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Driver 3

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DRIV3R
Developer(s)Reflections Interactive
Publisher(s)Atari
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox, Mobile phone, Game Boy Advance
ReleaseUnited StatesJune 21 2004
United KingdomJune 25 2004
Genre(s)Action, Shooter
Mode(s)Single player

Driv3r, more commonly known as Driver 3, is a racing, shooting, and adventure video game. It is the third installment in the popular Driver series and was developed by Reflections Interactive and published by Atari. Driv3r was released in North America for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on June 21 2004. In Europe, it was officially released on June 25, although due to the way Atari shipped the title across the continent, it made its way into independent UK retailers before the release date, even making a #6 position in the ELSPA chart for that week. On March 15 2005, it was released on PC for US customers and a scaled down version was released for the mobile phone in June 2004. At one point a Nintendo GameCube version was planned, but it was later canceled.

Driv3r brings back features from Driver 2 and adds the ability to ride motorcycles and boats, use weapons, swim, climb ladders, and enter certain buildings among other things.

Story

The game begins in Miami, where undercover police officer Tanner, along with partner Tobias Jones, must infiltrate a crime ring specializing in stolen vehicles. A ruthless woman named Calita, along with henchman and weapons specialist Lomaz run the gang. Tanner convinces them to give him a shot to work for them. Once he is accepted by the group, Tanner begins conducting various jobs for them, in pursuit of a total 40 stolen high performance vehicles.

After a falling-out with an important contact and local crime lord named "The Gator", the outfit moves their operations to Nice, France, and Tanner relocates as well. However, Interpol agents have their own plans to take down the crime ring and are at odds with Tanner. Tanner decides to work the job his own way, which, in several cases, leads him into direct conflict with the Interpol agents.

In Istanbul, Turkey, Tanner is now working as a rogue agent. However, Tanner and Jones are able to find a number of contacts who lead them to the crime ring and its true leader Jericho, a former hitman and minor character in Driver 2. Jericho once appeared at a warehouse while Didier Dubois was using a laptop, first stunning Tanner, who drops his gun, then confronts Tanner and shoots Dubois. A cutsecene later shows Dubois's brother Vauban tell Tanner "Dubois is in a body bag and the bullets are yours." Tanner then walks away and that ended his cooperation with the police force, forcing Tanner to escape to the nearest warehouse. A cutscene earlier in the game showed that Jericho had turned on his boss Solomon Caine and assassinated him in a hotel elevator, probably in retaliation for forming an alliance with his rival Vasquez at the end of Driver 2. Once it is evident that Tanner has found a way to stop the gang from selling the stolen vehicles, he is brought back onto the force and aids in stopping the sale. Following a car chase and violent shootout between Jericho's men and the Turkish police, Tanner faces crimelord Jericho in a final showdown. Both men are injured and the ending of the game shows one of them flatlining. In the mobile phone game, Driver: Vegas, it is revealed that both men survived, and Tanner seeks revenge on Jericho.

Besides that, there is a reference to Tanner's survival in the following game. On a wall of TK's apartment in 2006, the player can notice graffiti that reads "Tanner Lives."

Characters

Main article: List of Characters in Driv3r

Cities

Miami

The Miami rendition of Driv3r is geographically accurate to Miami itself. However, the streets and locations are inaccurate and even some fictional locations such as "The Gold Coast Hotel" and Dodge Island are present in the game.

Miami Beach: Miami Beach in Driv3r contains famous streets such as Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue. The streets are cut short and don't remain over five blocks long at the least. Ocean Drive has famous hotels such as "The Colony Hotel", "The Beacon", "The Clevelander", and "The Breakwater". Collins Avenue has other hotels as well. There is also the Miami Beach Convention Center and the fictional Gold Coast Hotel.

South Pointe Park: South Pointe Park is the smallest area in Miami. There are houses and roads which lead directly to South Beach/Miami Beach. In the area there, is the also the real-life Portofino Tower and a fictional complex of houses in which Tanner's house is located in. In South Pointe Park, there is the park itself which is connected from the house complex by a walkway. Along the walkway there is a beach, giving a view of Downtown Miami.

Downtown Miami: This section of the city is not marked on the map, but is highly recognizable due to the landmarks and areas such as the Tower At International Place and Bayside. It is the biggest section in the city and also has the Metromover that goes over the streets. Downtown Miami is one of the city's sections that has ramps to freeways and highway overpasses leading to Little Havana and Coconut Grove. Miami International Airport (which is located in the real-life Downtown Miami) is also absent in the game, but is seen briefly in one cut-scene.

Coconut Grove: Coconut Grove is southern-most area on the map. It is depicted as a shopping attraction alike the real-life Coconut Grove. Like South Pointe Park, it is only partial and is made up of roads and small houses, along with docks and seaports plus famous landmarks such as the Miami Mall and the Eye Optical Center.

Little Havana: Little Havana is the western-most location on the map and contains one real-life location: The Orange Bowl. Little Havana in DRIV3R consists of gas stations, motels, apartment complexes, and a church. It also has warehouses that have wanted posters on their walls reading "The Florida Waderer" and a picture of a Timmy Vermicelli, an easter egg of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's Tommy Vercetti.

Coral Gables: Coral Gables is located just south of Little Havana. It consists of houses, parks, retirement homes, a lighthouse, and the famous Biltimore Hotel. The Biltimore, in this game, has a secret tunnel located to the side of the hotel. The tunnel can lead to an off-the-map go cart racetrack. If the player gets near or in the go cart, he/she can race with an opponent.

Dodge Island: Based on the Port of Miami. Dodge Island consists of docks and cruise yards. It is a small island linked to the Downtown Miami area.

Nice

Nice is a city in Southern France on the Mediterranean coast. The general landscape on the game is very life-realistic. The main port is just like a real picture and Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur is present.

İstanbul

İstanbul is a large city in northern Türkiye. In the game, the gritteness of the actual city is well replicated, but there is a lot of repetition and the whole city starts to feel the same after a while.

Connection to Grand Theft Auto

Rockstar North had started the rivalry with a mission in Grand Theft Auto III called "Two Faced Tanner" in which players had to kill an undercover cop who was "useless out of his car", a reference to Driver 2's game play (they even went so far as to give the pseudo Tanner a female's walking animation).

Reflections responded by adding tanned men with waterwings on their arms and Hawaiian shirts hidden throughout the game, as a mocking reference to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, whose characters were unable to swim. They were called "Timmy Vermicellis" after the playable character in Vice City, Tommy Vercetti.

Rockstar later got revenge on a GTA: Vice City mission "Autocide", where the player is involved to kill gang members of a European gang. One of them was named "Dick Tanner". Possibly after Officer Tanner in Driver 2.

Rockstar responded to this in GTA: San Andreas. There, in a mission where the player breaks into Madd Dogg's mansion, a person can be overheard playing a video game and making fun of the way the main character walks (Tanner's walking animations were often criticized) and asking how Refractions (a play of the Driver series' developer, Reflections) could have "messed up so bad." He also says "Tanner, you suck ass!"

Ironically, Michael Madsen, the voice actor for Tanner, provided the voice of Toni Cipriani in Grand Theft Auto III, but did not provide the voice of Toni in the prequel, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

Reviews and criticism

After an extensive and intensive promotional campaign, Driv3r was met with a poor critical reaction, with the vast majority of magazines and websites giving the game mediocre scores; IGN and GameSpot both gave the game 5.4 out of 10. [1][2] However, two magazines published by Future Publishing (PSM2 & OXM) gave it 9/10.[3]

Driv3r was criticized for Tanner's lack of hand-to-hand combat skills and meleé weapons. There were also criticisms for the poor implementation of the 'on the foot' missions. This was also a criticism levelled at Driver 2.

The game won the MegaGames.com award for Worst Game of 2005.[4]

Police AI vehicles were criticized for the use of "doublespeed", a way of cheating in which a pursuing cop would suddenly double its speed making it hard (if not impossible) for the player to escape. The AI can easily stem from the series' long use of rubberband AI. No matter what vehicles players can pick (either fast or slow), the police AI seems to always catch up and stay with the player. In Nice, police AI doesn't use "Doublespeed" but it can stay with the player no matter the player's performance.

The game also has a lot of glitches in it such as cars going through the ground.

Realism

Driv3r has several realistic vehicle aspects:

  • The reverse gear in cars makes the characteristic whine;
  • Bullet holes appear on car bodies when shot;
  • Vehicles only take significant damage when the engine is hit;
  • Rims of blown tires screech against the curb;
  • Headlights and tailights can be shot out;
  • Doors, trunklids, hoods, and windows can come off cars after taking damage or accelerating to high speed;
  • The character is injured in vehicle accidents, which can result in death;
  • The player can be shot through car windows when driving;

Trivia

  • Sobe is referenced several times in the game.
  • The cliffhanger ending to Driv3r can be found in the mobile phone version called Driver Vegas.
  • Nokia can be found in the Nice level where the long straightaway is near the beach. A billboard displays Nokia with its slogan "Connecting People" underneath. This billboard can be broken through.
  • Although the ESRB rating states that Driv3r is M rated for violence, minor blood effects are used. An example is when the players car flips over too much, when it stops (usually turned over) red dots are visible on the ground near the car.
  • Perhaps one of the most detailed render of Miami, such real-life skyscrapers as the Wachovia Financial Center and Biscayne Tower can be seen. The only notable absence is the Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, perhaps suggesting that the game takes place before the building's completion in late 2003.
  • A sub mission in Driv3r is to kill ten Timmy Vermicellis in all three cities in Take a Ride mode. That is referring to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's main character Tommy Vercetti.
  • In Miami, there is a bank called Bank of New York. This could be a hint to the fact that Driv3r originally had New York as it's setting. New York was later used as the setting for the sequel Driver: Parallel Lines.

Differences Between Xbox, PC, and PS2 Versions

  • In the Xbox version, Tanner's car remains black as in the opening scene (although it is seen orange in the recap). In the PlayStation2 version, it is orange although it is seen black in the opening scene.
  • In the Xbox version, the car Tanner chases Baccus with is black (although it is seen tan in the recap). In the Playstation2 version, it is tan just like in the recap.
  • There are more colors for the cars (purple, sky blue) in the PlayStation2 version than there are in the Xbox version.
  • In the PC version, there is a mission called "The Hit".
  • The Xbox version allows for custom soundtracks within the game, although the player cannot change the song track.
  • Some cars and weapons sound and look different in the PC version of the game when the player plays the missions in Undercover than in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions.
  • The Xbox version allows a profile to automatically be saved after a mission completion or killing of a Timmy Vermicelli or location of a secret car in Take a Ride mode, whereas in the Playstation2 and PC versions have the player save manually.

Vehicles

Though nameless in the game, all vehicles are modelled after the real automobiles. This is probably due to the fact that Reflections Interactive did not have the licenses to feature the makes and model names and the vehicles were modelled to look damaged when hit. The official names were confirmed in some game guides Including a 1969 Ford Mustang, 1975 Pontiac Trans Am, Citroen CX, Renault Alpine, De Tomaso Pantera GT5, BMW 507, Seat Ibiza and a Lamborghini Countach.

A strange things with the cars, is that in Miami, all the vehicles are from the 1970's and past. In Nice the cars are of newer models and the traffic is more like present time. And in Istanbul the cars are of a 1950's and 1960's settings Including a 1961 Chevrolet Impala.

Another interesting thing is that there are 3 secret cars in each map. These incude a Ford GT, Shelby cobra, VW van and a Vintage roadster.

Weapons

Weapons are unnamed in the game, possibly due to Reflections Interactive not having the appropriate license. Weapons' firing range and rate vary depending on their type. When the game starts in Take A Ride mode, Tanner is only equipped with one weapon. The other weapons can be claimed by seizing weapons from police and road gangsters who have been killed, and in one of the 3 hideouts (also referred to as a safehouse) where weapons are laid down on the floor.

Soundtrack

  1. C'mon And Try - Mellowdrone
  2. Big Brat - Phantom Planet
  3. Gimme Danger - Iggy and the Stooges
  4. Bowels Of The Beast - The Raveonettes
  5. Boy From The City - SLO-MO
  6. Destiny - Syntax
  7. Ripe For The Devil - Okuniev
  8. Move Over - Teddybears STHLM
  9. The 2nd Evolution/Stand Off - Narco
  10. Evil Brother - Narco
  11. Black Thread - Los Halos
  12. Exit - Stateless
  13. Zero PM - The BellRays
  14. Static In The Cities - Hope of the States
  15. Streets of Miami - Narco

See also

Main article: Sandbox (video games)

Notes and references

  1. ^ IGN: DRIV3R Review
  2. ^ DRIV3R for PlayStation 2 Review - PlayStation 2 DRIV3R Review
  3. ^ Driver 3, incompetence and corruption: one, two or three things
  4. ^ The Worst Game of 2005 - MegaGames pc
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