DRIV3R (Driver 3) Review - It has its issues but has a fantastic story.

By Sam Coles:

The driver series has dropped off the radar in recent years with the last game in the series was released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 back in 2011. Driv3r (Driver 3) was an interesting game as it was the first game in the series to be released on the 6^th generation of consoles, with improved visuals, new cities and interesting mechanics added. The game was panned when it was first released, but I have a soft spot for this game as it has cinematic flare with a well told story. Is it perfect? God no but it’s not unplayable as some people would have you believe.

Driver 3 takes place a few years after the second game and opens with an explosive shootout on the streets of Istanbul, as Tanner and his partner Jones are chasing down long-time nemesis Jericho. It turns out that this first scene is near the end and the game starts off in the humid and neon lit streets of Miami, where Tanner is uncovering a car smuggling ring based in South Beach where they are starting to branch out into Europe. It’s a great story with people like Michael Madison and Iggy Pop lending they’re voice talent, as well as Iggy Pop providing the soundtrack. It’s not the most ground breaking story, but it is beautifully executed and I have to say this game has the best cutscenes from that period as some scenes can get their point across with little dialogue, as it lets the music and environment do it in the dialogue’s place.

Driver 3 is an open world game in the same vein of Grand Theft Auto, but instead of one city Driver 3 has three cities you have Miami, Nice in France and Istanbul in Turkey. Each city is different and unique as you don’t really see cities like Nice and Istanbul rendered in video games and they have exquisite detail. You have several different modes you have the story mode titled Undercover, you have Take a Ride where you can mess around and do what you want in each city and you have challenge modes such as survival.

The gameplay is mostly driving like the previous games, but they have added on foot missions with shooting, however the controls when you’re on foot are not the best and the hit detection with the shooting is rather questionable.  The driving is the game’s strength, where the cars have real weight as you fling them around corners as you hear your tyres scream. Cars handle well for the most part, they don’t feel floaty compared to the Grand Theft Auto games of the time, as they have a realistic feel to them while at the same time it has a cinematic flare similar to films like Smoky and the Bandit with the jumps etc.

Visually the game is okay, the character models aren’t the best as you look very blocky during gameplay with very little detail on them. The environments look nice with each city with the sun blazing in the afternoon in Miami, to the sun setting on the tight streets of Istanbul. Car models look fantastic with great detail for each car, coupled with great damage models as you can see your car crumble under pressure when you have hit a wall head on.

Driver 3 is not the best game in the world, but it is propped up by its excellent story with great performances from Michael Madison, to the beautifully directed cutscenes. If you have a PS2 or original Xbox pick this game up, but don’t pick up the PC version as it is notorious for being extremely buggy and unstable.