So that's how I went into this review for the GBA version of Driver 2 -- there will still be plenty of gamers that get the game purely on the basis of it's 3D engine, but nobody should be expecting a novelty version of Reflection's bulleting PlayStation game anymore in Driver 2 Advance. Most GBA gamers have, by now, played games such as Doom and perhaps V-Rally and know that, in some way or another, it's just about all possible. This game needs to be the real deal.
A tough task? You bet. And remember -- we called Driver 2 on PSX the biggest disappointment of its day. Does Driver disappoint this time out?
Features
- Mission-based gameplay in a 3D city
- Five mini-games
- Cartridge save (four slots)
- Link cable support for four players (multi-cart)
- Only for Game Boy Advance
Sick of the suspense? Well, it just seemed appropriate to give the review some build-up since, once you play it, the game is very clear and without major shocks or surprise. One zip around the city and you get what it's got going on, what's made the transition and what hasn't, what you can expect from every mission and how deep the game will get. It's all there at face value. And for the most part, this first-impression revelation is very simply good news: the game is the real deal.
Developer Sennari turned in a solid and complete package for Atari/Infogrames in Driver 2 Advance. The 3D engine is not at all a gimmick -- the gameplay comes completely from its graphics engine, and while it's not the most technically perfect or advanced engine on the system, the devs have connected it with an excellent physics engine and driving control model to bring a very complete version of the game to the tiny screen. True, the 3D sensation is achieved by a technique that's honestly not all that different from what could have been done (and was done before on GBC) with a 2D engine -- a raycasting engine is just a 2D map with some trickery to draw some edges as textured walls -- but aside from the flat streets and a lack of a 3D car model, there are no compromises in the engine. It's filled with traffic, it drives like the original, and it recreates the behind-the-wheel feel of tight escapes and infinite choices that's essential to the action in this type of game. This isn't a port to capitalize on the name -- this really controls and plays like a legit edition of the Driver series on a small scale.
Unfortunately, being very true Driver 2 has with it some downsides carried over. Essentially, Driver is a game where you go from Point A to Point B (and sometimes Point C) while either chasing or avoiding Element Z, and without the kind of detail and environment modeling found on the PlayStation and PC, this version is a lot less exciting. Stealth in the chase missions gives some variety, and the AI of the opponent cops and mobsters can give you a good run, but there's not much to mix up the action. The console version at least was able to model rough roads, angling highways, and varying terrain to make every street a challenge on your handling -- the GBA version doesn't have that luxury. (At least that also means it doesn't have the same kind of pummeling frustration like the out-of-control French Connection train chase in the second mission of the PlayStation game.) Getting out on foot is just as dull as before -- you're slow as a sloth and have no weapons or moves, so although I appreciated missions like "Return to Sender" that made good use of the otherwise useless feature, you'd always rather be driving than walking -- and the fun of car-jacking other vehicles isn't nearly as exciting since there's not as much nuance in the different cars (vans are slower and turn wider, for instance, but it's not a huge deal worth getting into.) Also, the framerate/game speed ) isn't at all blazing on the GBA. Some may actually be used to this, since speed was a problem with the PS version as well (though that's not at all the reason why it's a problem here except for that both are a bit too ambitious for their own sake,) but it's certainly not ideal to have a driving game that doesn't book.
It can be dull, but the game can also be gripping and intense as well. For the most part, it's Driver, a driving game that'll make you grit your teeth and set the wheel spinning -- it captures just enough of the PlayStation game to work. The story is there, as is the vast collection of stages (even though they're mostly similar) and the tenacious aggressors (though pathfinding AI can be the squirts if the computer gets knocked off its set course in a chase mission.) Their solution for jumps and bumps is really dopey (the physics engine all the sudden turns off as you fly through the air as if launched from a jump pad), but the game's careening camera captures the fevered control feel of the PlayStation game as it pulls back and to the side during a power-slide around buildings. And while the cities aren't detailed enough to memorize or be memorable, they are sprawling and fully realized. There are landmarks, and the city isn't just straight square blocks with the same streets repeating as would be the case in some other raycasting engine games, particularly ones of this magnitude. I wasn't expecting to see beaches and ritzy-district gated communities, and the inclusion of narrow back-alleys and ponds on campus complexes add a lot to the gameplay.
As far as the graphics engine goes, Sennari put it to work as opposed to putting it up for show. Some gamers will be dazzled by it, but more will probably be able to get over the 3D trickery and ask what it can do for them -- and, as mentioned before, the answer is quite a lot for gameplay. That said, this isn't just an engine that's just function without style -- the look brought out by the game's engine is pretty impressive in its own right. There's no one thing about the graphics engine that really cooks, and the lack of special effects makes for a plain city. However, the graphics engine does draw a sprawling cityscape with varying building textures and distinct elements at a reasonable framerate and speed.
The game may feel lacking in pace at first (and for many stretches at a time after that -- long delivery missions can bore you to death), but once you start getting chasers on your tail and start whipping about with the handbrake powerslide, the speed feels more or less adequate for the action. The game almost never chokes up against it's leisurely velocity -- large open areas get a little crunchy, but interior city streets can be filled with cars and pedestrians and flying cones or debris without affecting your control a bit. Building draw-up is never a problem, nor is vehicle traffic pop-in (it's there, but there's enough cars on the road and a far enough draw distance to never cause problems), and the only major hitches in the visuals is the occasional camera problem when you're smacked up against a building. There's also a glitch where a blue texture sometimes can seam through the road up ahead -- however, even that glitch is too far off to be a problem, and can actually create an interesting effect and challenge (it looks like the "oasis rivers" that show up and then fade away on a rainy day or in heat waves, so it pays to know your route before making detours when your eyes are fooling you.)
Surprisingly, the sonics of the game haven't been completely hacked out to make room for the game engine. Generally, the sound system seems to be making use of some middle-res samples and doesn't have the strength to propel any type of quality sound through the GBA's tiny and tinny speakers -- it all just sort of sounds like a mish-mash with no resonance or distinct sounds when you're playing the system normally. Everything is recorded and played at the same volume. Things aren't helped by the fact that the percussive music score clashes and gets lost with the rumbling engine and crashing sound of the game. However, don some headphones and the mix suddenly seems to ring clear. The funky music is cool and has lots of instruments (even some sound effects in addition to the standard midi effects), and you'll hear digitized sounds such as the voice of cops during the course of play. Your tire squeals scream as you slide, and your car clearly has a throaty engine. And it's got a horn!
