DRIV3R - IGN (original) (raw)

Earlier this week, Atari released the console version of DRIV3R to much fanfare. Unfortunately, the fanfare was quickly followed by dismissive reviews that slighted the game for terrible AI, visual problems, and control issues. Sorrent arranged for a simultaneous release of their mobile take on Atari's car crash -- and much to our relief, it's a far better game than it's console brethren.
Features:

• Two gameplay modes: Uncover and Driving Games
• Multiple vehicles
• Unlock console codes
  Sorrent's DRIV3R is a very ambitious little game, offering multiple play modes in an effort to not exactly emulate the console experience, but compliment it. If you can do it in the XBox version of DRIV3R, you should be able to approximate it in Sorrent's DRIV3R. That includes stealing cars, bashing into rivals, and seeing the sights.
  The main single-player game is Undercover, which tells the story of undercover FBI agent Tanner as he worms into way into an organized crime syndicate. In Undercover mode, you get behind the wheels of a garage-full of vehicles, such as red sports cars, motorcycles and cop cruisers. The story stretches across three distinctly different cities: Miami, Nice, and Istanbul.
  When you begin Undercover, you access a training mission that gets you used to the layout of the city, as well as the controls. And you're definitely going to need the practice, as the controls are not exactly what you are used to in a handset game.
  There are two control schemes: Directional Steering and Real Steering. Directional Steering means the car moves in the specific direction you press the touchpad or number keys. Pressing up turns your car northward. It may take some getting used to, which is why we preferred Real Steering. Real Steering is somewhat more like an actual driving game, where pressing forward accelerates in that direction, while left or right turns the car. In addition, you can also burnout by pressing diagonally upwards on the touchpad, or swing the car around with the e-brake by pressing diagonally downwards.
  While playing Undercover, we had a good time bashing up rival cars, eluding pursuing vehicles, and racing from checkpoint to checkpoint. All basic fare, but handled pretty well in DRIV3R. Where we noticed a slight problem, though, was in the AI driving. While not as horrible as the console game, some of the other drivers are a little too erratic on the road. They stop for no reason. They suddenly swerve out, but it doesn't seem to be for any reason. And that's when you start taking damage. You do have a damage meter on the bottom of the screen, though, to track how badly beat up your ride is.
  The other mode, Driving Games, includes five mini-games: Drive, Follow, Evade, Kill, and Defend.
• Drive: A speeding contest that judges how fast you can navigate the city streets. Hit checkpoints in order.
• Follow: You need to follow Calita through the city of Istanbul without taking too much damage.
• Evade: Drive through the streets as fast as you can, losing the cops as you move.
• Kill: There's a dude name Baccus and his car needs a good beating. Chase him down and give it to him.
• Defend: Defend Calita's ride from a rival gang.
  Visually, DRIV3R looks pretty decent. The environments are varied and the car sprites are well-drawn. Does it rival game Boy Advance stuff? No, but it's still good. DRIV3R has a brief opening theme, but after that, it's a lot of ambient city noise.

Verdict

DRIV3R is probably Sorrent's most ambitious title to date, as well as a very important release for the mobile arena. This is a major console/handset collaboration, and if it succeeds, we could be seeing a lot more efforts like this. (Previous couplings have included Gameloft's Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell</> games -- both excellent.) Too bad for Sorrent that Atari's DRIV3R is such a dog. Very few people will likely ever want to use the included cheat code in Sorrent's DRIV3R -- unless it's a code to make the cops not drive like morons.