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Kevin: So far, most attempts to tell a serious story within a Grand Theft Auto–style play mechanic have fallen flat on their faces. True Crime came the closest, but then it got all goofy near the end; The Getaway stayed on target plotwise, but the game was akin to watching the paint dry on your Geo Metro. That’s why DRIV3R, even after the long wait, is a remarkable surprise—it adds a big pinch of GTA to the proven Driver formula, but avoids all the potholes its brethren hit full on.

As a road-mayhem sim, DRIV3R is decent. The cities of Miami, Nice, and Istanbul are immacu-lately re-created, and developer Reflections threw a trunkload of cute details into the driving scenes, like realistic shadows and cars that rip apart upon, er, detonation. Though both console versions slow down during busy moments, DRIV3R is still the best-looking game in the genre. Reflections also included a story mode with a weird plot (why is protagonist Tanner killing hundreds of people—including cops—just to catch some car thieves?) but some incredible production values: Every cut-scene drips with style, and every action scene is backed up with an intense movielike soundtrack.

The fact that DRIV3R is such a frustration-free game ultimately makes it a short-lived one—the story’s over quickly, and there’s little incentive to play for much longer. Even so, this is the first game to successfully mix death-on-the-freeway antics with a plot you might actually care about, and it’s worth a shot for that alone.

G. Ford: DRIV3R is solid, and as Kevin said, it’s certainly better than previous GTA-inspired efforts. It works mostly because of its great driving—each car handles beautifully, and the impressive physics engine makes accidental crashes worth the insurance hit. The on-foot missions aren’t as hot, although it doesn’t take too long to get the hang of the stiff control style.

But really, I was hoping for more. The three cities are mighty impressive, yet they feel so empty. You’ve got to select a separate mode in order to drive around without worrying about the linear (but solid) missions and idiotic enemies, but when you do, there’s not much going on—no street racing or pizza delivering, just a couple secret cars and characters to find. Granted, no one wants a blatant rip-off, but if a game hopes to challenge the best, it should at least offer comparable goods. A great ride while it lasts, though.

Demian: Wow. If only the folks at Reflections had put half as much effort into gameplay as they did into replicating Miami, Nice, and Istanbul, DRIV3R would be phenomenal. But they didn’t, and it’s not. Kevin! It’s totally not!

The Grand Theft Auto connection has already been made, but here’s the vital Cliffs Notes version: DRIV3R has way better graphics but fewer missions, a fraction of the replay value, and probably even more bugs. The cities are meticulously, amazingly crafted, but you won’t even visit huge chunks of them, unless you’re in Take a Ride mode, and then, as G. Ford noted, there’s not much to do but marvel at the scenery.

Ford’s right about the driving parts being the best bits, too (the pair of on-rails shooter missions are also ace), but to call any part of DRIV3R frustration-free—Kevin! I’m giving you the stink eye!—my blood pressure’s on the rise just thinking about it. How’s this: I can see the car I’ve been chasing for five minutes about a block ahead of me—it’s right there—but, oops, the game says I lost it. Start over. Again.

Oh well, at least I can cross off “visit Istanbul” from my life’s to-do list. P

At EGM, we evaluate only games that have been deemed final and reviewable by their publishers. Three editors rate each game independently, and we use the whole scale. 5.0 IS AVERAGE.

\PS2/XB

Return to Vice City

Continuing the tradition of GTA-ish games poking fun at one another, DRIV3R has “Timmy Vermi-celli,” a guy with a wardrobe we’re sure we’ve seen somewhere before. Ten Timmys lurk in each city; kill ’em to unlock armories and wacky minigames.