Steve McQueen as Lieutenant Frank Bullitt in a roaring Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang, tearing through the rollercoaster-like streets of San Francisco. He's stalking a pair of crooks in a Dodge Charger 440 as they try to give him the slip by weaving in and out of traffic, setting off nearby gas pipes and throwing motorcyclists in the way. For our money, car chases don't really get much better than that.
That scene from Bullitt is one of the most exciting, expertly shot chases in cinematic history - and continues to probably be the biggest influence behind Reflections' Driver series. But after a blistering start with its excellent 1999 original, the Driver franchise has stalled more than a few times. It caught a severe case of Grand Theft Auto envy, had an identity crisis or four - and eventually broke down on the side of the gaming road.
PROVISIONAL LICENCE
Driver: San Francisco takes place a couple of months after the events of Driv3r. We're going to go ahead and assume you didn't play/don't remember that critically-pummelled iteration, so let's remember how we left the last game: Protagonist and criminal-hunting cop John Tanner has just been involved in a massive shootout in Istanbul while trying to apprehend a mobster named Jericho. Bullets were fired, people were killed - and both Tanner and his nemesis are in hospital. One of the pair flatlines, and is given emergency defibrillator treatment... but you don't know which one. Credits roll.
Yet apparently, in Ubisoft's version, both survive and are fighting fit in San Francisco. The game picks up on the day Jericho is to be sentenced for his crimes. Along with his laundry list of law-breaking activities as a mob boss, Jericho's rap sheet also includes 17 counts of murder from the Istanbul incident. Not a decent chap, all in all.
Since many of Jericho's victims were police officers and colleagues - and because he put a bullet in his back - Tanner wants to see him go down in person and heads to a bridge overlooking a police convoy in which Jericho is the star attraction. As you can probably guess, things don't go smoothly.
The Starsky and Hutch-esque Tanner and his partner Tobias Jones give chase and follow Jericho down a narrow alley. The camera switches to a first-person perspective as the duo ask each other where their prey went, before they're rear-ended by the truck and pushed into oncoming traffic. The ensuing damage isn't pretty - and Tanner is left bloody and bruised as paramedics charge their defibrillators... again. Don't be too worried, though, because Tanner's eyes open again - and he's sitting in his car next to his partner without a single mark on his body.
Comments
17 comments so far...
Ellscore on 28 Apr '11 said:
The guys at driver invented the modern day sandbox genre. You can do it!!
gmcb007 on 28 Apr '11 said:
That sounds like it was stolen out of Life On Mars.
rivariad on 28 Apr '11 said:
no gangsta chat, rockstar quality voice acting, a nice story and exceptionally good driving, that'd make driver cool. no innovation needed. but driving gotta be real good, i mean no nos or some sh.t just pure simulation
richardgeefe on 28 Apr '11 said:
Exactly what I was thinking
*is surrounded by armed bastards*
LiqzZ on 28 Apr '11 said:
Screenshots look amazing!
Teelahead on 28 Apr '11 said:
i mainly used to play survival mode on the original. Police cars homing in on you from all angles which was fun. Hope its in this version.
FletcherYouSlag on 29 Apr '11 said:
Massive fan of the Grand Theft Auto series that I am, people always seem to forget Driver did the 3D, open world crime twice before it and on the original PlayStation no less. This series does'nt really get the recognition it deserves.
TheCrimsonFenix on 29 Apr '11 said:
I'd much rather they try and freshen up missions by making them exciting and stay true to Driver root's than see them come up with this ridiculous gameplay mechanic. But seeing as Reflections are only really good at coming up with driving handling, I can't see this being anything more than just crap.
Ingredients for a great Driver game:
- Original mission ideas
- Original story
- Great vehicle handling
- Cardboard boxes
- Film Director mode
I've no interest in playing a game where the plot basically tells you all your actions haven't really happened.
divinebeetle on 29 Apr '11 said:
Please make this good!
I have fond memories of driver 1
collyboy187 on 29 Apr '11 said:
Sadly this is probably influnced more by the U.S version, which was a steaming turd.
gobbybobby on 30 Apr '11 said:
I hope its good! Alot people saying it will be rubbish becuase of the whole Switching cars ETC.
Jimmy Luxury on 30 Apr '11 said:
I really enjoyed Driver and Driver 2. Okay, the on foot sections should never have escaped quality control but the vehicles were great. I will consider this one if they can put the fun back into it.
Very_Silver_Ownz on 3 May '11 said:
Anyone remember a mission in GTA 3 called '' two faced tanner '' ? lol Rockstar have a great sense of humour.
TheCrimsonFenix on 3 May '11 said:
http://www.eeggs.com/images/items/1402.full.jpg
http://www.eeggs.com/images/items/1403.full.jpg
gmcb007 on 3 May '11 said:
Remember the mission in Vice City where you had to kill a number of guys with names like tanner and hammond?
Always seen that as a metaphore for GTA beating the competition.
Very_Silver_Ownz on 3 May '11 said:
'' Remember the mission in Vice City where you had to kill a number of guys with names like tanner and hammond? Always seen that as a metaphore for GTA beating the competition. ''
lol don't remember that. What about the sign in San Andreas saying '' True Grime '' referring to True Crime
gmcb007 on 3 May '11 said:
I think GTA IV took a wipe at saints row with the 'squid row' shop as well but that may have just been a coincidence.