Driver 3 (Controversy)

Brock

for those who live in the south dublin area and would like to get thsi game NOW a few days early just drop to dun laoghaire computers on the 3rd floor of the shopping centre been there since saturday i think
also it is excellent

RobertFoster

Originally posted by Brock
also it is excellent

not what I've heard tbh...

shinzon

Originally posted by RobertFoster
not what I've heard tbh...

I just got it in golden disks in waterford here today if anyones interested, bit harsh there m8, it doesnt have the open play option of say a GTA VICE CITY, but its a damn playable game

3 cities 176 square miles 25 plus main missions, what more could you ask for and an inbuilt director mode so ye can put together films of you most spectacular crashes etc

Well worth a purchase

Shin

lee_baby_simms

the driving part (80% of game) is excellent! the onfoot part is brutal.

rainbow kirby

It's on sale in Game and Xtra-Game in the square too, €49.99 in both.

KdjaCL

Eurogamer forums has some interesting views on it, their review is of a game not to be looked orward to.

Last 2 weeks i been playing Driver on PC kinda hoping all the reviews were wrong, not even gonna bother getting it now.

kdjac

RobertFoster

Originally posted by lee_baby_simms
the driving part (80% of game) is excellent! the onfoot part is brutal.

I also heard it was 50|50....

And the aiming isn't up to scratch (can't move and shoot or something) - and shiraz (from the daily mirror last saturday) gave it 2/5

I wanted to get this game, probably rent it first though, or wait for the PC version...

And no, I've not a "driver basher" or a "GTA fanboy" - I was just saying what I heard, not my actual opinion as I've yet to play.

Deadwing

after how cool driver 1 was, i really hope driver 3 is decent. 2 was a shambles, and its always sad to see a game that pioneered a genre fall from grace, but i get the feeling ill need my baster to play this one, cause it looks like its gonna be a turkey...

KdjaCL

This is superb ,make your own minds up about it.

I will try make it nice and short, Xbox World mag awarded Driver 3 9/10. Amid a lot of WTFS the seemingly isnt a 9/10 game.
When the game came ouy there was a Xbox World 9/10 sticker on the front and a VOUCHER for the mag in the MANUAL all printed and stuff.

Official reply from editor

Well then. Our review score for Driv3r seems to have created quite a stir and with half of you baying for blood and demanding a response from XBW, I thought I'd brave the forums. Ulp.

First off I'd like to totally refute the suggestion that magazines, and specifically XBW, take bribes - monetary or otherwise - to inflate review scores. Sure we might get the odd T-shirt sent to us or a pint bought by a PR but never, in 4 years of working at Future, have I ever given a game an inflated score because a/ I've been ordered to or b/ I've been thrown a bung. Sure I've over marked games - 9/10 for MOH: Rising Sun in OPS2 I will freely admit was a grave error of judgement but an honest mistake. But that's another story entirely.

Further to this, the allegation that there is some grand conspiracy between ourselves and Atari - 'you give it a nine, we'll lob a sticker on the box and a page in the manual' - is again wrong. The sticker was agreed on only after the review had been written and sent to press.

So to Driv3r. It's a great game and we stand by the review. Our staffie played it to completion and loved it, as did the man who wrote our tips guide. However, with regard to the technical issues raised on this forum then you may have a point. Because of the long lead times for magazines and the fact that it was an exclusive review, the code we reviewed from was not final. We were made aware of some bugs in the game and were promised that these would be sorted by the time of release. I cannot comment on whether these were fixed or not but I have an unopened boxed copy of the game on my desk and will endeavour to check it out this evening - there's been too much footie on for serious gaming sessions at home! If it transpires that what was supposedly going to be fixed wasn't, then we will speak to Atari. But like I say, can't comment on that yet. That said, the old PS1 games were greeted with rapturous applause and they were pretty ropy technically in places - slowdown and pop-up aplenty - but had the killer gameplay that we believe has carried over to the latest Driver incarnation.

So with this in mind perhaps a 9 was a little too enthusiastic. Perhaps. But for gamescentral to score it a 3 is just plain rubbish. A 3, or even a 6, would suggest that the game is fundamentally broken and the gameplay offers little if anything in the way of enjoyment. This is simply not true, far from it. If we were to review from the boxed copy and found that all the technical issues had not been resolved then I believe we still would have scored it an 8 or 9 but again, this is pure conjecture and I'll comment when I've played it.

At the end of the day, Bob, much of this is surely down to personal opinion and taste. Can I point you in the direction of OXM's Shadow Ops review in their current issue? This is in no way a personal attack on Gavin Ogden (we'll leave the petty bitching to Xbox Gamer) but 8/10 is, in our opinion, a very very high score for the game. We've only just gone to print with our review so I wont give out our score but I only mention this to illustrate that games, like most things in life, are so often down to the reviewer's/gamer's taste. An another example - I'm currently having a heated discussion with the boss about Leilani and whether she's hot to trot or not. She is, he's entirely wrong, I am entirely right.

Right, I'll stop rambling on now. Hope this goes someway to answering your points. I await responses with extreme trepidation...

Please note this post is speaking for XBW and not PSM2.

Nick Ellis
Deputy editor, XBW"

Eurogamer thread on it.
http://www.eurogamer.net/forum_thread_posts.php?thread_id=14548&forum_id=1

Gamesradar thread
http://forum.gamesradar.com/viewtopic.php?t=43524

if you bored read it all very interesting, from what i have seen from indy reviewers the game is crap buggy and unfinished and aanyone who has it says the same.
But this mag gives it 9/10 ....


kdjac

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

DiscoStu

Smells like Enter the Matrix to me, and who published that?

KdjaCL

Atari


kdjac

tHE vAGGABOND

some of the reviews around the net are tearing it to shreads..

crashed my bosses xbox this morning, 15 minutes into the game

tHE vAGGABOND

I know for a fact that review scores in magazines are tied to exclusives and full page add's in future issues and all that kinda thing..

fella is talking out his arse if he says he has never seen it

Look at the scores in Offical PS2 or Offical XBox magazines and compare them to gameranking.com - most of them may level out, but you get the odd one thats a 9 in the print mags, getting 5,6 or 7 average across 10 or 20 websites

RobertFoster

just rented it...I have it for a week. the conrols aren't too great on foot, and I wish I could re-asign them in car (I keep beeping my horn while trying to slide around a corner a la GTA )

shooting is not fun....aiming with the PS2 joypad isn't as good as using a mouse...

Retr0gamer

Future Publishing signed a pact with the devil years ago. Painkiller is based on their exploits.

Matt Simis

Originally posted by lee_baby_simms
the driving part (80% of game) is excellent! the onfoot part is brutal.

Yep, Id agree. Everytime an on foot bit comes up, its like "why, why??". Its a bit easy, hope there are more driving bits later.

Also the plot seems rather confusing... it doesnt really explain why you are such a bad cop... I dont mean a "badass", you just suck as far as law enforcement goes. In Truecrime (which had much better on foot, though worse car) you could arrest people and get involved in car chases etc.


Matt

KdjaCL

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=55870

Eurogamer review, they raped it....


kdjac

Deadwing

Driv3r:The angel of darkness.

shinzon

Originally posted by KdjaC
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=55870

Eurogamer review, they raped it....


kdjac

Bloody hell they did an all didnt they, i still stand by what i said, Driver was is and never will be a GTA beater, its a good game but not the classic is could have been, especially with the 4 year lead time


Shin

satchmo

Well that's what you get for reading a mag that reviews games based on a version that's not finished yet.

koneko

Blatant bribery and underhand dealings going on there. Driv3r is a shambles of a game. I hadn't read any reviews or heard anything before we rented it yesterday (so I wasn't influenced by any reviews out there), and IMHO it's a piss poor game. Enter The Matrix all over again.

Boy am I ever glad I didn't actually buy it though.

KdjaCL

The gamesradar thread has all sorts of industry peeps posting in it., its at 14 pages.

Anyone bored in work read it its unreal how this happened.

kdjac

shinzon

Originally posted by KdjaC
The gamesradar thread has all sorts of industry peeps posting in it., its at 14 pages.

Anyone bored in work read it its unreal how this happened.

kdjac

Wheres that thread located KDJAC

Shin

Pacifico

It's here .

Interesting read alright. Hardly the first time this has been done though?

KdjaCL

http://forum.gamesradar.com/viewtopic.php?t=43524

in the 1st post above


kdjac

monument

Xbox
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox/driv3r/

PS2
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/driv3r/

tman

Sure I've over marked games - 9/10 for MOH: Rising Sun in OPS2 I will freely admit was a grave error of judgement but an honest mistake. But that's another story entirely.

lmao:D
this guy should have his thumbs chopped off ffs

Deadwing

Souldve seen this coming really. Tomb raider:AOD, enter the matrix, all massive hype, all massive shite. Driver 3 no exception. Or as someone on EG forums dubbed it, 'driver 3/10'

lee_baby_simms

ive tried to just plough on with this game but i really couldnt be bothered.

shocking popup, unengaging and totally grey plot and characters, really poor aiming and movement conrol. The enemy AI is depressingly shallow...this game has everything!

flicking to thrill cam is quite nice though and the chase missions with a gunman are great, its fun to recreate a Ronin vibe in Nice for about half an hour...

driv3r has more glitches than well...driver 2?

sceptre

EG really ripped it apart. More Driv3l than Driv3r then it seems.

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

SantaHoe

Originally posted by smiaras
New evidence has come in regarding the controversy

http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/driv3r.jpg

hehe

Pff who trusts games mags anyway?
Mag writers are no more qualified to rate games than some random muppet from the G-team, or your little brother... the only difference is that they (a) can get the games first (b) can write a few snappy paragraphs about it... they're entitled to their opinion, but let's face it - that's all it is... one mans opinion.
I prefer to play a demo first and decide if I like it.
Burned by a review? boo-fkity-hoo, live and learn.

cosgrove80

Rented Driv3r yesterday.

Played it for an hour or two and gave up. It's prob not far to give it a review after such a short time but I would definitely recommend that people rent it first if they were thinking of buying.

I found the game to be uninspiring and glitchy.
The on foot sections are pretty dreadful.
Theres not much sense of speed either IMO.
Popup is pretty dodgy...etc...etc

Just rent before you buy for your own sake

monument

Originally posted by SantaHoe
Burned by a review? boo-fkity-hoo, live and learn.

...and find a reviewer, or site, which agrees with your idea of a 'good' game [+ use demos etc].

Using demos alone is just as bad as picking up a magazine, or newspaper, you’ve never read and trusting the review because you see five little stars under it.


Reviews should not say…
- this game is da best game ever – bleeding rapid

Reviews should say… this is a truly brilliant game if you…
- like such and so
- can forgive such and so
- are buying it for your five year old
- , but it’s exceptionally short – go rent the bloody thing.

tman

damn right monument.
read multiple reviews and check a demo before buying a game if at all possible.
it always helps if you actually read the review, instead of only looking at the pictures and the score.

having said that, i usually buy a game after a quick scan over a eurogamer review and a peek at the score.

The Real B-man

seen the Tv add thought it was GTA San Andreas for a mo looks pretty cool

KdjaCL

Eurogamer and Edge seem to lie the same gams i do.

But neither can be relied upon for the review when i need it.

kdjac

Len_007

Edge can't be relied on? They were they only reviewers out there to give Enter the Matrix a really crap score; 3/10

KdjaCL

Not like that i mean game comes out on a friday and a month later its reviewed.


kdjac

SantaHoe

Originally posted by monument
Using demos alone is just as bad as picking up a magazine, or newspaper, you’ve never read and trusting the review because you see five little stars under it.

I don't think it's as bad personally, I can't think of any demo I've played where I've gone and bought the game based on the demo, then been dissapointed... but then I'm very picky about what games I buy.
Usualy if I find myself playing the same demo over and over again and the novelty hasn't worn off - then I know it's a winner

I'd seen excellent reviews for Project IGI before I bought it (and without having played a demo of it) and I was disgusted by how unfinished it felt.
Although I take your point, if they'd released a demo of only the first level, I might have thought it was great... as it only started to stink badly as you got further into it.

sceptre

Originally posted by KdjaC
Not like that i mean game comes out on a friday and a month later its reviewed.

If you like reading a magazine review based on actual finished code available in the shops there's nothing that can be done about that.

KdjaCL

Originally posted by sceptre
If you like reading a magazine review based on actual finished code available in the shops there's nothing that can be done about that.

The way it should be for websites is they get the game on a monday and its released on friday. So review is up thursdays , IGN do it that way but they kinda rate games i dont like higher than games i do like.

kdjac

KdjaCL

Atari announced today that 2.5 million units of Driv3r have already been shipped worldwide. The game is available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox and carries a price of $49.95 and an ESRB rating of 'M' for Mature. Check the screenshots if you haven't done it yet.

http://www.gamershell.com/news_2.5MillionUnitsofBDRIV3R.shtml


job done.

kdjac

C Fodder

Over the last too many years I've played games that got crap reviews and didn't sell and really enjoyed them and vice versa found a few top selling mega review games that I've hated. Maybe I should get a job as a reviewer then or does it point to the fact that everyones taste is differrent.
BTW Driver 3 seems OK not a 9/10 but definately not a 3/10 either (ok i'v only tried 20 or so mins last night)

monument

<<merged>>

Originally posted by sceptre
EG really ripped it apart. More Driv3l than Driv3r then it seems.

"Driv3r is a game that fails on so many levels that it would be impossable to call it fun - less Driv3r then Driv3l"

- Nick Gillett, the Guide, the Guardian (today)

Originally posted by KdjaC
job done.

In the short term, yes. However, in the long term, it may be damaging for a publisher to make such an apparently Driv3l game. (sorry, I couldn’t resisted)

Deadwing

Originally posted by monument
<<merged>>



"Driv3r is a game that fails on so many levels that it would be impossable to call it fun - less Driv3r then Driv3l"

- Nick Gillett, the Guide, the Guardian (today)




In the short term, yes. However, in the long term, it may be damaging for a publisher to make such an apparently Driv3l game. (sorry, I couldn’t resisted)

I prefer driver 3/10 myself
I played it for a bit in gamestop, it didnt seem TOO bad, i think some reviews are a bit harsh, maybe 5 out of 10. Tho maybe longterm playing would bring it down to 3 tho *L*

Retr0gamer

Was in Gamestop Santry yesterday to pick up an xbox. Was telling praetorian the other day about the Driv3r contraversy. He pointed out that they had a kid was playing Driv3r so i had a look. The first thing I saw was the guy getting out of a car and a pedestrian running straight through a solid wall. Not good impressions. In the 5 minutes I was looking at it I noticed lots of other silly bugs. The streets were almost always completely empty. The graphics were also crap. Probably the worst texturing i've ever seen.

projectmayhem

i don't think the graphics are that bad to be honest. the lighting could be better (night time view is awful), but i think the graphics are alright. car handling is like trying to control a pregnant elephant, and the motorbikes handle like nible mice.

everyone's mentioned the bugs. first bug i noticed (got the game today) was when i was on a motorbike. the spawning engine showed it's true colours. a motorbike spawned on top of another car. what the hell? then peds started running into and through walls for no reason.

i was hoping for this to be a stop-gap until gta:san andreas (which is looking absolutely amazing right now), but alas it wont be.