Driver: San Francisco

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Jacks:Revenge

╠╣E╚╚O
Jun 18, 2006
10,065
218
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somewhere; sometime?
has anyone played this?

somehow it managed to fly right under my radar. probably because I was getting my racing fix from Test Drive Unlimited 2 for months.
but recently some user reviews spurred me to grab Driver:SF without even "trying" it first. it has proven to be 20 bucks well spent.

I played the very first Driver and hadn't touched the series again until now.
and so far I'm really satisfied with SanFran. they've licensed something like 130+ vehicles so the streets are filled with real cars from the 70's to the 2011's. the player can seamlessly shift between anything they see on the road and start driving that in place of their current ride. you can only compete in the games missions using the cars you've been able to purchase (aside from missions that require specific vehicles). but there are a plethora of other side events that can be completed with any car you see around you. just shift away. this includes trucks, like large industrial trucks, and emergency vehicles like an ambulance.

the concept of shifting is explained by a ridiculous story narrative that is straight out of an 80's B-movie. but that's irrelevant because it works just as advertised and it's a lot of fun. the story is definitely the sidecar to DriverSF as it is to virtually any racing game.

gameplay itself is a relatively nice balance between arcade and sim.
handling feels robust and enjoyable; it can be as unforgiving as it is responsive and punchy. the AI is capable of providing a solid challenge without being overbearing or outright "cheating" with their physics. the game world, being a fair recreation of San Francisco, is pretty huge. simply driving around in free mode is engaging enough to get lost for awhile. sound effects are superb and the game always keeps track of handbrake turns, jumps, near-misses, and other stunts that add points to your "bank account," let's call it.

when you win events or complete missions you earn points which are basically currency allowing you to buy new garages around town (to store more rides) and other vehicle or player upgrades. I say player, but the whole game takes place in the cars. there's no 3rd person getting out and walking around. momentarily shifting is the only time the player "exits" the driving part of the experience. like I said though, it's all seamless. very cool concept that's well executed.
once you get used to it you realize it opens up new possibilities. say you're doing a mission where you're chasing somebody and you pull a bad turn, spinning out, and they start to get away. you have a chance to shift to (let's say) a pickup truck that you can see further down the road near your target, take control, and ram his car or block him. then you continue the chase. you could also shift into a pedestrian vehicle during a race in order to "fling" it at your competition and crash them.

of course there are also straight-forward missions and technical races where shifting is disabled.

the whole game is well polished.
no load times, seamless shifting (hard to describe but effortless), fast menus, easy to navigate map, etc etc.

I'm less than 15 hours in but it's got my thumbs up.
oh and there's also a mode in which you can film yourself doing whatever, similar to GTA 4, and edit your stunts into movies with special effects.
 
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Jacks:Revenge

╠╣E╚╚O
Jun 18, 2006
10,065
218
63
somewhere; sometime?
after playing driv3r i'll never play another Driver game again.
would you believe me if I assured you that this game is awesome?

I didn't discover Driver San Francisco until reading reviews on other forums, mostly by way of "Game You're Currently Playing" type threads. I noticed that whenever people were talking about racing games they kept mentioning DriverSF and how pleasantly surprised they all were.

like I said, I didn't play the past few Driver games in the series. but I heard terrible things about Driv3r. I don't hear anything like that about DriverSF. almost everything I read is positive.
apparently DriverSF was designed from scratch instead of being developed on the back of Driv3r; they tore down and rebuilt the whole structure of the game, it's style, and how it handles. and it really is a lot of fun.

huge game world, over 130 real vehicles from the late 60's all the way up to the Chevy Volt. the events and missions are almost as varied as the choice of rides. there hasn't really been a boring moment yet and no 2 events are the same; especially because every vehicle is so unique in its personality and handling.

you can replay any event as you progress with different vehicles or settings to try and beat your previous best. as you go through the game you'll be unlocking many new cars and upgrades. the map also becomes more accessible as you progress.
any time you get tired of racing you can switch over the cops/robbers mode. you can either play as the bad guy trying to get away or the team of cops giving chase.

if you're playing as the bad guy you can "shift" into oncoming traffic and "throw" those vehicles at your pursuers to block or slow them down.
if you're playing as the cops you can instantly shift between other pursuit cars in the chase.
again, this concept of shifting is done seamlessly and provides a whole new level of gameplay I've never seen in a racing title before.

did I mention the game also has distinct focus on paying homage to 70's-style car chases?
there's a cinema mode where they've included like 20 different preset car chase challenges. one of them, of course, is a recreation of the famous Bullit scene where Steve McQueen's Mustang is chasing the Charger through downtown San Francisco.

you can play it! you can live it!
the sound effects really bring it home. very cool.
 
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Kyllian

if (Driver == Bot.Pawn); bGTFO=True;
Aug 24, 2002
3,575
0
36
45.64.294
kyllian.deviantart.com
Loved first Driver
Driver 2 was an abomination that should be wiped from history
You know how some games fake difficulty by giving the AI advantages, sometimes obvious advantages? Driver2 was beyond rife with that
Get tapped by an AI chasing you? Go flying
Tap an AI you're chasing? Go flying
On one chase mission I saw that the AI was going to smack right into 2 cars at once. Thought "sweet, easy mission", then I saw the AI knock the other cars away as if they were pingpong balls

I didn't even give Driv3r a look because of D2's AI bullshit
 

DarkED

The Great Oppression
Mar 19, 2006
3,113
17
38
38
Right behind you.
www.nodanites.com
Loved first Driver
Driver 2 was an abomination that should be wiped from history
You know how some games fake difficulty by giving the AI advantages, sometimes obvious advantages? Driver2 was beyond rife with that
Get tapped by an AI chasing you? Go flying
Tap an AI you're chasing? Go flying
On one chase mission I saw that the AI was going to smack right into 2 cars at once. Thought "sweet, easy mission", then I saw the AI knock the other cars away as if they were pingpong balls

I didn't even give Driv3r a look because of D2's AI bullshit

The GTA games do that too, it was REALLY noticeable in San Andreas. Even GTA IV is guilty of it, albeit to a smaller degree.
 

N1ghtmare

Sweet Dreams
Jul 17, 2005
2,411
12
38
Where least expected
The GTA games do that too, it was REALLY noticeable in San Andreas. Even GTA IV is guilty of it, albeit to a smaller degree.

Eh, I only remember in GTA 3 one of the races the ai had bullet-proof sports cars. Technically they are 'not cheating' as various other cars were said 'bulletproof'. You could get this sports car by ramming it with a tank (which insta-kills any car) and pushing it back into your garage.

I have seen GTA 3 & San Andreas ai do stupid things and die, generally making an mission easier by sheer chance.
 

Jacks:Revenge

╠╣E╚╚O
Jun 18, 2006
10,065
218
63
somewhere; sometime?
I just unlocked the other half of the map.
not only do you have all of downtown San Francisco at your disposal (basically mapped from Google Earth) but you eventually gain access to the entire other side of the bay across the Golden Gate.

there's even some awesome events known as Team Racing where you 'control' 2 different cars in a 6-8 car race. and the only way to win is to finish 1st and 2nd with your vehicles.
so during the race you're shifting between your team, racing them into good position, then shifting to (for instance) oncoming traffic and launching it at your opponents. then shifting back to your team, avoiding the pileup, and pulling away. or shifting between your team cars to block in and trap the competition and run them into a wall.

recently I was doing a team race and leading my opponents towards a shortcut. when I got close I shifted into this public city bus and drove it right up behind my 2 cars, between them and the competition, and when my team dove into the shortcut I jackknifed the bus across both lanes blocking the entrance.
the AI had to reverse and go back the long way giving me a huge lead.

the same strategies can be used during most of the games missions and police chases.
 

Hadmar

Queen Bitch of the Universe
Jan 29, 2001
5,557
42
48
Nerdpole
Loved first Driver
Driver 2 was an abomination that should be wiped from history
You know how some games fake difficulty by giving the AI advantages, sometimes obvious advantages? Driver2 was beyond rife with that
Get tapped by an AI chasing you? Go flying
Tap an AI you're chasing? Go flying
On one chase mission I saw that the AI was going to smack right into 2 cars at once. Thought "sweet, easy mission", then I saw the AI knock the other cars away as if they were pingpong balls

I didn't even give Driv3r a look because of D2's AI bullshit

Funny, I had a similar experience with the very first Driver. It made sure I'll never touch another Driver game again unless something exceptional happens.
 

Jacks:Revenge

╠╣E╚╚O
Jun 18, 2006
10,065
218
63
somewhere; sometime?
It made sure I'll never touch another Driver game again unless something exceptional happens.
you're gay :p
how's that for exceptional?

just give Driver SF a try.
even the soundtrack is awesome.

it's all funky 70's-type cheesy porn/B-movie music.
mixed in with a lot of great modern tunes, from rock to the Beastie Boys.

did I mention the game includes 140+ fully damageable and licensed vehicles ranging from buggies, muscle cars, and sport cars across 50 years?
a virtual replica of the entire downtown San Fran area AND the region across the Bay?
literally hundreds of unique race/stunt/chase events?

you can essentially double all of this content by playing online too.
most of the game is available to play in COOP (or with one player on side of the hero and the other on the side of the cops/bad guys) and there are additional challenges that can only be accessed through multiplayer.
 
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Hadmar

Queen Bitch of the Universe
Jan 29, 2001
5,557
42
48
Nerdpole
you're gay :p
how's that for exceptional?

just give Driver SF a try.
even the soundtrack is awesome.

it's all funky 70's-type cheesy porn/B-movie music.
mixed in with a lot of great modern tunes, from rock to the Beastie Boys.

did I mention the game includes 140+ fully damageable and licensed vehicles ranging from buggies, muscle cars, and sport cars across 50 years?
a virtual replica of the entire downtown San Fran area AND the region across the Bay?
literally hundreds of unique race/stunt/chase events?

you can essentially double all of this content by playing online too.
most of the game is available to play in COOP (or with one player on side of the hero and the other on the side of the cops/bad guys) and there are additional challenges that can only be accessed through multiplayer.

Sounds good, but really, that's not exceptional enough. I might at some point decide to endure the bother of researching if the game would piss me off as much as the first one did, but until then I have huge backlog of unplayed games that are waiting to get some lubbing from me. :p
 
Mar 19, 2002
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Denver Co. USA
Visit site
I'm totally into this game.

It's the shit niggers

I mean it's, like, totally the stuff n' stuff
and I'm psychededeedededeedeecededeedeeddddddeeddddedd

outta my monday morning.

fun game.
 
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