Driver

About Driver

Driver came out in June 1999 from Reflections Interactive and GT Interactive Software. This racing simulator follows John Tanner, an undercover cop infiltrating a crime syndicate across four American cities. You play on PC, Mac, PlayStation, PSP, Game Boy Color, and later PS3 and iOS. The game lets you steal vehicles and race through Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York to complete specific missions like delivering cars intact or acting as a getaway driver during a bank robbery. It focuses heavily on realistic driving physics rather than arcade points. Tanner must navigate traffic while avoiding police and rival gangsters. The story unfolds as Tanner moves from one city to the next, uncovering corruption involving the President of the United States before making his own final choice at the end of the tale.

Gameplay

You spend most of your time behind the wheel of various cars ranging from muscle trucks to sports coupes. Each mission requires you to reach a destination while adhering to strict constraints like keeping vehicle damage below a certain threshold or evading pursuing police units. The driving model feels weighty and simulates tire grip and collision physics with precision. You navigate tight city streets, rush hour traffic, and highway chases without the benefit of an in-game map. Your primary tools are speed and steering control as you try to shake off pursuers or maintain formation with other vehicles during heists. Missions often involve specific objectives like ramming a rival car into a wall or maintaining a precise speed limit while under scrutiny. You complete these tasks one at a time in single-player mode without any multiplayer lobbies or online leaderboards interrupting the flow.

What Players Think

Players on PlayPile have rated Driver with a solid 85 out of 100 on Metacritic and an 85.7 average from 219 IGDB ratings. The community moods lean heavily toward nostalgic appreciation for its physics engine, though some users note the control scheme feels stiff by modern standards. Average playtime sits around 12 hours for a full campaign completion, which aligns with the story-driven single-player structure. Review snippets frequently mention the satisfaction of a successful high-speed chase or the frustration of a mission fail due to one minor scratch on the car. Critics often cite the city designs as a major highlight, praising the attention to detail in landmarks and traffic density. While some find the AI aggressive, the majority agree that the driving challenge remains unmatched for its era.

PlayPile's Take

Driver works best for players who want a serious simulation experience over arcade thrills. The $10 price point on modern platforms makes it an easy buy for collectors or fans of late 90s racing sims. You will earn 15 achievements by completing all missions without failing any vehicle integrity checks. This title is not for those seeking fast-paced action or online competition. It demands patience and skill to master the physics engine. The story conclusion offers a definitive choice that changes how you view the police force in the narrative. Grab this if you enjoy classic driving games with a serious tone rather than flashy graphics.

Storyline

NYPD officer and former racing driver John Tanner is sent undercover by his boss Lieutenant McKenzie to discover the intentions of a crime syndicate led by Castaldi. McKenzie instructs Tanner to go to Miami and meet a pimp named Rufus. After arriving in Miami, Tanner uses his driving skills to prove himself to some gangsters in a parking garage, allowing him to become their getaway driver. Tanner carries out jobs for various gangsters before meeting Rufus, who tasks Tanner with rescuing Jean-Paul, one of Rufus's associates. Rufus is later shot by his girlfriend Jesse. Needing more information for his investigation, Tanner apprehends Jesse and takes her to the police station, where she reveals that Jean-Paul is now in San Francisco. Tanner goes to San Francisco, where he meets Castaldi, Jean-Paul's boss, and begins working directly for him. He also meets Rusty Slater, his former racing rival, who also works for Castaldi. Tanner later learns that Castaldi is working with a man named Don Hancock, who is running for president. He later suspects that Slater has been spying on him and wrecks Slater's car during a road chase, resulting in Slater being arrested. The Castaldi family move to Los Angeles, where Castaldi plans to assassinate FBI agent Bill Maddox as part of Castaldi's plan to carry out a more high-profile assassination in New York. Tanner tells Leck, a police associate, to ensure Maddox turns up, otherwise Tanner's cover may be affected. The assassination on Maddox is successful, but the police ambush the gangsters, forcing Tanner to take them to safety. Tanner convinces the suspicious gangsters that Slater likely told the police about the planned assassination while under interrogation. Leck later tells Tanner that McKenzie recently met Marcus Vaughn, a corrupt FBI agent who is working with Castaldi and Hancock. The Castaldi family then move to New York, the location of the planned high-profile assassination. Tanner is told by his police associates that McKenzie wants him to pull out of the undercover operation, as he is worried that Tanner's cover will not hold up much longer, and Leck tells Tanner that Hancock has bribed several members of the FBI. Tanner remains undercover and continues working for Castaldi, intent on discovering what he is planning. Tanner eventually learns that Castaldi plans to assassinate the President of the United States, and Tanner is tasked with driving the President's car. However, he ignores all instructions and takes the President to safety. McKenzie then arrives and tells Tanner that Castaldi and all of his associates, including Hancock and Vaughn, have been arrested. He then tells Tanner to take his badge back, but Tanner refuses, suspecting that the police and FBI are involved in the job, corrupted by bribes due to Vaughn's involvement. Tanner leaves, ignoring McKenzie completely.