| Driver | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developers | Ubisoft Reflections (formerly Reflections Interactive) Gameloft (mobile games) |
| Publishers | GT Interactive (1999) Atari (1999–2006) Ubisoft (2006–present) |
| Genres | Action-adventure, Open world, Racing |
| Creators | Martin Edmondson |
| First release | Driver: You Are the Wheelman June 30th, 1999 |
| Latest release | Driver: San Francisco September 1st, 2011 |
| Spin-offs | |
- This article is about the Driver series. For the first game in the series, see Driver: You Are the Wheelman.
The Driver video game series by Ubisoft is the reason for this wiki.
As of August 2011, the series has sold more than 16 million units worldwide.[1]
Games[]
Driver: You Are the Wheelman[]
- Main article: Driver: You Are the Wheelman
Driver: You Are the Wheelman is the first game of the Driver series was released for the PlayStation on June 30, 1999 in the US. It was later released for Game Boy Color in May 2000, PC in September 2000, Mac in December 2000, and iOS in December 2009. In the game, the player controls a former racecar driver turned undercover police detective named Tanner. It featured a storyline inspired by 1970's car chase movies such as Bullitt (1968) and The Driver (1978) and based in four real-life cities; Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. It was the best-selling game of the Driver series and an evolution of the freedom to explore a city as brought forth in the early "Grand Theft Auto" games.
Driver 2[]
- Main article: Driver 2
Driver 2 is the second installment in the Driver series was released for the PlayStation on November 13, 2000 in the US by Infogrames (now known as Atari), and later ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2002. Tanner returns along with a new partner, detective Tobias Jones, in four more real-life cities (Chicago, Havana, Las Vegas, and Rio de Janeiro). It was the first game in the series to feature 2-player modes, curved roads, and the ability to get out of the car at any time in order to steal another car on the street.
Driv3r[]
- Main article: Driv3r
Driv3r is the third installment in the Driver series and the first to get an M rating by the ESRB (the first two were rated T), was released for the PlayStation 2 on April 5, 2004, Xbox on June 15, 2004 in the United States. It was subsequently followed by versions for the PC, and Game Boy Advance.[2] Tanner and Tobias Jones return as partners, taking place in three major real-life cities - Miami, Nice and Istanbul.
Driv3r received generally mixed or poor reviews (despite new features such as the ability to use firearms). The game sold rather well despite poor reviews, and Reflections paid notice to the complaints about the insipid story line, poor controls, and abundance of glitches in order to improve the series' standings with critics and gamers in Driver: Parallel Lines.
Driver: Parallel Lines[]
- Main article: Driver: Parallel Lines
Driver: Parallel Lines is the fourth game in the series, and was released March 14, 2006 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and June 2007 for PC and Wii. It is the most violent of the series—the first one to receive an 18 rating in the UK. Reflections intended for the game to "return the series to its roots" by focusing more on driving.
The game differs greatly in other aspects from its predecessors, though, as the story no longer follows undercover police officer Tanner and the game takes place in only one location, New York City. The new main player's name is TK, a criminal rather than a cop. The game includes two time periods, 1978 and 2006 - the main player is sentenced to prison for 28 years and returns in 2006. The game received better reviews, but unlike Driv3r, did not sell particularly well.
Driver 76[]
- Main article: Driver 76
Driver 76 is a PlayStation Portable (PSP) exclusive game in the Driver series, released on May 11, 2007. The game was developed by Sumo Digital and Reflections, and was the first Driver game published by Ubisoft after they acquired Reflections.
Set in New York City in 1976, two years before the events in the first half of Driver: Parallel Lines, the player takes the role of Ray, TK's friend and a supporting character from Parallel Lines.
Driver: San Francisco[]
- Main article: Driver: San Francisco
Driver: San Francisco is the fifth Driver game and was long rumored to be in production.[3][4][5] After several years of speculation, Ubisoft finally unveiled Driver: San Francisco at E3 2010. After several delays, it was finally released on September 1, 2011.
The game takes place in only one location, San Francisco, and once again follows the series protagonist, Tanner (now known as John Tanner), being in a coma after suffering an accident. Tobias Jones also makes his return as Tanner's partner.
Throughout the game, the player controls Tanner while he is in a coma.[6] In Driver: San Francisco, Reflections took a new approach to gameplay - the ability to get out of the car was removed entirely. A new mechanic called "Shift" was introduced, enabling the players to shift to any car at any given time (except during specific missions).
A separate Wii port was also released (see "Spin-Offs and Related Games").
The game received generally positive reviews, getting the highest ratings in the whole series right after Driver: You Are the Wheelman and Driver 2. Like Driv3r, it sold particularly well.
Other Media[]
Driver: Nemesis[]
- Main article: Driver: Nemesis
Driver: Nemesis is the first novel of the Driver series. The book was written by Alex Sharp and takes place between the events of Driv3r and Driver: San Francisco. Tanner goes after Jericho by going undercover in New Orleans.
Driver: The Pursuit Of Nothingness[]
- Main article: Driver: The Pursuit Of Nothingness
Driver: The Pursuit Of Nothingness is a comic book adaption of the Driver series. Taking place between Driv3r and Driver: San Francisco, Tanner and Jericho have survived the shootout in Istanbul. Tanner then goes undercover to find him and get revenge. Although it was planned to be a mini-series, it eventually became a one-shot comic.
Film adaptation[]
In February 2002, Impact Pictures, the production team of Paul W. S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt, announced that it had acquired the film and TV rights to adapt the Atari video game Driver Screenwriters James DeMonaco, Todd Jason Harthan, and James Roday were developing a script at the time. Impact Pictures had originally intended to produce the film Driver to coincide with the release of the video game Driv3r.[7] The following November, Impact Pictures announced its plans to produce a $50 million adaptation of Driver after wrapping up principal photography on Resident Evil: Apocalypse.[8] In April 2006, Rogue Pictures acquired the film rights to Driver from Impact Pictures and Constantin Films, the production companies responsible for the Resident Evil film franchise. Roger Avary replaced the original screenwriters in writing the script for Driver, as well as directing the film.[9]
Prior to January 2007, Driver, having a budget of $48 million, was slated to shoot at Cinespace Studios' MT28 lot in Toronto, Canada. Due to a waterfront revitalization project, the studio has been forced to move and the film has been put on hold.[10] In May 2009, the alleged movie script was leaked on internet.[11][12]
On 14 September 2021, Ubisoft announced a live-action Driver series was coming to the Binge gaming streaming platform. [13]
Spin-offs and Related Games[]
- Main article: Driver: Vegas
- Main article: Driver: L.A. Undercover
- Driver: Vegas and Driver L.A. Undercover (released in 2006 and 2007 respectively) are two mobile exclusive games, featuring the main series protagonist - an undercover cop named Tanner. Driver: Vegas features Tanner's exploits in Las Vegas in an attempt to exact revenge on Jericho after Driv3r, while Driver: LA Undercover, set two years later, features Tanner's exploits in Los Angeles in an attempt to take down the Los Angeles Mafia by working his way up the ladder.
Driver: Renegade 3D[]
- Main article: Driver: Renegade 3D
';'Driver: Renegade 3D; was exclusively released for the Nintendo 3DS in September 2011. The game follows detective John Tanner in his attempt to take down the New York City crime mobs with his own hands. The game takes place between the events of Driver and Driver 2.
Driver: Speedboat Paradise[]
- Main article: Driver: Speedboat Paradise
Driver: Speedboat Paradise was a free-to-play smartphone game released on iOS and Android. The game, which makes use of in app purchases, revolves solely around missions on speedboats. Tanner appears in the game as a supporting character rather than a protagonist.
It was likely removed from the store sometime in 2016.
Driver: San Francisco (Wii)[]
The Wii port of Driver: San Francisco followed a completely different storyline. The game was a prequel to the original Driver and focused on Tanner's years as a rookie cop.
C.O.P. The Recruit[]
On November 3, 2009, Ubisoft released C.O.P. The Recruit for Nintendo DS. It was originally registered under numerous names, one of which being "Driver: The Recruit".[14] Other than its original name, the game has nothing to do with the Driver series.
Notes and references[]
- ↑ At a glance. Ubisoft (2011-02-28). Retrieved on 2011-04-19.
- ↑ Driver 3 speeds onto the GBA - Game Boy Advance News at GameSpot
- ↑ Atari sells Reflections.
- ↑ How a computer game is made. BBC (June 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
- ↑ UK games industry needs brains. BBC (June 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
- ↑ Driver: San Francisco coming to 360, PS3, Wii and PC. Joystiq (2010-06-14). Retrieved on 2010-06-15.
- ↑ Linder, Brian. "Games to Film: Infogrames' Driver Makes Impact", IGN, 2003-02-03. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
- ↑ Gaudiosi, John. "Game filmer keeps on driving", The Hollywood Reporter, 2003-11-03. Retrieved on 2006-10-18. [dead link]
- ↑ John Callaham. "EXCLUSIVE: Roger Avary To Write And Direct Driver Movie", FiringSquad, 2006-04-19. Retrieved on 2007-02-13.
- ↑ Tim Lai. "Film industry flickers as studio closes", Toronto Star, 2007-01-12. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ↑ Griffin McElroy. "Rumor: Partial script for Driver film adaptation leaked", Joystiq, 2009-05-23. Retrieved on 2009-12-26.
- ↑ Ryan Davis. "Driver Script Leak Surfaces", Giant Bomb, 2009-05-27. Retrieved on 2009-12-26.
- ↑ Live-Action Driver Series Coming to Binge (in en-ca).
- ↑ E3 2009: C.O.P. The Recruit – Driver's little brother?. One Last Continue (2009-06-02). Retrieved on 2009-11-08.