Chittagong
Gold Member
Wow, this has to be the biggest positive surprise of the year. Popped in the game around 2PM hangoverish, didn't expect much. Now it's 3:15AM and I have completed the game in a single sitting - something I think I last did with Blast Corps. This game is so full of awesome its hard to know where to begin.
Tutorial
The game does an amazing job in introducing all the bizarre gameplay concepts one by one in a way that makes them feel a part of the storyline, rather than a tutorial. Rarely if ever have I seen a game mechanic unfold so beautifully.
Presentation
The way the game is presented in the game is amazing. It feels like a TV series at times and a movie at others. Every once in a while the player is treated with a superb 'previously on Driver' recap on the story.
Storyline
The story is one of the best I have seen in game. While it is obviously inspired by Life on Mars, the whole concept holds together incredibly well and never becomes entirely predictable. The cast is perfectly sized - enough people to provide variety, but few enough to make it fun to follow. I had genuine interest in the plot, which is always a feat for a videogame.
Writing
The writing in the game is consistently excellent, and really funny at times. The team has written a lot of lines to random NPCs you sit in cars with, and makes the most out of the mindjacking gag in their writing. Writing a funny game is really hard, and Driver San Francisco is probably the funniest I have ever played.
Setting and visuals
The San Francisco setting is well executed with many recognizable elements, but it's not accurate - more of a miniatyre city than the real thing. The graphics were only decent at best, while the cut scenes and people modelling was fantastic.
Gameplay
Driver San Francisco combines a seemingly endless variety of gameplay with a difficulty just perfect, resulting in a game I found impossible to put down. I was constantly surprised by new gameplay ideas and game types and wanted to keep on seeing more. I was impressed with how much mileage they got out of driving in terms of different mission types, I never felt I was repeating the same thing over and again. Also, I loved the contoversial mindjacking mechanic - it was really well integrated to takedown missions. The difficulty was absolutely brilliant - tough enough to constantly keep me at the edge of my seat, but still never frustrating. Many missions took multiple practice rounds to finish - making succeeding that much sweeter.
Lastability
While I took some 10h to finish the game, it seems that I have only scratched the surface, with tons of challenges and collectibles and different game modes remaining. I would figure there is another 10h in the game at the very least.
BOTTOMLINE
Take the most fun crashing bits of Burnout 3, the most fun cop chases and free roaming gameplay from Need for Speed Most Wanted, the epic plot treatment of Grand Theft Auto IV and combine them into a perfectly balanced and polished package - you'll get Driver San Francisco.
9/10
I assume the game did not sell a whole lot. This would be no surprise given how the marketing and packaging completely missed the Life on Mars epic storyline qualities of the game. The packaging looks bland, and even the logo has just the same old tired 90s Serpentine Bold low budget design. Had I known the depth and quality of the plot I would have jumped in much earlier.
Tutorial
The game does an amazing job in introducing all the bizarre gameplay concepts one by one in a way that makes them feel a part of the storyline, rather than a tutorial. Rarely if ever have I seen a game mechanic unfold so beautifully.
Presentation
The way the game is presented in the game is amazing. It feels like a TV series at times and a movie at others. Every once in a while the player is treated with a superb 'previously on Driver' recap on the story.
Storyline
The story is one of the best I have seen in game. While it is obviously inspired by Life on Mars, the whole concept holds together incredibly well and never becomes entirely predictable. The cast is perfectly sized - enough people to provide variety, but few enough to make it fun to follow. I had genuine interest in the plot, which is always a feat for a videogame.
Writing
The writing in the game is consistently excellent, and really funny at times. The team has written a lot of lines to random NPCs you sit in cars with, and makes the most out of the mindjacking gag in their writing. Writing a funny game is really hard, and Driver San Francisco is probably the funniest I have ever played.
Setting and visuals
The San Francisco setting is well executed with many recognizable elements, but it's not accurate - more of a miniatyre city than the real thing. The graphics were only decent at best, while the cut scenes and people modelling was fantastic.
Gameplay
Driver San Francisco combines a seemingly endless variety of gameplay with a difficulty just perfect, resulting in a game I found impossible to put down. I was constantly surprised by new gameplay ideas and game types and wanted to keep on seeing more. I was impressed with how much mileage they got out of driving in terms of different mission types, I never felt I was repeating the same thing over and again. Also, I loved the contoversial mindjacking mechanic - it was really well integrated to takedown missions. The difficulty was absolutely brilliant - tough enough to constantly keep me at the edge of my seat, but still never frustrating. Many missions took multiple practice rounds to finish - making succeeding that much sweeter.
Lastability
While I took some 10h to finish the game, it seems that I have only scratched the surface, with tons of challenges and collectibles and different game modes remaining. I would figure there is another 10h in the game at the very least.
BOTTOMLINE
Take the most fun crashing bits of Burnout 3, the most fun cop chases and free roaming gameplay from Need for Speed Most Wanted, the epic plot treatment of Grand Theft Auto IV and combine them into a perfectly balanced and polished package - you'll get Driver San Francisco.
9/10
I assume the game did not sell a whole lot. This would be no surprise given how the marketing and packaging completely missed the Life on Mars epic storyline qualities of the game. The packaging looks bland, and even the logo has just the same old tired 90s Serpentine Bold low budget design. Had I known the depth and quality of the plot I would have jumped in much earlier.
