Driver: San Francisco - a Retrospective Review
By: Paul (@MrHarkinian)
- Driver: San Francisco
- Developer - Ubisoft Reflections
- Publisher - Ubisoft
- PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC
- Rating - T
I think it’s fair to say that because games have been in existence for so long and on so many platforms that there’s bound to be at least one game for everyone. That one go to game you play when you have nothing better to do or are waiting for something and just want to kill time. For me, that game is Driver: San Francisco. Released back in 2011, I still pop this game in once in a while when I’m absolutely bored.
For those unfamiliar, the Driver series dates all the way back to 1999 with the original Driver developed by Reflections Interactive (now Ubisoft Reflections). For the time, the game was pretty cool with semi-realistic physics where the cars can easily drift and the wheel covers coming off on hard turns or jumps.
Unfortunately, this series tends to have some black sheep in it, notably Driver 2 and DRIV3R. Both games, while offering many new features such as curved roads and terrible on-foot mechanics, are seen as some of the worst games ever to run on your console. In my opinion, both games are fine in their own regards. But I’m speaking as a fan of these games, so take that for what it’s worth. There are other games in the series, but they are mediocre and aren’t worth mentioning.
Which brings me to the best thing to happen to the Driver series since curved roads; San Francisco. Playing this game after a slew of disappointing games from this series is akin to finally getting with your crush and realizing that they are into the same weird stuff you’re into. I’m so excited to talk about this that I don’t even know where to start. Now, don’t get me wrong; this game is far from perfect. For one, we’re stuck in one city as opposed to being able to pick a town to race around in like the other games and the soundtrack selection could be better. But good god, the things this game does well makes me forgive all those things.
For one, the car selection. Ubisoft spared no expense in the budget to license an enormous range of cars for this game, from Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen and everything in between, totaling 140 cars to destroy at your desire. But what good is a car selection akin to the Sultan of Brunei’s collection without a good physics engine? Well, Ubisoft Reflections set out to recreate the engine that made the first game to great and inject it with modern day goodness.
If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, try this; you can telepathically steal cars. As dumb as that sounds, it’s actually a cool feature that I have yet to see in another driving game. The main stay character of the series, Tanner, is put into a coma so the whole game basically takes place in his dreams. As a result, we can do anything we like in his dreams as long as it has to do with cars. The switch is instantaneous and always keeps the game going at full speed.
Needless to say the best part about this game is how all the cars look and feel. The amount of detail the cars have and some liberal interpretations of some parts of cars, such as the turn signal lights, is on par with Gran Turismo. Only instead of going around a San Francisco track that’s maybe a mile long, you get over 200 miles of San Francisco goodness at your disposal, complete with ludicrous jumps and pedestrians that can dodge your every move.
To top it all off, the online multiplayer is some of the most joyous fun you can have in a driving game. Whether it’s a street race where your car changes every lap, a game of capture the flag, or good ol’ cops and robbers, there’s something for everyone here. I can’t remember a dull moment when smashing my squad car into a fleeing crook until it breaks, then quickly taking an old lady’s SUV just to have it morph into another squad car like something out of The Matrix and continue dishing out parts bending justice. Always a good time.
If it sounds like I like this game more than a healthy person should, that’s because this game is genuinely that much fun. If I were to continue talking about everything I love about this game, this article would span to the edge of the internet. So if you find a cheap copy of this game, which you definitely can, pick it up and play it until you can’t feel your fingers anymore.
