Driver San Fransisco Special Edition PC Games

Driver San Fransisco Special Edition Product Details

Released on 30-Sep-2011

• DRIVING SCHOOL: THE HISTORY OF DRIVER

  DRIVING SCHOOL: THE HISTORY OF DRIVER

  Undercover cop Tanner screeches back into action this week, but for many it was a comeback they thought would never happen. The history of Driver is a tale of dizzying highs and notorious lows, but one thing has remained constant: car-crushing action.

  The series began back on the original PlayStation in 1999, a passion project from Newcastle-based developer Reflections. The studio had mangled cars in its hit Destruction Derby, and was looking for a more cinematic way to develop their ideas. Hollywood car chases were the obvious inspiration, in particular the Walter Hill movie The Driver, and so the game was born.

  By casting the player as an undercover cop, doing jobs for the mob in order to get closer to Mr Big, Driver was able to have it both ways. You were playing the hero, but also got to evade police cars by barrelling down side streets, crashing through piles of boxes and performing suspension-crunching leaps over bridges and hills. The story, of course, was almost entirely surplus to requirements, and it was with good reason that the game included its own movie editor. Placing cameras and adding slow motion to show off your action replays in all their glory was almost as exciting as the driving itself.

  The game was a well deserved smash hit, and a sequel was inevitable. However, a dark cloud loomed over the series. A cloud called Grand Theft Auto. This top-down car-jacking game had been a cult hit in 1997, but with the news that it would be bursting into full 3D on the PlayStation 2, the pressure was on for Driver 2 to beat it to the punch.

  So it was that in 2000 the second Driver game was hurriedly crammed into the original PlayStation, with a crude on-foot mode added so that Tanner could get out of his car and orrowanother. Driving was still as fun as before, but the game was straining against the ageing PS One hardware, and the control and animation for the pedestrian adventures left a lot to be desired.

  It would be four years before Driver returned to consoles, but in that time Grand Theft Auto III had not only wowed critics and gamers like, but spawned an even more popular sequel, Vice City. Driver 3, or DRIV3R as it was awkwardly named, was suddenly the underdog, and a year-long delay from its planned 2003 release date didn't help.

  Anticipation was high when the game finally launched for PS2 and Xbox in 2004, but the jubilation was short-lived. The game was riddled with bugs and glitches, while the missions were fussy affairs, demanding tight time limits and precision driving that the clunky game engine struggled to deliver. Review scores were scathing, and the series seemed dead in the water.

  Yet just two years later, Driver redeemed itself with Parallel Lines, a return to the classic cop show carnage that had made the original such a hit. Opening in the 1970s - the golden age of muscle car mash-ups - it followed a new character, sixteen-year-old TK who'd been sent to Sing Sing prison. Catching up with him thirty years later, the game followed his quest for revenge on the gangsters who set him up. Parallel Lines wasn't a massive success players were clearly still wary after DRIV3R but enough people played and enjoyed it to reassure everyone that the series was back on track.

  Which brings us to Driver: San Francisco, the latest (and possibly greatest) entry in the franchise. Still developed by the same Newcastle studio that has created every Driver game,
  it also welcomes back original creator Martin Edmondson in the
  director's chair, and original star Tanner behind the wheel.

  In keeping with this back to basics approach, the game has ditched the controversial on-foot sections, in favour of pure driving action. Variety now comes from hift a bizarre mechanism brought about by a near-death experience that allows Tanner to send his conscious mind floating down the highway to ossessany other driver he likes. It sounds weird, but it works fantastically, adding a layer of strategy as you plan your route not only in terms of streets, but also the vehicles ahead of you. The same feature is present in the new multiplayer modes a first for the series.

  It's no surprise that the game to mark Driver's triumphant return is set in San Francisco, the hilly city where Steve McQueen bounced up and down in the greatest car chase ever filmed for Bullitt. It's a classic statement of intent for the series: the king of the car chase has returned, and it's going back to basics in more ways than one.

• Deus Ex stays ahead of Driver in charts

  Deus Ex: Human Revolution has managed to extend its lead in the UK all-formats chart for a second week, despite a strong debut for Driver: San Francisco.

  Square Enix's acclaimed sci-fi shooter for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC has maintained its place in the official GfK-ChartTrack rankings a week after its long-awaited debut.

  Driver: San Francisco had to settle for second place in its first week on release, but it was a good performance nevertheless for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii title, which is the first new entry in the popular series for four years.

  Following behind the new Driver was former chart leader Zumba Fitness and sports game Rugby World Cup 2011, while Lego Pirates of the Caribbean came fifth.

  Meanwhile, EA's latest American football title Madden NFL 12 made its debut in sixth place.

  Next week's chart will see the debut of a number of high-profile titles, including zombie action game Dead Island on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, as well as Star Fox 64 3D on Nintendo 3DS.

  Published: 05/09/2011

• Dead Island shambles to top of UK charts

  Zombie survival experience Dead Island has shuffled its way straight to the top of the UK all-formats chart.

  Techland's eagerly awaited first-person action game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC was able to overcome last week's leader Deus Ex: Human Revolution, no doubt thanks to the buzz created by its stunning debut trailer earlier this year.

  It was a strong week for new releases overall in the official GfK-ChartTrack rankings, with THQ's new sci-fi shooter Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine stomping into second place.

  Third spot went to the holdover Driver: San Francisco, while fourth place was taken by another debutant, the PlayStation 3 exclusive FPS Resistance 3.

  Meanwhile, there was also a top ten entry for Star Fox 3D, with the Nintendo 3DS remake of the classic Nintendo 64 title coming ninth.

  Next week's new releases include an eclectic mix of titles, such as the quirky Kinect game The Gunstringer and God of War Collection: Volume II on PlayStation 3.

  Published: 13/09/2011

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