| Driver 2 Tanner is back and better than ever in this sequel to Reflections smash hit, Driver. The original was simply superb and is still considered as one of the trusty old Playstation�s best titles. It sold in bucket loads and can be picked up on the PS for �20 and the PC for �10. In Driver you play as special agent Tanner as he goes undercover and tries to catch some gangsters, by pretending to be one. It played a lot like any other racing game but it gave total freedom over tree huge cities and the chance to cross the law. The story mode was mostly a �get from point A to point B within the time limit� affair, but if you add traffic, cops and pedestrians into the equation it turns out to be one hell of a game. This is where Driver 2 takes off and improves on the original in every perceivable way. It comes on two discs instead of one, mainly because of the huge amount of CG used to tell the story, which is very, well, lets say colourful. The new title, Driver 2 Back on the Streets may not be very imaginative but, hey, it�s the game that counts. This time Tanner and his buddy Jones are on the trail of the mastermind of a huge gangster empire called Vasquez. The plot brings you to four cities, opposed to the original Driver�s three. They are Chicago, Havana, Las Vegas and Rio. They are all varied and quite accurate to the real thing, monuments and everything. This time Tanner has the ability to get out of his car and kill some innocents� Just kidding. Infogrames would never allow Tanner to do that, but he can get out of his car and steal someone else�s. This is easily achieved and as well as getting a new motor with no damage, your felony meter goes to nothing as well. All the modes are there from the original as well as a new multiplayer mode. Players can go undercover to play story mode, take a ride in any city they have been to and play driving games against the computer or a friend. The movie director has also made it into the sequel and this time you can save your car chases on 2 blocks, which is tiny as each photo in MGS takes up 2 blocks. As you will undoubtly remember from the first game, the graphics were superb with many cars on screen at once while the cops chasing you and pedestrians fleeing, a marvel to behold. This time round the Playstation has been pushed even harder, you can almost feel it heaving under the strain of just about the best graphics on the console. The latest games have all been a marvel to behold on the Playstation as it is being pushed to new limits, but now as developers are putting their efforts into the PS2 I think these last couple of games will be the last to push the console. If only I had pre-ordered my PS2 earlier, I�ll have to wait until February when I get my PS2. The menus in Driver 2 are easy on the eye and quite intuitive. The CG, which follows almost every level, is amazing as well and helps the story flow along. The cars look as good as GT2�s and surprisingly there are sometimes as many as about fifteen on screen at one time! The cities look great as well, with all the major landmarks of each city for you to crash into and pedestrians that, if you look closely in director mode, have incredibly detailed faces and bodies, just like Tanner. Page 2 |