Driver

The Good
It's big. I mean really, really big. The four cities are obviously greatly simplifed (every bend is a right angle for example), but they are big. The main game is the undercover section, which is a well-written, in-depth story spanning all four cities. I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't got that far, but it's big.

There are so many sub-games to choose from, each has its own unique challenge. In Pursuit you have to tail another car as long as you can; in Trailblazer you have to follow a course knocking over cones to gain time; in Survival you have to survive as long as you can against a whole bunch of homicidal cops; in Carnage you get to see how much damage (in dollars) you can cause in one minute. Each is quite tough in its own way, and damn fun to do. With a whole group of high score tables you also feel a pressing urge to try to better your previous best.

The graphics in this game a pretty good, even at lower resolutions. The cars, both yours and the others are well-drawn and easily recognisable for what they are. None of them a painted stupid colours (as with Midtown 2), so the whole scene has a sense of reality about it.

There is also a very well developed replay mode, allowing you to replay a particular incident (or the whole race) in close detail. Choose from a huge variety of camera angles, and create a little movie! There really are some quite spectacular crashes, which can be a lot of fun to replay over and over.

Unlike Midtown, this game is a constant challenge, and it will take quite a while to get through everything. Occasionally it can get a little frustrating, but it is always worthwhile.

The Bad
The graphics are good, but you'll need a good spec PC to get the most out of it. If I connect my steering wheel, the frame-rate drops a long way, making the game almost unplayable, which is a pity.

The cops are complete lunatics. Even one minor infringement, and they will do all they can to destroy you. Doing 56 in a 55 zone? If they see you they will come after you and not quit until your car is wrecked. This can be a little annoying at times.

The car handling is very loose. This is the style of the game, and attempt to recreate Hollywood style car chases of the 70s, but it can be bloody annoying to drive when you have no grip and super-soft suspension.

The cities are vastly simplified, but that's not really a problem. It's not that kind of game. But why is it always night-time in LA?

The Bottom Line
Brilliant. Lots of fun, great story, great action. Not as much fun to drive as Midtown, but it beats it in almost every other area. And it's really big. This game will keep you busy for weeks.

The Good
This game's lovely areas are great to drive on, the sounds are great. There are several game modes like Undercover, Take a ride, and Survival. The story is great, you are Tanner, an Undercover cop who must work undercover to find out the secret of the most fearsome Mob Boss in America.

Contrary to other driving games you can drive in parks, alleyways, and wreck almost everything!

The Bad
The graphics are extremely dissappointing, your turns are very sharp, making the car very difficult to control.

The Bottom Line
This game is NOT a traditional driving game, this game is extremely violent, you will have to destroy several objects, and completely destroy cars, you will also need to maintain your car (don't damage it too much or your game will end), keep away from cops, and drive decently.

The Good
The concept is really cool. You are a getaway driver for the mob. Through objective-based gameplay, you take on a good variety of missions carting people around, performing insane car chases while taking care of business.

After all is said and done, you can go back and review your chases from different angles, which is a really nice touch. You can also select a variety of locations to just cruise around before embarking on the game's main mission.

The Bad
The controls are completely obnoxious to the point of unplayability. Almost every turn results in a burnout, which is particularly obnoxious seeing as the police will pursue you without fail for having done absolutely nothing wrong and will attempt to obliterate you into a pulp if you don't frantically scramble away, which, for this reviewer anyway, typically resulted in a spectacular crash.

While there's a good array of missions, nearly all of them involve driving person x from point a to point b, and take several attempts. Many of the missions are timed, which means you're not allowed to deliberate on how to avoid a spectacular end by strategizing a method around the abominable controls.

That's only if you can make it out of the gate -- Driver's training mission is mandatory to complete before you can begin the main mission, and requires you to pull off nearly every stunt in the game's repertoire to perfection; something that would normally take time, or that you would learn along the way in a balanced game. Driver is the opposite of balanced.

The Bottom Line
Driver is a cool in theory, but provides neither the sandbox wonder of Grand Theft Auto nor the maniacal entertainment of Carmageddon. If you're looking for a cool driving/crime sim, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a cool replay function to bide your time between Dukes of Hazzard reruns, look no further.