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DRIV3R (Xbox)

Reviewed by: SherlockLogic Silver Good Trader Has Written 3 Reviews
Reviewed on: 8-Jul-2004

Description

Driv3r (or Driver 3) is an awesome addition to the series, with plenty of upgrades to what the first two couldn't bring. In this game you can get out of your car and use a weapon.
You play Tanner, a loose-cannon cop that goes undercover and works for street gangs in order to bring them down. His skills are mainly in his driving ability (hence the name). He is also a skilled marksman but the game slightly fails in this aspect of the game.


The game picks up where Driver 2 left off with Tanner continuing his work on the force. You go undercover and work for a gang leader named Calita. She is very ruthless and proves it as you discover that once when her gang was taken captive, she set a bomb to the location they were being held and called to tell them they had 4 minutes to escape, only one of her men escaped. The gameplay isnt totally open-ended, but you will have a chance from time to time to cruise around the city when you have to go to a certain place but dont have a time limit. But where it fails to be open-ended, there is the "take a ride" mode. You can go pretty much anywhere and do anything as you have an option to turn the cops on or off.


The game has the essential GTA gameplay for the genre. This means you can drive, shoot, run, fight, and do whatever it takes to get a job done. The A.I. is good, but it's not perfect, then again, who wants that? You often have chances to stand next to an open door and change the camera view to see the men in the room and find a safe spot where you can see to shoot them, they will eventually shoot back after they realize you are there if you stop shooting for a second, but if you don't stop they'll be dead before they get a chance. The Driving A.I. is sometimes overwhelming and youll find yourself replaying missions. You are able to show off your replays via Xbox Live, but otherwise the game is single player, involving no-one else whatsoever.


The missions can seem to be the same at times, going in the cycle of "Go in after the bad guy, chase him by car, again race after him on foot to his death." But these are very minorial times. There are what you would call "mini-games" in the take a ride mode, but im sure you'll have to go online somewhere to find out where they are.


It uses the same engine as GTA but has some rough edges. Overall, it is a great game that isnt hard to love, but isnt hard to hate. Diehard fans of the genre will eat it up, but I will admit that Driv3r isn't for everyone.