I know I said I’d take a break from posting too much about the iPhone, but I couldn’t keep this one in. Today saw the release of Gameloft’s remake of one of my all time favourite PlayStation games, Driver on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch.
Looks like that damage bar isn't going to stay empty for too long...
And luckily for myself and every other fan of the original (of which there are many), it doesn’t suck! I’ve collected a few of my initial impressions for your reading pleasure…
As you can see from the screenshots, this mobile version of Reflections’ Driver is actually better looking than the original PlayStation version (click here to see visual evidence of that fact) – which in itself says a huge amount about how far both video games and portable media devices have come in the last decade.
The gameplay itself remains largely unchanged, as the game sees protagonist Tanner taking several cars through their paces on a range of undercover missions in Miami, San Fransisco, New York and more. There have been some changes to the menus to ease navigation via the touch screen, and the game includes a few different driving games, including one called Carnage which involves causing as much damage as possible in a short space of time. Thankfully, the classic ‘Take a Ride’ mode remains intact, allowing players to do some leisurely siteseeing around each of the game’s huge cities.
Series veterans, especially fans of the original game, will be aware of how difficult the introductory driving test in the garage used to be. Gameloft have made life easier on newer players by making this section a piece of cake. The new driving test can actually be comfortably completed in less than a minute.
A glimpse of the Carnage game mode.
The game handles surprisingly well on the touchscreen, with turning, handbrake and burnout accessible on the left of the screen plus accelerate and brake on the right. There’s also the option to use a virtual stick or the accelerometer, but the default controls seem to provide the best experience. Players can look behind them and to each side by ’swiping’ the car with their finger in the appropriate direction, or tap the speedometer to activate cruise control (a new feature in this version).
I do have a couple of niggles with Driver on the iPhone, but they’re nothing that hurt the fundamental enjoyment it provides. One is that the original music has been replaced with faux radio stations of Gameloft’s creation. These are decent enough and preserve the 70s feel; however I do find myself missing the original tunes. Another minor gripe I have is that the iPhone version does not include the Replay Director that was featured on the original. There was always a certain pleasure to be found in watching those police chases over again, but I’d assume technical limitations of the platform mean that it simply couldn’t be added in. Oh, and there’s no vibration in the game either, but that’s just me being picky.
Overall, Driver on the iPhone and iPod Touch offers portable gamers a great experience. Whilst it’s not quite the definitive version of the game, it’s certainly one of the best games available on the App Store today, and well worth your 399 pennies.
And if you’ve never played it before, do yourself a huge favour and pick it up as soon as you can.
Check out the official Driver trailer from Gameloft below.
