Written by Kevin 'Xzyliac' Hummons | Monday, September 12, 2011
| Platforms: | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Mac, OnLive |
| Publisher(s): | Ubisoft |
| Developer(s): | Ubisoft Reflections |
| Genre(s): | Driving, Open-World |
| Release Date: | September 6, 2011 |
| ESRB Rating: | T |
| Buy It/Rent It/Skip It?: | Rent It |
Driver: San Francisco?is a pretty daring video game. The narrative, gameplay and presentation aren?t at all what anyone would expect from the Driver?franchise, or from a driving game in general. Taking a few cues from high fantasy, blending it with a bevy of car chase film nods and following in the footsteps of quasi-arcade racing games the end result is as mixed a bag as it sounds. When the game is good, it is a thrilling and creative driving game that will force you to rethink how you play driving sequences, courtesy of the Shift feature where players jump from car to car. When the game is bad, it?s pilfered by frustratingly pointless time limits and wonky physics. Throughout is a truly odd story that branches off into some bizarre missions that may or may not turn off a lot of fans.
When we?re first welcomed into the world of Driver: San Francisco?all seems fairly predictable. The cool 1970s car chase flick feel is accomplished through a great soundtrack and some decent production values. The game tries to blend pre-rendered CG footage with in-game footage using split-screens and quick cuts. It?s usually successful, though sometimes the jump can be jarring. Through this presentation, we learn that Tanner?s old enemy Charles Jericho has managed to take control of a prisoner escort van and is on the loose. After the chase Tanner is hit by the van and enters into a comatose state. Now, we the players are introduced to Tanner?s subconscious rendering of San Francisco where Tanner must find out Jericho?s evil plan now that he?s escaped.
SHIFT: Gimmicky or inventive?
The comatose state is the way Ubisoft Reflections has chosen to explain the?unconventional and surprisingly fun feature: Shift. With Shift the player can warp out to a street view as a ghost-like entity, and?jump from car to car on the fly. From that view you can pick any car on the road or if there are two car vital to the mission ?RB? or ?R1? instantly jumps between the two. At first it sounds gimmicky, but the way Ubisoft Reflections has decided to incorporate it?is both fun and smart. For example, in a race or a chase you can do the usual and put the pedal to the metal, or you can let the AI take the reins and jump into a pedestrian car and take out the racer or the chaser. Reflections doesn?t let you jump into rivals but regardless the options available to the player open up quite a bit. There?s one or two alternatives to almost every mission.
San Francisco is definitely looking gorgeous in Driver: San Francisco.
And those missions are diverse. In some missions you?ll be tasked with using close encounters to keep the heart rate of a passenger above a certain BPM. Others involve jumping from car to car to defend cargo or attracting the attention of a number of cops to a destination. Even the typical races, chases and deliveries have their own twist like putting two cars in first and second or keeping a car above a certain speed limit in the style of the 1994 film Speed. The only time the missions seem to cave are when there is a pointless time limit, which unfortunately happens far too often.
A question of time & physics
The designers of Driver: San Francisco?are in love with time limits for the sake of time limits. While they do add a challenge to the game it feels like a cheap ?inflated? challenge rather than genuinely judging you based on your skill. I found myself relying on chance and driving routine memorization more often than I felt comfortable with. Especially for a game with an emphasis on chases, it gives off a feeling of unnaturalness and just wasn?t fun.
I also took issue with the physics. The attempts at a semi-arcade feel don?t always fall flat on their faces, but when they do you can tell. Certain cars just felt floaty and uncontrollable. A slight turn or a hint in a sudden direction would send them spinning out of control. This was often the case with the faster cars, which is unfortunate because those are the most fun drive but every time you think you have control, something small ends with you flipping all around San Francisco. The silver lining, however, is that not every car has this issue. I would say it was an even 50/50.
For the first time in the franchise Driver: San Francisco features a full slate of 125 licensed cars.
Shifting into Multiplayer
Driver: San Francisco?also has an online mode which is surprisingly robust, if not slightly flawed from my experience. The robustness comes from the very easy to use interface which lets player jump from match to match, as well a free roaming mode with little hassle. The actual matches are just as fun and frenzied as the single-player with modes like tag (which is just like it sounds), trailblazer (where racers follow an AI leader until someone reaches 100 points) and takedown which is classic cops and robbers. In multiplayer, Shift is given after a certain amount of time much like boost in single-player. Otherwise, it?s exactly the same and it works surprisingly well.
There wasn?t any sign of technical flaws during my playthrough and the experience was overall enjoyable, though the physics still threw me off a lot. If you?re into online multiplayer, this is one I?d keep in the rotation. While I would?ve preferred some more diverse modes, as well as traditional racing ones, the ideas at play are entertaining without a doubt.
Tearing down the walls
I do want to mention something I often hate to bring into a video game review: plot. See here?s the thing, Driver: San Francisco?spends so much time trying to justify the wackiness of its gameplay mechanics within the plot that I feel like I have to address it. It?s bad and it hampers the game almost to the point of breaking the fourth wall. So many times while playing, I would simply be enjoying myself and then this nonsensical plot would show up and suddenly I?d be questioning the mechanics of the game with relevance to their place in the story. It felt awkward and actually managed to make the game less enjoyable. While I do understand that for such a radical mechanic, Ubisoft Reflections was going to have to work it into the plot, sometimes I did feel like they weren?t properly taking advantage of the players suspension of disbelief.
It?s a very strange plot; one that will take you to places you didn?t expect from a Driver?game, or any driving game of this ilk period. It reaches a strange level of high fantasy that breaks the aforementioned cool 1970s vibe and potentially breaks what Driver?is for a lot of fans like myself; which is an homage to fast cars, cool undercover cops and greasy bad guys. Because of this, Driver: San Francisco might not be the triumphant return to roots that some asked for.
Chases are about as exciting as ever. If anything Shift adds to that urgency.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day however, Driver: San Francisco?can only be judged on its own merits ? and on its own, it is a fun but flawed driving title. The Shift features inject a lot of life into what could?ve been a dull and creatively deprived bore. While the car handling might not excel at balancing realism with arcade mechanics, the cars are enjoyable to drive, and the missions for the most part are fun ? with the exception of a few unbearable ones. The presentation is also a treat with a very funky soundtrack and unique cutscenes. Even those weird and trippy coma parts are presented very well, if not seemingly out of place.?It?s a nice trip back behind the wheel with John Tanner but it?s just too flawed to keep you coming back.
*Editor?s Note: Reviewed on Xbox 360. Review copy supplied by Ubisoft PR.?
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About the Author
Kevin 'Xzyliac' Hummons Kevin, also known as Xzyliac, is an opinionated gamer with an unabashed love for fun in all its forms (even the embarrassing ones). A passionate music lover, Rock Band addict, Mass Effect fiend, and patron of strangeness.
Source: http://videogamewriters.com/review-driver-san-francisco-23275
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