| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Silvador
Royal Member of BonBon
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
Posts: 12351
|
 Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:15 am Post subject: Driver: San Francisco; First Impression & Final Thoughts |
 |
|
*puts disc in PS3*
*waits for game to install*
*eagerly presses start button and begins playing*
*plays first half hour to 45 minutes*
...
...
... WTF?!
_________________
  
Fursonas: http://tinyurl.com/yzcsyug
Last edited by Silvador on Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:45 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Rune174
Royal Member of BonBon
Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 6010
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:11 am Post subject: |
|
|
What is this game you speak of?
_________________
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Silvador
Royal Member of BonBon
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
Posts: 12351
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 12:30 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Rune174 wrote: | | What is this game you speak of? |
*falls over anime style*
It is the 5th installment of a series of games that goes back to the original grey slab that is the mighty Playstation. It is a great game, and has continued to be a great game from the beginning. The storyline in the first Driver was a bit difficult to follow, but in Driver 2 there was actually a followable, and gripping, plot. A 3rd Driver was promised for 2002 at the end of the credit of D2 but the game never came out till 2004. Driver 3 (Driv3r) continued this storyline and ended on a cliffhanger. Driver 4 (Driver: Parallel Lines) was something of a disappointment in that the storyline was entirely unrelated to the previous games. The gameplay was still excellent, however, and I loved it as much as earlier Driver games.
After seeing the trailer for Driver: San Francisco, I practically jumped out of my seat and squealed as it promised the continuation of the cliffhanger ending from Driver 3 that I had been waiting for for so long.
Sadly, this new Driver game is... well, I don't know what it is.
Back in Driver 2 they added a walkaround mode, allowing you to get out of the car and get another one. This was a basic feature and didn't really need to be anything more. The focus of the game has always been driving (unlike the GTA games where the fucos has been more on the general spread of chaos whether on foot or in a car). With Driver 3 and 4, they improved a little on the walkaround feature, but the focus still remained on the driving. This feature, though secondary to the gameplay, served a purpose, and that purpose was to get to another car. The general physics of how the cars perform in the Driver games, even back on the old Playstation, have always been superior to that of GTA. The cars handle much as you would expect them to in Forza or Gran Turismo, and because you spend the majority of your time driving, this is a very, very good point.
But the new Driver has scrapped this old ways of putting foot to pavement and implemented a posession technique. That's right, posession! Tanner (the main character) can "shift" at will out of his body, fly over the city and inhabit the body of the driver of any other car. While this is a unique and cool feature, opening some rather interesting results for car chases, it is not a Driver feature. This feature is overbearing and shifting is encouraged, stealing away from the driving aspect. Getting too far away from the lead car? Shift into another car that is closer and continue the chase. ARGH! There is no skill in this anymore!!! And all these "challenges" and "dares" dotted around the city makes me feel like I'm playing Burnout: Paradise. This crap was never in any other Driver game. And it may have been a few years since I played Driver 2 and 3, but I'm pretty sure Tanner used to have something of a badass attitude. In Driver: San Francisco, this badassery is absent, filled with only cockiness, which I'm quite sure wasn't there before.
It's like Dungeon Siege 3 all over again. My God! The only aspect of the game that is Driver, is the blasted title.
Don't get me wrong, it's still a good game. Beneath my major disappointment at the massive gameplay changes, I am enjoying Driver 5. As expected, the cars handle like a dream. The new feature is kind of cool, if a little too liberating. But it just doesn't feel like a Driver game.
As a game on its own, I'd have given Driver: San Francisco 8/10 Screeching Tires. But for the severe changes they have made to a classic series, that score is dropped to 4.5 Screeching Tires.
It's a great game to play if you're unfamiliar with the Driver series. But if you're a long time fan of Driver, this game is a big disappointment.
But I've only played some of the game. I've been shown glimpses in cinematics that imply this whole posession business is just happening inside Tanner's head while he is laying in a hospital bed. But something tells me this posession technique will likely carry over to after he gets out of said hospital bed... I hope it doesn't. I really, really hope it doesn't. 
_________________
Fursonas: http://tinyurl.com/yzcsyug |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Rune174
Royal Member of BonBon
Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 6010
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Oh yeah, I played the first two way back in the day. All the others after that point are unknown to me. Most games of today lack the subtle satisfaction one experiences when they play games. Its like fruit juice. It is awesome and sweet, but because more people wanted more, they add more water and less sugar and it just does'nt taste the same anymore. Its the same for video games.
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Silvador
Royal Member of BonBon
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
Posts: 12351
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 8:06 am Post subject: |
|
|
I just want to snap the disc into 4 pieces, dip them in liquid nitrogen and then take to them with a sledgehammer.
Reflections, I am very dissapoint. >:[
Regardless of the fact that the whole possession and car-throwing business goes on inside Tanner's head, this game is not, I repeat, not a Driver game. The "shift" feature is interesting, intriguing even, and a little fun at times, but is in no way a practical gameplay feature. The mission designs built around this feature are as poorly thought out as the feature itself. The "Boss Fight" near the end of the game is just... infuriating if not retarded.
As stated above, the key feature that makes a Driver game a Driver game is the driving. This has been pushed aside and made a secondary aspect of the game. The mirriad of "challenges" and "dares" dotted around the map makes it feel more like Burnout: Paradise (and a couple of other games I can't think of through this splitting headache). There has never been "extra missions" in Driver games. There has only been the primary, story driven missions and driving. These are the two factors that made Driver a great series. No cluttered side mission garbage between missions and no far stretching super power BS. There was a handful, a very small number of races in Driver: Parallel Lines, but they were entirely optional.
The ONLY part of this new Driver game that actually felt like a Driver game, was the final car chase at the end.
A gave this game a rating of 4/10 earlier. But after playing through the game and finishing it, that rating is reduced to a 1.5/10. The only thing stopping me from taking this disc outside and smashing the shit out of it right now is the fact that I was stupid enough to think it would actually be remotely like the previous Driver games and figure it was worth buying straight up. This $100 is getting put at the back of the shelf and will not be getting played again in the near future.
I've played 4 Driver games, each as excellent as the last, each fueling my passion and love of the series. This one game has shattered what respect I've had for the series. I hold this game and those who made it in contempt and hope they go bankrupt.
Rest In Peace, Driver. You were a game before your time and became a series worthy of many, many hours of mindless, high-speed police chases.
I will miss you.
_________________
Fursonas: http://tinyurl.com/yzcsyug |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Register
Profile
Log in
