by Jay "THE FLEA" Wade
The Wheelman has returned to outrun the cops and take on the mob in Driver 2 for the Playstation.
The story plays out like a movie from the 1970's. You play as Tanner who goes deep undercover to put the mob behind bars. The story takes many twists and turns then copies from many classic gangster films.
The gameplay is just like the original Driver. Mostly putting the pedal to the metal and try not to crash.
This time you’re not a Driver for hire. You’re on a straight mission.
There are four new cities to drive in; Chicago, Las Vagas, Havana and Rio. All huge and have so much to explore that you’ll just want to tour the cities. With many secrets hidden within.
The biggest improvement is that Tanner can exit his car and car jack any car on the street.
You can smash your car til it can barely drive, exit it and steal another car on the street and your car is as good as new. Not only can you steal cars, but buses, fire trucks, armored cars, limos, and even cop cars.
But do note, if you steel a cop car all hell breaks loose.
There’s also secret cars hidden within the city.
If you ever played the Grand Theft Auto series, you’ll want to get behind the wheel of Driver 2.
Another huge improvement in driver 2 is multi player modes. You and your friend can play cops & robbers, Capture the Flag, Checkpoint Racing or just take a ride and make up your own rules. There’s also many single player modes.
The graphics hold up to the original but it does have many problems.
The pop-up is a huge problem. You can see bridges build right in front of you and buildings appear from nowhere. There’s also many glitches in Driver 2. You can walk of the entire map if you’re not careful.
But the biggest problem I had with Driver 2 is the slow-down. If too many cars come onto the screen, the screen will jerk or even pause for a second. (This is a major drag)
The FMV has improved a little over the first Driver, but not by much.
The Control still plays like the original Driver. The only thing added is the exit car controls.
Overall Driver 2 is worth your gaming time and dollars. It just needs some of its glitches cleaned up.
PUBLISHER: INFOGRAMES
GRAPHICS: 7 MUSIC & SOUND: 9 CONTROL: 9.5
SECRETS: 9 ORIGINALITY: 9 FUN & REPLAY: 10
OVERALL: 8.5