and parts of Oakland, many hours will be lost in blindly roaming around the city looking for one of the 125 licensed models such as a Ford Mustang or an Aston Martin that would make James Bond proud.
The scoop of the game is bolstered by a huge number of available missions and even simple racing has multiple types including: Checkpoint Races, Smash Racing (and like the name suggest, has you smash objects along a route) and Team Racing where you are required to Shift between two cars. If those aren't things are not enough to keep you engaged there are also police missions and the most fun of them all: stunt missions, which have you performing Shifts, handbrake turns and spectacular jumps over moving vehicles.
The mechanics of gameplay that keeps the single-player campaign entertaining is explored even further in some great chaotic multiplayer fun. A first time offering in the series, there are 19 different game modes that include Trailblazer, Tag, Sprint GT, Cops and Robbers among others will definitely lead to replay worthy carnage.
graphics
Driver: San Francisco is a gorgeous. There were a number of times that I found myself lost in the distinctive cityscape which usually resulted in me crashing in to on-coming traffic or the side of a building. In a real world scenario, a driver's vision can be impaired by the glare of a setting sun and this little inclusion of detail is reflected through the detailed graphics. The same beauty that is found in the streets and people that populate the game extends to the unsung stars of the game, the aforementioned licensed cars with are on par with vehicles found in Midnight Club and Forza.
sound
The voice acting is very crisp and lively which is another reason that the Shift ability is addicting. With the way in which Tanner jumps from one host to another, there are lots of moments in the game where you are imported into the midst of a humorous conversion. There's one particular series of interactions between street racing brothers which is engaging and amusing. When you are not conversing with a passenger the games soundtrack picks up the lack. With it's combination of 70s funk, to the various instrumentals, Driver is able to fuse the game with a Tarantino/Pulp Fiction, Steve McQueen/Bullitt type of a vibe.
replay value
Fans of the Driver series and those new to the franchise gameplay should find plenty of reasons to return to the streets of San Francisco. With so much diversity in the single-player campaign and multiplayer modes, Driver: San Francisco is definitely worth another seat behind the wheel. Whether you feel the need to explore a side quest involving parents whose child has been kidnapped or lowering your time on a time trial, or simply causing multiple car pile ups by Shifting between on-coming traffic, you will find an abundance of mayhem to keep you entertained.
bottom line
From cruising across the Golden Gate Bridge to jumping the famed streets of San Francisco, the latest entry in the franchise offers everything a game can ask for in a racer: fun streets to navigate, multiple cars to drive and unparalleled gameplay, such as the cutting edge Shift ability, that separates it from Need for Speed and the likes.
Review by: M. Quann Boyd
Posted: 12/05/2011
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Gameplay:
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8.0 |
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Graphics:
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8.0 |
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Sound:
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9.0 |
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Replay Value:
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8.0 |
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Bottom Line:
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8.5 |
