Is the new Driver game a worthy entry or should it retire from open world racing?

Sep 22, 2011 14:18 GMT  ·  By

Driver: San Francisco is the latest installment in the long running Driver series from Ubisoft, as the French publisher tasked its Ubisoft Reflections studio with bringing back the long dormant franchise and giving it a new lease on life.

With promises like a new, high quality engine, fresh gameplay and a rather unique premise of allowing you to jump into different cars during the action, San Francisco seems to be a breath of fresh air in the genre of open world racing titles.

So, is Driver: San Francisco a winner or should it retire completely? Let's have a quick look.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from Driver: San Francisco, especially from the rather quirky premise that you're now in the mind of series protagonist John Tanner, who was involved in a brutal crash while chasing a criminal, and is now in a coma.

This allows him to explore San Francisco by jumping from car to car, taking control of their actual drivers, and doing pretty much whatever he wants, from racing, to getting in trouble with the cops and other such things.

His adventures do have a purpose, as he needs to explore the city and track down Charles Jericho, a bad guy from the previous Driv3r and Driver 2 titles, now escaped from police custody and loose on the streets of the city.

The gameplay involves Tanner engaging in a variery of car-related activities, from straight up races to challenges like driving fast in the oncoming lane or avoiding crashes. Doing such things nets him Willpower points, which can be exchanged at Garages through San Francisco for new cars or upgrades.

Driving vehicles feels pretty good, with the title keeping an arcade feel, even if some rear-wheel drive cars, like Tanner's trademark Dodge Challenger, are inclined to lose control a bit too easily when going round corners.

Besides that, however, the game looks pretty good, and the licensed tracks sound great, providing a great mix between jazz or R&B, reminding players they're exploring groovy San Francisco.

The cars are also licensed, but there aren't that many different models at least in the first area, so expect quite a lot of motorists to drive the same cars, only with different colors.

For a brief introduction to Driver: San Francisco, check out the video below.