Minimum Requirements: G3 (including iMac Rev B), Mac OS 8.6, 64MB RAM (w/128MB virtual memory), CD ROM, Rage Pro video card
Network Capability: No
3D Support: Glide
Retail Price: $29.99
ESRB Rating: T for Teen
Availability: Now
The tag line on the box of Driver emphatically tells me that I am the wheelman, but I'm having a hard time accepting that.
You see, each morning I go to work, and at 7:30 or so I pull into the parking garage and back into my reserved spot. This pleases me not because I actually have my own parking spot (next stop, president of Texaco Oil), but because it calls to mind parking garage scenes from three of my favorite movies. There's the opening sword fight under Madison Square Garden in Highlander, there's the dog with the high heels following Eddy Murphy and Bowfinger, and there's Sister Cyndy almost single-handedly killing dozens of hit men in the Hong Kong epic Naked Killer. Yet sadly, the closest I've come to action in the 3 Commerce Park parking garage is the time my Mini-Muffin bag tore open and pelted my dashboard with tasty, blueberry meteorites.
But now that I've played Driver, never again will a parking garage fill me with joy. For from the parking garage in Driver, there is no escape.
Perhaps it's just me. After all, I did complain of trouble controlling the carts in Cro-Mag Rally (although I was not the only one). And I do recall watching my fiancee and her cousin playing the PlayStation version without too much trouble. Yet there I was, smashing into walls, support beams and other cars as if I'd left my arms at home that morning.
I would explain why I was forced to spend so much time in a parking garage, but I really don't want to go back there. Suffice it to say that before you can begin any missions, and remember that Driver is a mission-based game, you have to prove your worth.
So I'll assume that all of you are better at this sort of thing than I am. And honestly, the missions themselves aren't nearly as hard as that friggin' garage. The premise behind these is that you're an undercover cop; so far undercover that other cops don't even know you're undercover. Therefore, you get hassled by the fuzz as you steal cars, hook up with drug smugglers, transport felons, etc. The purpose for this is because it's more fun to get chased by the good guys than to chase down the bad guys. This is why TIE Fighter was so much more fun to play than X-Wing. But for some ridiculous reason, game companies appear afraid to let gamers be the bad guy. We can't just be drug smugglers or jewel thieves, we have to be cops pretending to be drug smugglers or jewel thieves.
But hey, action's action no matter who's your boss, and Driver provides plenty of it. Zipping around the streets of San Francisco, Miami, New York and Los Angeles (hey Ed, aren't those the same cities used in Task Force on the Apple IIGS?)--trying to avoid pedestrian cars (except for when a three car pile-up can throw off your pursuers, of course)--is quite a trip, provided you don't look too closely.
This is the conundrum I face when playing games like Driver. Quite often, I see games on the PlayStation and I think, "Hey, wouldn't that look great on my Apple Studio Display...when it works?" And so, like most other Mac gamers, I sound the battle cry. But when it comes over, I think, "That's all they did? This looks terrible. My Radeon is laughing at me!" So, is it better to get a haphazard port or no port at all?
The answer, of course, is a haphazard port. After all, if you know what you're doing, the graphics will be whizzing by so fast you'll never realize that Miami is never any larger than half a mile beyond your front bumper. There's also the on screen map which indicates where your target and pursuers are, and you'll probably find yourself staring at that more often than you should. In fact, it's probably a good idea to have someone riding shotgun, telling you which turns to take so you can concentrate on the road. It'll also be good to have an accomplice with whom to laugh at the...well...
I've read a couple of reviews that have complained the story is dumb and the characters are racist. To me, reviewers such as this are just being simple. I mean, where do you draw the line between parody and political correctness? Sure, some of the African-American voice-overs, for example, are stereotypes from the 70s, but hello! The whole game is a stereotype from the 70s! Did anyone complain about the stereotypes used in I'm Gonna Get You, Sucka! Well, probably, but they were wrong, too.
The plot that reveals itself between missions is very much yanked from Baretta or Starsky and Hutch. It's dorky and contrived, but so was its inspiration. Even your character's name, Tanner, is almost worth a laugh. And remember, Driver is the product of British designers. That they use this type of story and stereotypes to depict 1970s America reflects badly on 1970s America, not late 90s English game designers.
And hey, they even give you the chance to alter history if you don't like it. Not pleased with the 70s shows Driver imitates? Change them with the game's built-in Film Director. After each mission, you can replay and record your performance, selecting camera angles and such along the way. It's all fluff, sure, but there's a little Hal Needham left in all of us, and it's fun to let him out every now and again.
So yeah, because the pieces and parts of Driver aren't as refined as they should have been, the game doesn't live up to its popularity. If you can overcome the frustration of the training sessions, it does eventually become entertaining in a burnt rubber, exhaust fuming, dented metal sort of way. The thing is, unless you're into cars or 70s nostalgia, it may not be worth the wait.
Now, when the Hong Kong Parking Garages with Chinese Lesbian Hit Men Running Around Mission Pack is released, then I'll be more into it.
Review: Driver
Perhaps it's just me. After all, I did complain of trouble controlling the carts in 
But hey, action's action no matter who's your boss, and Driver provides plenty of it. Zipping around the streets of San Francisco, Miami, New York and Los Angeles (hey Ed, aren't those the same cities used in Task Force on the Apple IIGS?)--trying to avoid pedestrian cars (except for when a three car pile-up can throw off your pursuers, of course)--is quite a trip, provided you don't look too closely.
The plot that reveals itself between missions is very much yanked from Baretta or Starsky and Hutch. It's dorky and contrived, but so was its inspiration. Even your character's name, Tanner, is almost worth a laugh. And remember, Driver is the product of British designers. That they use this type of story and stereotypes to depict 1970s America reflects badly on 1970s America, not late 90s English game designers.