DRIV3R Demo

When it comes to car games, the Driver series is one of the most famous of them all, thanks to the incredibly cinematic chases, spectacular crashes and exquisite storytelling techniques. After the franchise cemented its reputation, a third title was released, which, due to the fact that it was developed over the course of more than three years, promised plenty of content to show for it.

DRIV3R comes along with a lot of promises and a very different experience from the previous installments, mainly because a lot of effort went into the story, as well as the actual world in which the events take place. Thus, big names from Hollywood were used as voice actors, while the locations have been closely modeled after real places from around the world.

The plot line revolves two undercover cops that attempt to infiltrate a gang of car thieves, only to find out that the rabbit hole is much deeper than they first imagined. Thus, they find out about Charles Jericho, who turns out to be a very dangerous criminal with total disregard for the law and the lives of anyone who stands between him and his goals. Moreover, the voice of John Tanner, one of the main characters, is voiced by Michael Madsen, while Jericho is voiced by Mickey Rourke, which makes for some great dialogue.

Since the game is still about driving cars, at the end of the day, the car chases have been substantially improved over the past two titles, especially when it comes to the cinematic aspect. Hence, the camera changes perspective in various circumstances and the slow motion takes over whenever you happen to crash into something, in order to get a proper view of the accident.

Although a lot of effort went into the graphics engine, objects still look quite blocky and unrefined, for some reason, although you can definitely observe the work that has been put into depicting the locations. On the other hand, the cars are almost entirely destructible and they quickly crumble to pieces when you crash into solid objects. Moreover, bullet holes are also visible and quite damaging, as long as they make their way to the engine.

DRIV3R does not exactly manage to rise to the expectations in any regard, except maybe for the intense chases and the cinematic story behind the scenes. Other than that, the cars respond very awkward to your input and the graphic quality is definitely not as advertised, although the engine does have the capability to do much more.