Why are there so few driving games with compelling stories, or any story to speak of? I was hungry for a fun-first driving game and kept looking for one with a decent single-player campaign or story mode. Finally decided to revisit Driver SF and play it properly (played it twice in the past but fell off after a few chapters). For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s an open-world driving game where you can always shift from one car to another using “coma powers” (explained in the story) and use said cars to, for instance, crash into cops or opponents during a race. It’s a totally unique driving game, which could’ve been an all-time great game but is held back by a couple of things in my view.
My main problem with Driver SF is that I didn’t find the driving to be all that fun. I wish it was just a tad more forgiving, because I would really struggle to control certain vehicles or just slide out all over the place. I did get used to it to some extent, but in certain missions or vehicles, I still found myself wishing it was just ever-so-slightly more arcadey. Kinda felt like the game was stopping me from having fun by having to fight the handling so much.
My other problem with the game was that I didn’t find the cop chases to be all that fun, for a variety of reasons, I just felt like I had to luck my way through many of them cause I just couldn’ shake the cops in a fun or efficient way.
This changed significantly after (too) many hours with the game when I discovered mods for it. My mistake for not looking earlier, cause I kept thinking “man this game could be amazing, if you tweaked this and that”. There are 2 important mods that greatly increased my enjoyment with the game, one that redoes cops chases and one that adds a LOT of features but most importantly, a better 3rd person camera (the default one is too close to the car for my taste). I still don’t love the driving handling, but now at latest the cop chases did feel a LOT better to play, and generally chaotic in a more fun way, rather than just being frustrated that they don’t seem to play by the same rules that I have to as the player (something I felt happens often with other cars in this game).
If I had one more nitpick with the game, it’s how the dialogue system works. You can shift into any car, and if there’s a passenger, there’s a ton of skits that are written between different pairs of characters, outside of the side-missions. This is just stuff in-world that is there just for flavor but I found that in MOST situations, the only way to hear that stuff is to jump into cars outside of missions and maybe do a cops chase. If I ever engaged in a race or activity, the passenger dialogue would disappear. Or during other missions or events, I would jump to other cars quickly, get to hear half of a line of dialogue because I crash that car into an opponent and then I jump out. I wish they had found a way to more intelligently integrate this flavor dialogue into the side activities that have no story, which from my experience often couldn’t be combined with character dialogue from random cars. Just feels like they spent a LOT of time to write and record ALL of that dialogue (there’s a LOT of it), but most people won’t hear it unless they choose to fuck around the city without doing any side stuff, which i did many times just to hear some more of the conversations (also worth mentioning that some of the character stereotypes they use haven’t aged super well).
All this being said, I cannot overstate how insane and unique this game is. It has to be hands-down the best story in a driving game (not counting games with on-foot gameplay, or stuff that is Great it’s it’s own special way, like NFS Most Wanted). Sure it’s nothing mind-blowing, but as a wrapper for the gameplay experience, it’s incredibly compelling and well-executed. The style overall is very funky (Life on Mars inspired i’ve read), structured like a TV show, with nice cinematic recaps between chapters and a great old-school soundtrack that i very much enjoyed driving to. When everything works, and you’re jumping to random cars, crashing into opponents, it can be thrilling and like no other game. The mods really really elevate the experience, because there’s an even better game buried within this ambitious project. Maybe they needed more time, maybe a sequel would’ve nailed it, but as is, Driver San Francisco is an amazing game, for it’s ambition and uniqueness if nothing else, with some rough spots that hold it back from reaching it’s true potential. Mods help a lot, but I still wish we’d see Reflections or other developers try to chase this further.
My main problem with Driver SF is that I didn’t find the driving to be all that fun. I wish it was just a tad more forgiving, because I would really struggle to control certain vehicles or just slide out all over the place. I did get used to it to some extent, but in certain missions or vehicles, I still found myself wishing it was just ever-so-slightly more arcadey. Kinda felt like the game was stopping me from having fun by having to fight the handling so much.
My other problem with the game was that I didn’t find the cop chases to be all that fun, for a variety of reasons, I just felt like I had to luck my way through many of them cause I just couldn’ shake the cops in a fun or efficient way.
This changed significantly after (too) many hours with the game when I discovered mods for it. My mistake for not looking earlier, cause I kept thinking “man this game could be amazing, if you tweaked this and that”. There are 2 important mods that greatly increased my enjoyment with the game, one that redoes cops chases and one that adds a LOT of features but most importantly, a better 3rd person camera (the default one is too close to the car for my taste). I still don’t love the driving handling, but now at latest the cop chases did feel a LOT better to play, and generally chaotic in a more fun way, rather than just being frustrated that they don’t seem to play by the same rules that I have to as the player (something I felt happens often with other cars in this game).
If I had one more nitpick with the game, it’s how the dialogue system works. You can shift into any car, and if there’s a passenger, there’s a ton of skits that are written between different pairs of characters, outside of the side-missions. This is just stuff in-world that is there just for flavor but I found that in MOST situations, the only way to hear that stuff is to jump into cars outside of missions and maybe do a cops chase. If I ever engaged in a race or activity, the passenger dialogue would disappear. Or during other missions or events, I would jump to other cars quickly, get to hear half of a line of dialogue because I crash that car into an opponent and then I jump out. I wish they had found a way to more intelligently integrate this flavor dialogue into the side activities that have no story, which from my experience often couldn’t be combined with character dialogue from random cars. Just feels like they spent a LOT of time to write and record ALL of that dialogue (there’s a LOT of it), but most people won’t hear it unless they choose to fuck around the city without doing any side stuff, which i did many times just to hear some more of the conversations (also worth mentioning that some of the character stereotypes they use haven’t aged super well).
All this being said, I cannot overstate how insane and unique this game is. It has to be hands-down the best story in a driving game (not counting games with on-foot gameplay, or stuff that is Great it’s it’s own special way, like NFS Most Wanted). Sure it’s nothing mind-blowing, but as a wrapper for the gameplay experience, it’s incredibly compelling and well-executed. The style overall is very funky (Life on Mars inspired i’ve read), structured like a TV show, with nice cinematic recaps between chapters and a great old-school soundtrack that i very much enjoyed driving to. When everything works, and you’re jumping to random cars, crashing into opponents, it can be thrilling and like no other game. The mods really really elevate the experience, because there’s an even better game buried within this ambitious project. Maybe they needed more time, maybe a sequel would’ve nailed it, but as is, Driver San Francisco is an amazing game, for it’s ambition and uniqueness if nothing else, with some rough spots that hold it back from reaching it’s true potential. Mods help a lot, but I still wish we’d see Reflections or other developers try to chase this further.
This game takes a really cool concept but only makes it like 60% realized. I feel like they could've done so much more interesting ideas with the coma structure but it doesn't quite hit those peaks, and what cool concepts there are don't get fleshed out enough. Also the final chapter, while cool, falls apart on a QA level.
That being said I do hope this sorta thing gets tried again with current tech to speed up the map navigation and expand the overall potential of the shift system. Also set it in a new IP, it needs the breathing room.
That being said I do hope this sorta thing gets tried again with current tech to speed up the map navigation and expand the overall potential of the shift system. Also set it in a new IP, it needs the breathing room.
I'm not sure if it's my creativity, but it's hilarious that the solution for 80% of the game's objectives is crashing into stuff. It's extra funny when you realize that you take over someone else's body to just put them in the hospital because you wanted to remove an opponent in a race.
You can ride any cool car you see. Too bad the game is boring.
One of the best racing games out there and easily the one with the best plot. Even if you're not a heavy fan of the genre, the concept alone of playing as a detective poltergeist trying to prevent a vague and impending disaster should wrangle you in. The game's balance of 70s iconography and style combined with contemporary cars and music will floor anyone looking for a standout driving experience.
Highly ambitious and filled with personality to the brim. Unique racing games are a rare breed these days, which makes me appreciate D:SF all the more. There is just a bit too much jank in both presentation and gameplay to truly live up to its potential.
At its best, it's a conceptual love-letter to the cinematic car chase with creative mission design, while at its worst it relies too heavily on crashing random cars into opponents and breaks your immersion with oddly paced transitions from gameplay to pre-rendered to in-engine cinematics.
At its best, it's a conceptual love-letter to the cinematic car chase with creative mission design, while at its worst it relies too heavily on crashing random cars into opponents and breaks your immersion with oddly paced transitions from gameplay to pre-rendered to in-engine cinematics.
Enjoyable driving game with a unique twist on a common gameplay structure. The game keeps itself fresh with the “switch into any car in the traffic” mechanic and puts it to good use with its mission designs. Even though the missions are fun on their own, they are not varied enough to keep me interested in 8 hours of gameplay. I did side-missions during the first 4-5 hours, but I got bored eventually and focused on finishing the game.
The handling model is really solid for an arcade game, every car feels different from each other (which can be lacking in some arcade driving games), and every one of them feels fun to drive. Car variety is really good too, as there are lots of different types of cars, from dull traffic cars to hypercars, to rally monsters.
The presentation is okay, the art style isn’t particularly strong yet its strong coherence makes it enough for this type of game. The story isn’t that special, but it’s enjoyable enough for this type of game. Music is forgettable, I can’t remember any song from the game. Car sounds range from okay to good, yet they sound too flat and inorganic.
I think 7/10 is a good score for this game, I think this is a really good setup for a really good sequel, but that will never come true as Ubisoft is focused on remaking Skull & Bones for the 8th time. Also, it's been nearly thirteen years, and this game is forgotten. Sadly this game will only remain as an underrated driving game with no sequel for the rest of eternity.
The handling model is really solid for an arcade game, every car feels different from each other (which can be lacking in some arcade driving games), and every one of them feels fun to drive. Car variety is really good too, as there are lots of different types of cars, from dull traffic cars to hypercars, to rally monsters.
The presentation is okay, the art style isn’t particularly strong yet its strong coherence makes it enough for this type of game. The story isn’t that special, but it’s enjoyable enough for this type of game. Music is forgettable, I can’t remember any song from the game. Car sounds range from okay to good, yet they sound too flat and inorganic.
I think 7/10 is a good score for this game, I think this is a really good setup for a really good sequel, but that will never come true as Ubisoft is focused on remaking Skull & Bones for the 8th time. Also, it's been nearly thirteen years, and this game is forgotten. Sadly this game will only remain as an underrated driving game with no sequel for the rest of eternity.
Maybe my favorite driving game. Maybe.
The concept of shifting between vehicles is super fun. And thankfully it gives you the freedom to do that in missions aswell.
The story isn't all that memorable, but the gameplay makes more than up for it. I love it :D
The concept of shifting between vehicles is super fun. And thankfully it gives you the freedom to do that in missions aswell.
The story isn't all that memorable, but the gameplay makes more than up for it. I love it :D
despite its central premise being very inspired by Life on Mars, so much of Driver: San Francisco feels like the pinnacle of racing game stories. or just car games in general. the original Driver was one of the first games I played. I was one of the thousands who never made it out of the opening garage tutorial. I've always had a rooting interest in this series, even if Driver 3 and Parallel Lines slipped me by and I wrote this off for years as the final nail in the coffin.
turns out I was incredibly wrong. at worst, it fulfills the promise the original Driver gave me - a fantastic, free-flowing open-world racing game with impeccable real world detail, from the layout of the SF streets to the use of many notable real life cars, as well a deep love for replicating the vibe of late 60s and 70s car chase movies.
the story is both insanely stupid but it's told in one of the most ingenious ways. it holds up as a video game story almost better than any game I can remember. the tone is perfect. the little snippets of dialogue throughout are all nice.
where this shines though is the creativity on display. not even with the shift mechanic that's almost flawless, but the concepts for events are all so good. riding under a semi-trailer to defuse a bomb like you're in a Fast & Furious movie? gold. the goddamn level where your POV is from the driver's seat of the car chasing you? that was beautiful and inspired. the ways in which the game reminds you you're in a game by reminding you your character is in a coma? really great. following an ambulance around to keep your heartbeat down while you're in cardiac arrest is some really compelling that not only other racing games never aspire to but few contemporary games manage to pull off.
one of the last real ps3 gems.
turns out I was incredibly wrong. at worst, it fulfills the promise the original Driver gave me - a fantastic, free-flowing open-world racing game with impeccable real world detail, from the layout of the SF streets to the use of many notable real life cars, as well a deep love for replicating the vibe of late 60s and 70s car chase movies.
the story is both insanely stupid but it's told in one of the most ingenious ways. it holds up as a video game story almost better than any game I can remember. the tone is perfect. the little snippets of dialogue throughout are all nice.
where this shines though is the creativity on display. not even with the shift mechanic that's almost flawless, but the concepts for events are all so good. riding under a semi-trailer to defuse a bomb like you're in a Fast & Furious movie? gold. the goddamn level where your POV is from the driver's seat of the car chasing you? that was beautiful and inspired. the ways in which the game reminds you you're in a game by reminding you your character is in a coma? really great. following an ambulance around to keep your heartbeat down while you're in cardiac arrest is some really compelling that not only other racing games never aspire to but few contemporary games manage to pull off.
one of the last real ps3 gems.
This was excellent, blew away all my expectations. It has so many cool moments and utilises the premise of the Shift very well. Definitely a game to remember with a very good story aswell...
I drive 😎😎😎. Great story and great gameplay, I recommend it .John Tanner is like me ... (no spoil)
Completed on PC too, very good game!
It's likely a reductive comparison, but Driver San Francisco is basically a GTA game with no on-foot gameplay and a 70's cop show tone. There's more to the game than that however, as the ability to ghostly jump between cars is delightfully creative and gives life to an otherwise solid-but-not-great game. Overall, an enjoyable experience.
i was too young when i played this on the wii, idk why we even had the game but i do remember having lots of fun
ridiculously fun with a decent variety of missions and many of them to complete. graphically sound, so many awesome licensed cars to drive around and crash into oncoming traffic except you shift at the last second. a cool ass licensed soundtrack, an open world which is a hell of a lot of fun to screw around in, and a story which is always kept exciting, ends satisfyingly and isnt afraid to get weird and surreal because of the nature of it. kickass game.
Ta wapo
I love this game. Had it recomended to me by some random gamestop employee after I told him that I liked racing games (I had just completed Forza Horizon 1) and wanted something open world racing. The story is great and the ability to control any car is so cool. You could be both the cop and the criminal in a police chase. This game opens up so many posibilities. It was new innovative and awesome. Such a shame that it's basically lost to time.
A driving game with a genuinely unique mechanic that initially seems simple but soon changes how you think your way through levels. Too bad the online isn't available anymore to get all the achievements.
Loses a star due to the game being a little ugly looking colour wise and the music getting a little repetitive by the end
Loses a star due to the game being a little ugly looking colour wise and the music getting a little repetitive by the end
still one of the best car physics
Lots of fun doing the missions and opening up more of the city. Fun car control and I will likely go back and finish all of the side missions. I rarely do that. Good game!
best driving game
Fantastic game, good story and very innovative mechanics.
The only thing I remember is competing with all my brothers to see who get the farthest ramp. Peak
This has become something of a hidden gem from the PS3/360 era. Its most notable feature is the ability to zoom out and switch to any car at almost any time. It was years ahead at the time and still impresses today. The game has real car manufacturers and the map is fun to drive and heavily populated with cars.
Missions are creative but do repeat a lot. Sometimes the game tries to be Need for Speed, sometimes it tries to be Burnout, but it's best when it's being Driver.
The only other nitpick is with the unlockables. After finishing the main story, I still haven't unlocked 90% of the game's cars nor over half of the special missions. I have a lot of side missions left that will help grind currency, but I think this game was also intended to be played online, which I'm not really interested in.
Handling feels mostly good, but I wish the drifting was easier to control. There's a cool 70s cop show theme to the presentation and songs on the soundtrack to match.
Overall, Driver: San Francisco holds up very well, and is even backwards compatible on the Series X. This is a type of game that doesn't really get made anymore, unfortunately. Here's hoping the Driver series returns one day.
Missions are creative but do repeat a lot. Sometimes the game tries to be Need for Speed, sometimes it tries to be Burnout, but it's best when it's being Driver.
The only other nitpick is with the unlockables. After finishing the main story, I still haven't unlocked 90% of the game's cars nor over half of the special missions. I have a lot of side missions left that will help grind currency, but I think this game was also intended to be played online, which I'm not really interested in.
Handling feels mostly good, but I wish the drifting was easier to control. There's a cool 70s cop show theme to the presentation and songs on the soundtrack to match.
Overall, Driver: San Francisco holds up very well, and is even backwards compatible on the Series X. This is a type of game that doesn't really get made anymore, unfortunately. Here's hoping the Driver series returns one day.
The weird supernatural angle this game has is so damn compelling.
An incredible game. I hope I can find a way to experience it properly again.
An incredible game. I hope I can find a way to experience it properly again.
This has to be one of the best racing games i've ever played. It's purely a driving game, but it has a surprisingly compelling narrative to venture through. The shift ability is such a fantastic gimmick, and it is super impressive that you can just switch between cars as far as you want on the map in real-time. A severely underappreciated video game, that's for sure.
Drive around as a lunatic simulator. Swapping cars is fun, the cars handle remarkably well and the soundtrack has plenty of bangers. The "story" is forgettable and its pace is killed by having to play random missions to progress. Other than driving it's not reminiscent of the older games. You can do a lot worse for a 7th gen racer.
demorei uma eternidade pra zerar isso, mas o jogo é bom.
Divertido demais! Nada a ver com o resto da franquia, mas um alívio cômico tremendo com o Tanner tendo superpoderes. Joguei demais.
Est-ce le meilleur jeu de course auquel j'ai pu jouer ?
C'est possible mais en tout cas il est dans les tout meilleurs avec Burnout 3 et Paradise.
Driver: San Fransisco nous donne la réponse à ce que serait un jeu de voiture qui contiendrait un vrai scénario avec des vrais personnages, des rebondissements, une enquête assez prenante et des missions de campagne plus développée que de simples courses et épreuves de drift. J'aime beaucoup Need for Speed et je n'ai pas tenu rigueur à Heat pour ces défauts, mais savoir que ces qualités sont atteignables pour un jeu du genre et ont été atteintes en 2011 par UBISOFT me rend un peu triste face à l'état actuel des choses, surtout quand on voit ce qu'est devenu la licence Driver après cet épisode.
La conduite est dans l'ensemble irréprochable, j'ai eu quelques bugs et quelques instants chelous de physique mais rien de grave, j'ai moins de mal avec le trafic dans ce jeu que dans d'autres, la mécanique principale du jeu et le design des routes aidant à affiner sa conduite pour ne plus avoir de problèmes avec. Les voitures driftent peut-être un peu trop à mon goût, mais c'est du pinaillage. Je continue de ne pas être fan de comment se passent les courses poursuites-avec la police, on voit bien qu'ils n'ont qu'une IA codée en mode Collision et rien de plus, ce qui amène à quelques instant un peu frustrants où le policier Spawn de nulle part ou te rattrapes car il est en Corvette ZR1 et toi en DB5, te fonce dessus, t'envoie dans un mur et laisse les 7 autres flics à tes trousses le loisir de te Bully pendant 30 secondes pendant que tu espères voir une ouverture. Voilà ça c'est pas génial mais honnêtement je n'ai vu nulle part ailleurs un meilleur système de police et doute qu'on en voie un un jour, c'est pas grave c'est pas le coeur du jeu.
Le coeur du jeu lui, tourne autour de cette mécanique absolument géniale qui sublime vraiment la conduite et surtout les missions principales, on laisse les courses bêtes méchantes pour les missions secondaires, ici on innove, on te fait conduire du point du vue de la voiture ennemie, on te fait rester dans le sillon d'une ambulance qui préfigure PEUT-ÊTRE ce qui se passe en parallèle pour le héros, on t'envoie dans un labyrinthe où tu dois trouver la bonne route à prendre façon Bois Perdus de Ocarina of Time mais vu d'en haut comme le mode caméra de certains missions, et j'avoue que quand le boss de fin te lance des camion-citernes à la gueule c'est très marrant. Il y a toujours des courses basiques mais même elles ont des particularités avec des thèmes dédiés et des tracés malins. Et on rajoute à ça les autres missions de type protéger un camion d'assaillants, casser les voitures des adversaires façon Burnout et la petite surprise du défi Retour vers le Passé qui parlera bien à ceux qui connaissent la série au moins de loin.
J'ai déjà beaucoup trop parlé donc je finirai juste en demandant à Ubisoft de rendre ce jeu accessible ou au pire d'en faire une suite du même niveau, je veux plus de jeux de course qui exploitent des vraies trames narratives qui vont plus loin que juste gentils gangs contre flics corrompus et une DA un peu différente avec une conduite agréable c'est bien, mais si vous pouvez le sublimer d'une grande idée de Game Design comme l'a eue Driver: San Fransisco, alors vous pourrez dire que vous avez un grand jeu.
C'est possible mais en tout cas il est dans les tout meilleurs avec Burnout 3 et Paradise.
Driver: San Fransisco nous donne la réponse à ce que serait un jeu de voiture qui contiendrait un vrai scénario avec des vrais personnages, des rebondissements, une enquête assez prenante et des missions de campagne plus développée que de simples courses et épreuves de drift. J'aime beaucoup Need for Speed et je n'ai pas tenu rigueur à Heat pour ces défauts, mais savoir que ces qualités sont atteignables pour un jeu du genre et ont été atteintes en 2011 par UBISOFT me rend un peu triste face à l'état actuel des choses, surtout quand on voit ce qu'est devenu la licence Driver après cet épisode.
La conduite est dans l'ensemble irréprochable, j'ai eu quelques bugs et quelques instants chelous de physique mais rien de grave, j'ai moins de mal avec le trafic dans ce jeu que dans d'autres, la mécanique principale du jeu et le design des routes aidant à affiner sa conduite pour ne plus avoir de problèmes avec. Les voitures driftent peut-être un peu trop à mon goût, mais c'est du pinaillage. Je continue de ne pas être fan de comment se passent les courses poursuites-avec la police, on voit bien qu'ils n'ont qu'une IA codée en mode Collision et rien de plus, ce qui amène à quelques instant un peu frustrants où le policier Spawn de nulle part ou te rattrapes car il est en Corvette ZR1 et toi en DB5, te fonce dessus, t'envoie dans un mur et laisse les 7 autres flics à tes trousses le loisir de te Bully pendant 30 secondes pendant que tu espères voir une ouverture. Voilà ça c'est pas génial mais honnêtement je n'ai vu nulle part ailleurs un meilleur système de police et doute qu'on en voie un un jour, c'est pas grave c'est pas le coeur du jeu.
Le coeur du jeu lui, tourne autour de cette mécanique absolument géniale qui sublime vraiment la conduite et surtout les missions principales, on laisse les courses bêtes méchantes pour les missions secondaires, ici on innove, on te fait conduire du point du vue de la voiture ennemie, on te fait rester dans le sillon d'une ambulance qui préfigure PEUT-ÊTRE ce qui se passe en parallèle pour le héros, on t'envoie dans un labyrinthe où tu dois trouver la bonne route à prendre façon Bois Perdus de Ocarina of Time mais vu d'en haut comme le mode caméra de certains missions, et j'avoue que quand le boss de fin te lance des camion-citernes à la gueule c'est très marrant. Il y a toujours des courses basiques mais même elles ont des particularités avec des thèmes dédiés et des tracés malins. Et on rajoute à ça les autres missions de type protéger un camion d'assaillants, casser les voitures des adversaires façon Burnout et la petite surprise du défi Retour vers le Passé qui parlera bien à ceux qui connaissent la série au moins de loin.
J'ai déjà beaucoup trop parlé donc je finirai juste en demandant à Ubisoft de rendre ce jeu accessible ou au pire d'en faire une suite du même niveau, je veux plus de jeux de course qui exploitent des vraies trames narratives qui vont plus loin que juste gentils gangs contre flics corrompus et une DA un peu différente avec une conduite agréable c'est bien, mais si vous pouvez le sublimer d'une grande idée de Game Design comme l'a eue Driver: San Fransisco, alors vous pourrez dire que vous avez un grand jeu.