Large cities, quick to get into action , good car chases and replays .
Disadvantages:
Lack of original plot and unimaginative update of the Driver series . Better alternatives - see Vice City .
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
--- OVERVIEW ---
Surprisingly enough Driver 3 is a driving adventure game set in the cities of Miami, Nice, and more originally Istanbul. You play the part of an undercover cop who is trying to break a car-theft ring. You control an array of vehicles using them to chase criminals, deliver packages, and shoot at those bad guys from. In addition there are also some foot missions which add some variety to the game. All in all nothing particularly new.
--- GRAPHICS/SOUND ---
In terms of graphics there are highly detailed buildings and cars. There are two main problems that I have identified so far relating to graphics. Firstly glitches, cars will appear randomly in front of you in the middle of the road for no good reason. Secondly (also a similar problem found in Grand Theft Auto 3) I personally have found that the same type of car will keep appearing and there seems to be no decent random generator to alter the cars you come across (although this does not happen all the time).
When looking at sound there are the usual bells and whistles, however nothing revolutionary. Something akin to the radio in Grand Theft Auto 3/Vice City would have been much welcomed as long as the tracks were of a high standard.
--- GAMEPLAY ---
The game has very detailed cities, sadly the missions are so linear that your are unable to explore the game makers wonderful creation. However there is a seperate free roaming section that adds playability and longevity to the game. It would have been better to give more freedom during the missions to explore the city than have a seperate mode. The damage system in the game can also be commended, as too the little features such as shooting car tyres out and shooting drivers at the car wheel and watching them come slowly to a halt with the drivers head on the car horn. Not much of an advancement on the previous Drivers and too many cut scenes me thinks.
--- CONCLUSION ---
An average game which graphically improves on its Driver prequels, but doesn't deliver much more in terms of gameplay. Grand Theft Auto: VIce City if you don't own it a much better game in a similar style and was out over a year ago, Driver 3 doesn't manage to improve on that games quality.The hype will probably guarantee its success, but either rent it or wait for it to drastically reduce in price as overall there are too many flaws to recommend it at full whack.
--- PRICE ---
Retailing at £34.99 is not great and I would advise waiting for the game to fall in price before purchasing. Do shop around as I've found it for £32.99 on www.play.com.
--- FEATURES ---
-25+ missions and free roaming modes
-3 Meticulously re-created cities with over 156 miles of roads: Miami, Nice and Istanbul.
-Over 70 completely destructible vehicles such as cars, bikes, trucks and boats.
-Real world weapons including handguns, machine guns and grenade launchers.
-Innovative in-game "Thrill Cam" Plus "Director Mode" to make your own movies.
-Featuring the acting talents of Michael Madsen, Ving Rhames, Michelle Rodriguez, Mickey Rourke and Iggy Pop.
DRIV3R (PS2)
The original Driver was one of the most popular and original driving games on the PSone
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and very much helped to pave the way for Grand Theft Auto III and others. The sequel, however, was a massive disappointment and seemed to prove that the Driver form...
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