Driver San Francisco is flipping awesome.

Driver San Francisco... anybody play this last year?
I'm an epic fan of the original, so I don't know how I missed this when it came out... and it is freaking spectacular. I don't get how this game didn't go over bigger.

The graphics aren't anything amazing for a driving game, but for a massive open-world where everything is persistent, they are pretty damn impressive.
By everything being persistent I mean, if you see a VW Beetle go around the corner, wait 5 minutes, and then chase after it, it will actually be 2 miles down that road.
If you leave a burnout, drive a 100 miles away and come back, it's still there.

It has everything that made the original game such a blast, from the car-chase-heavy missions to the film director mode, but this one's new mechanic of "shifting" makes this the single most interesting driving game I've ever played.



Any time you want, for as long as you want, you can "shift" your soul out of your body and hover above a living map of the city.
Things slow down to a crawl for everyone else, and then you can jump into the body of any other person driving any other vehicle in the game, anywhere on the map.
At first I just thought it was just a cop-out way of letting you switch between cars without needing any character animation, but it is actually so much more then that.
It's a game onto itself, and helps makes this one of the most memorable titles this gen for me.

It sound so simple, but it is such an amazingly fun gameplay concept.
Losing the race? Jump to a tractor-trailer in an oncoming lane and create a 40 car pile-up 20 miles up the road that blocks the finish line...
Being chased by cops? Shift into a Firetruck from a side road and T-bone the cop car from a blind corner. Etc...
There are basically no rules, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want.

The production quality of everything is just outstanding too. Gorgeous character models for the people, fantastic, truly funny writing, great sound design, great VO; everything is top notch.
THe overall story is kinda boring, but every body you shift into has his own little story going, and those are fantastic. If you jump into a sweet restored Camaro, you;ll hear the guy's g/f bitching about how much money he spend son his car. If you shift into a Dodge Neon, you're suddenly a teenage girl complaining on her cell phone. It's all just done so damn well.



On top of what a freaking blast it is to "Shift", somebody behind this game is my flipping soul mate, because this is the driving game I'm always bitching that I want.

Detailed car models, in-car views with unique Dash, great arcade style handling... and everything is set-up to encourage you to do crazy things and then watch the amazingly robust replay of your entire gameplay session in Director mode. So, every race essentially plays out like a Hollywood Car Chase, and then you watch the movie (if you like). You bust through crates and saw-horses, jump through windows, flip through the air, etc...

My favorite cars are 70-80s muscle, and my favorite driving game setting is on congested city streets. This is that *1000, and it done well. Damn well. It is also 95% ALL 70s and 80s Muscle Cars!! Wooo! I already have 4 different Camaros in my garage. Four! I love this game.

It's open world like Midtown Madness or Midnight Club racing, but there's no frustration of missing a turn and losing the race, because you can pause everything at any time and look around or change things to your need. Hell, you could shift out of your car, hover over a tree for ten minutes watching the birds, then flip back into your car as it crosses the finish line and still win the race. The game doesn't care. It's like your god in a driving game, set in the GTA world. Just fantastic. So it becomes more of a fast-action puzzle game then a driving/racing title, and it's a blast.



There is also a heavy heavy TV/Movie influence to it, and almost every car on the road is something you saw in a show or movie.
Earlier I shifted into a Delorean, and when it got up to 88 it started glowing and I got some trohpy named after BttF. Hell, you can drive Eric Foreman's Vista Cruiser if you like...

The only complaints I have are that there's a very strange filter on the game to make it look dated, and it really hurts the PQ. The whole time I keep wanting to adjust the contrast, and you can't. That and this game suports nothing. No 3D, no Steering Wheels, nada. And that sucks, becuase I would LOVE to play this with my DFGT.

Know what the best part is? I got the game for $12 in a clearance bin. I'd have paid full price for this in a minute if I'd known it existed. Great game. I think I have a new GOTY for 2011.

It's a real shame this isn't more well known, becuase it totally redeems the Driver franchise. Best one since 1, which really isn't saying much, but it's definitely true.


Driver San Francisco is flipping awesome.

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