Game Review: Driver - San Francisco

The iconic winding streets of San Francisco with their famously steep inclines have made their way into many movies and TV shows and the result is always dramatic, if not downright preposterous. High-flying car chases, tortured tyres and panel crunching action is the norm but the latest game from Ubisoft has authentically mapped the city with impressive detail - and throw in a freaky X-Files inspired storyline and you're looking a something unique in the driving genre.

Driver: San Francisco continues the story from Driv3r, starring John Tanner, but takes it to a new extreme in order to fit in some new gaming mechanics. Tanner (that's you) has been hospitalised, in a coma induced during a car chase with his arch nemesis, Charles Jericho, a nasty piece of work freshly escaped from high security prison. Unfortunately, not Alcatraz... That would have been cool.

Things get a bit weird from here as the game takes place within the coma-induced dream world of Tanner as he lies in bed - think British TV show Life on Mars.  Within this setting, Tanner finds himself back in his PD issued orange Dodge Challenger with his smooth talking partner Tobias Jones as if nothing had happened.

But something has happened; Tanner finds he has the ability to astral travel and even ‘Shift’ into the bodies of other San Franciscan drivers to possess their cars and solve their issues.  Apparently this city needs a hero!

So with that unusual (but refreshing) premise in place, Ubisoft Reflections has taken the opportunity to cram in an open world where the player can choose missions from a map, and leap into any driver seat at will to complete a variety of tasks.

Missions are divided primarily into 'Tanner' and 'City' tasks, with the former driving the story line as your alter ego tries to unravel a sinister plot woven by his newly escaped gangster associate.  'Tanner' missions however, need to be unlocked by performing an amount of 'City' missions and these are very stunt-driver oriented - perform stunts, compete in street races, get massive air or smash a bunch of cars. It's always hectic and often entertaining.

Because of the ‘shift’ feature, the game can involve extra whacky scenarios; for example; doing the quantum leap into several oncoming vehicles in order to ram a hijacked semi-trailer full of nitrogen destined for a cyanide bomb. Explo-shun time!

Driving is however the central premise for all missions, so whether it is trying to win a street race as a cash-strapped international student, or destroying billboards to prevent a thug finding a showgirl it is all about driving hard and on the edge, with limited realistic physics to keep you on the road through some perilous turns.

Along with the metaphysical single player story, Driver San Francisco includes a bunch of online and split screen multiplayer action that will have you yelling into your head set, or punching your couch mate as you compete races through the iconic locations of the Bay city.

Overall this game is a lot of fun and will probably absorb your time until you clock it. The novel take on astral travel and 'shifting' between cars works well, the story is above average for a videogame and the cut-scenes look spectacular.

I feel as though it's a slight shame that Ubisoft Reflections did not take more advantage of the icons of this town during the game, but from time to time there are recognisable locations including Union Square, Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight-Ashbury and of course the most crooked of all roads, Lombard Street.

The game has been out for a few months now, so you should be able to pick it up for cheap, which is highly recommended as there's enough variety and action on offer to keep you entertained until the fat lady - or comatose detective - sings.

Platforms: PS3, Wii, PC, Reviewed on Xbox 360
Developer: Ubisoft Reflections
Publisher: Ubisoft