Driv3r
- January 14, 2004 17:54 PM PST
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We go hands-on with one of the most promising driving games of 2004.
Atari debuted a playable version of Driv3r (otherwise known as Driver 3) to the world yesterday at a press event in San Francisco. Held in a decked out parking garage, the event brought together the game, the developers and the lead voice actors (Michael Madsen and Michelle Rodriguez) all in once convenient place. After showing a rough cut of the Driv3r short film ?Run the Gauntlet,? the attendees were let loose upon PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game.The demo stations were properly themed, with each television framed by a car door and old car seats provided ample room to rest while we played. Of the two versions, the PS2 build sported more features, however the Xbox version appeared to have a few more visual effects. Regardless, both were looking very impressive.
All three cities (Istanbul, Nice and Miami) were available for play, featuring a grand total of more than 150 miles of road. Of course, that number fails to take into account the large number of alleys and side streets, which adds nearly 100 additional miles to the total. That?s a lot of road!
Three modes of gameplay were available in the demo build: Undercover, Take a Ride and Driving Games. Undercover is the main mission mode, where players follow Tanner through an adventure and watch the story unfold. Take a Ride is a ?by-the-numbers? free-roam option, while Driving Games presents the player with three mini-games to play at any time.
Allowing players to adventure through each of the three cities at will (and with their choice of vehicle), the Take a Ride mode is a great way to learn the lay of the land and start scoping out the hidden alleys ahead of time so you know where to hide when the heat is turned up and the cops are close behind.
The three different driving games offer a series of time-based challenges. The first, survival mode, times how long you can survive while an unending supply of police officers try to hunt you down. Quick Chase drops you into the role of pursuer with the goal of damaging a target car in order to disable it. Here, you are going for the shortest possible time. Finally, Quick Getaway times you on how fast you can lose a police tail. Like Quick Chase, the shortest time is rewarded.
Although the demo only offered 14 different vehicles (including various cars, a motorcycle and a semi truck), the full version will have more than 70. That kind of variety is sure to please just about anyone. While the wheels may look familiar, none are licensed, so don?t expect to go tearing up the streets in a favorite car. It?s strictly fantasyland here.
Visually, what we saw was looking very nice, with a decent number of lighting effects already in place. Switching between dawn, day and dusk in Take a Ride mode allowed us to view the cities under three different lighting models. The difference wasn?t incredibly drastic, but it did add a nice level of ambiance to the levels.
Behind the wheel of a car, the controls felt incredibly natural. Developer Reflections pushed for a realistic feel, but left a touch of arcade handling in the game. That?s a fancy way of saying the game is easy to control and quite intuitive. Unlike games with more realistic driving models, it is possible (and quite fun) to go tearing around corners at insane speeds whilst not having to worry about an accidental spinout.
Collision detection is already solid, with the cars in the game reacting to anything they hit, either purposefully or inadvertently. It is possible to lose parts of your car -- such as a door -- or target individual sections of another vehicle. You can shoot out the driver?s side window, all while leaving the other windows alone and intact. Environmental objects are also easily breakable, with many choice items for your car to tear through.
Most of the game will take place behind the wheel of a car, but that doesn?t mean you are restricted to being the wheelman. You are given the option to exit the current vehicle at any time, as well as randomly steal another car if you so choose. It might sound like shades of Grand Theft Auto, but it?s not. The on-foot segments appear mostly for variety, as the real meat of the game occurs when you are driving.
Street layouts are large and sprawling, with each city map drawn up like a honeycombed spider web, giving players plenty of freedom. Learning the layout of an individual city can be difficult, but an on-screen map is on-hand to keep you from getting lost.
Other aspects to the game include the return of Film Director mode, which lets you create the perfect replay, multiple solutions for each mission, the ability to switch characters for certain tasks and multiple difficulty levels.
At just over two months before street date, Driv3r is already shaping up into what looks like an incredibly fun title. If you ever wanted to just drop what you are doing, hop into a car and go wild, then Driv3r is just what the doctor ordered. We?re looking forward to a more complete build in the near future. Check back soon for more Driv3r goodies.
