Line #80 VideoGame/Driver


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/driver_cover.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} You Are The Wheelman]]]]
3
4	->''"Truth is, Tanner, three years on the department and you're still the best driver I got; we don't get too many ex-racing boys in here."''
5	-->--'''Lt [=McKenzie=]'''
6
7	Take the 3D open-world gameplay of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', put the player in the role of the police, set it in a [[TheSeventies '70s-esque]] RetroUniverse, and beat [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]] [[OlderThanTheyThink to the punch by two years]], and you have ''Driver''. In ''Driver'', you play as John Tanner, an [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCityCops NYPD detective]] who, due to [[BadassDriver his driving skills]], is sent undercover to investigate a criminal syndicate, taking him on a journey to UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}, UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, UsefulNotes/LosAngeles and back to UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. The game was styled after '60s and '70s car chase films like ''Film/{{Bullitt}}'', ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'' and ''Film/TheDriver'', to the point of including a "Director's Mode" that allows you to place cameras during replays to follow your action.
8
9	Developed by Reflections Interactive and released in 1999, ''Driver'' pushed the Platform/PlayStation to its limits technologically, and proved to be a smash hit, anticipating the boom of WideOpenSandbox games that would emerge in the next console generation. So naturally, there was pressure for sequels. ''Driver 2'' went out the door the following year. It added curved roads[[note]]In the first game, every corner was at a 90-degree angle due to the limitations of the technology. While this was acceptable at intersections, this made turns on, say, bridges rather awkward.[[/note]], foreign cities (Havana and Rio de Janeiro, in addition to UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} and UsefulNotes/LasVegas), and clunky on-foot controls. A Platform/GameBoyAdvance version was released in 2002.
10
11	In 2004, ''[[Letters2Numbers DRIV3R]]'' (read as ''Driver 3''), the series' debut on the Platform/PlayStation2 and Platform/{{Xbox}}, attempted to play catch-up with the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series by introducing gunplay and recruiting such voice talent as Creator/MichaelMadsen, Creator/VingRhames and Creator/MichelleRodriguez.
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13	Reflections released ''Driver: Parallel Lines'' in 2006. Set entirely in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity and its [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]] suburbs rather than multiple cities like the other games, it instead took place over a period of time -- the first half was set in [[TheSeventies 1978]], while the second half took place in ThePresentDay. It also took place in a new continuity-focusing on a young man known only as TK who rises through NYC's criminal underworld only to be betrayed and thrown into jail, and is out for revenge upon release.
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15	A prequel, ''Driver 76'', was released the following year for the Platform/PlayStationPortable.
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17	In 2011, Reflections (now Creator/{{Ubisoft}} Reflections) took another shot at the series with ''VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco'', the first game in the series for the Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/Xbox360. Returning to the first three games' continuity and, like ''Parallel Lines'', taking place entirely in one city (guess which one it is), ''San Francisco'' goes the supernatural[=/=]MindScrew route by taking place [[AdventuresInComaLand while Tanner is in a coma]]... and giving him "shifting" powers that allow him to [[MindControl possess other drivers on the road]].
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19	Coinciding with ''San Francisco'''s release is ''Driver: Renegade'' for the Platform/Nintendo3DS. Set [[{{Interquel}} between the first two games]], the story begins with Tanner quitting the NYPD and striking out on his own as a VigilanteMan. Tanner is soon recruited by Senator Andrew Ballard to take down five of New York City's most notorious crime lords.
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21	The latest instalment as of this edit is ''Driver: Speedboat Paradise'', with only [[RecycledInSPACE boats instead of cars]] to play with and developed by former Creator/{{Gameloft}} staff. Most recently, Reflections has served as a support studio for Ubisoft Ivory Tower's ''VideoGame/{{The Crew\|2014}}'' series of racing [=MMOs=] since 2014.
22
23	----
24	!!Games in this series with their own pages:
25
26	* ''VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco''
27
28	!!Other games in the series contain examples of:
29
30	* AnachronismStew: What exact year ''[=DRIV3R=]'' is set in is ambiguous. Most of the cars are from no later than the 1970s and 1980s but Miami has the American Airlines Arena in it, which was built in 1999, and Sobe drinks and Nokia cellphones exist.
31	* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: In ''[=DRIV3R=]'', you play as Jones for exactly one mission in Istanbul, as he splits off from Tanner and you get to see what happens to him. After that, the game rewinds the story to the moment of the split and continues with Tanner, as usual.
32	* ArchEnemy: Jericho is Tanner's.
33	* ArtificialStupidity: Though the police A.I.s have laser-like focus and will stop at nothing to take you down, they're also about as smart as a bag of wet leaves. It's pretty easy to get them to smash into stuff or drive off cliffs, while trying to take you down. Police cars even smash into each other pretty frequently.
34	* ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement: Tanner, especially in ''[=DRIV3R=]'', often commits or assists in crimes that would be illegal even for undercover cops, such as taking part in assassinations and planting explosives. He also almost certainly would be in trouble for the mission "Tanner Escapes" [[spoiler:where Tanner blows up dozens of Istanbul cop cars with a grenade launcher and kills high amounts of law enforcement]].
35	* BadassDriver: It's the literal name of the game, after all. Tanner can dodge cop cars, drive fast, and take corners with the best of them.
36	* BigBad: In ''Parallel Lines'', [[spoiler:it's Corrigan, also the FinalBoss]].
37	* BloodlessCarnage: All games except ''Parallel Lines''. Largely makes sense given the games are about driving over combat. What is strange is how ''[=DRIV3R=]'' is the first M-rated game in the series, has a greater focus on gunplay, but has no blood whatsoever (or sex, profanity, or drugs for that matter).
38	* BottomlessMagazines: ''[=DRIV3R=]'', ''Parallel Lines'', and ''76'' give you handguns with infinite magazines as your starting weapon.
39	* {{Bowdlerisation}}: When Jones is shot near the end of ''Driver 2'', in the US version he is clearly shown bleeding from the gunshot; the blood is absent in the European version of the game.
40	* CarChase: The series' bread and butter.
41	* CarFu: In the "purer" games without armed characters outside of cars, this is the only way to take out an opponent [[LemmingCops or for the police to take the player out]].
42	* {{Cliffhanger}}: ''[=DRIV3R=]'' ended with both Tanner and Jericho [[spoiler: being put into a coma.]] Curiously, despite this seemingly being a perfect setup for ''San Francisco'''s AdventuresInComaland premise, both of them actually recover off-screen, only for Tanner to be put in another coma.
43	* ClusterFBomb:
44	** Tanner has quite the potty-mouth in ''Renegade''.
45	** ''Renegade'' in general is quite heavy on the cursing.
46	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Cops at high Felony in the first three games will "double-speed" to catch up to you; the exact threshold depends on the game as well as the cop difficulty option in the first two games. This is partly why "The President's Run" is so infamous since it starts you at just below double-speed threshold, which will be reached barely a minute into the mission.
47	* CoolCar: This should be a given, but special recognition goes to the Chevelle/Buick Skylark hybrid from Miami, the Fairlane from San Francisco, ''all'' of Havana's cars from ''2'' [[spoiler:Yes, even the secret Mini]], the Bruiser, Retaliator and V8 from ''[=DRIV3R=]'', along with the Brooklyn, Andec and Cerrano from ''Parallel Lines'' and ''76.''
48	* CoolShades: TK wears these in the first half of ''Parallel Lines''.
49	* CoversAlwaysLie: No, Tanner can't shoot and drive in ''[=DRIV3R=]'' (however a gunman riding shotgun in select missions can).
50	* CowboyCop: Tanner himself-because he works undercover, he frequently finds himself in conflict with other cops.
51	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: In ''[=DRIV3R=]'' in order to enter/exit vehicles while playing in consoles is the L1/LT button instead of the Triangle/Y button like any GTA-style game. This was fixed in ''Parallel Lines''.
52	* DirtyCop: Corrigan from ''Parallel Lines'' is an NYPD officer who secretly runs a criminal gang. [[spoiler:When TK gets out in 2006, Corrigan has become the Commissioner of the NYPD and is considering running for mayor. At the climax of the game, it's revealed that's he's been secretly helping TK kill his former comrades to keep his criminal past from coming to light.]]
53	* DonutMessWithACop: In ''Parallel Lines'', one side mission involves outlasting a police chase. Initiating this requires ramming a doughnut stand.
54	* TheDragon: On his debut in ''2'', Jericho is this to Solomon Caine.
55	* DragonAscendant / DragonInChief: Jericho starts out as TheDragon, but becomes the primary antagonist, and definitely the most dangerous.
56	* TheDriver: Of course.
57	* EveryCarIsAPinto: ''[=DRIV3R=]'' and ''Parallel Lines'' zigzag this trope. A vehicle that takes too much damage from collisions will simply stop working, while shooting vehicles enough times or hitting them with explosives will cause them to explode. Hilariously, ''[=DRIV3R=]'' allows you to get into a vehicle even after it's been blown up.
58	* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Senator Ballard]] in ''Renegade''. [[spoiler:He secretly sets up a crime ring with New York City's most notorious criminals, then sends Tanner to kill them so that he can take the credit for cleaning up the city."]]
59	* {{Expy}}: There's a character in ''[=DRIV3R=]'' who is hiding in ten different places in each city, armed with an assault rifle and waiting to kill Tanner who in turn has to kill him, named Timmy Vermicelli. He is modeled after ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''[='s=] main character, Tommy Vercetti and lampoons ''Vice City''[='s=] weird human proportions with oversized hands. Also, Timmy's water wings make fun of Tommy's inability to swim due to the limitations of ''Vice City'''s engine (Tanner ''can'' swim).\
60	Timmy is Reflections' answer to Tanner in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' who, although a man, was given the female walking animation cycle to poke fun at Tanner's weird walk cycle in ''Driver 2''.
61	* FallingDamage: Present in ''[=DRIV3R=]''. Walking off of an elevated train track in Miami, for example, would damage you, if not outright kill you, also present but much more generous in ''Parallel Lines'' where TK can fall significantly further before taking damage.
62	* ForcedTutorial: The tutorial mission in the first game cannot be skipped.
63	* FragileSpeedster: On average, the cops are faster than you, but aren't able to take as many hits.
64	* GatlingGood: ''Parallel Lines'' has the Blaine minigun, which is unlocked towards the end of the second half of the game.
65	* InterfaceScrew: One mission in the second half of ''Parallel Lines'' has TK [[spoiler:get injected with a hallucinogenic drug]]. During the ensuing chase, the screen becomes increasingly blurred, and stays that way until you get to a garage.
66	* ItalianAmericanCaricature: Aims a TakeThat at ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' protagonist Tommy Vercetti with a knockoff named Timmy Vermicelli. There's a special objective to kill him 10 times scattered over the game map. He shows up again in the sequel as well.
67	* LastBreathBullet: Jericho [[spoiler:seems to do this at the end of ''[=DRIV3R=]''.]] Subverted, as the beginning of ''San Francisco'' shows both Tanner and Jericho still alive.
68	* LemmingCops: The police act more like homing missiles with sirens (at least in the early games,) and their driving skills aren't anywhere near as good as yours can be, so often some simple slaloming between obstacles can be enough to get them to start smashing into everything.
69	* LighterAndSofter: ''Driver 2'' compared to the original, and ''San Francisco'' compared to the rest of the series.
70	* MinusWorld:
71	** The city of [[UsefulNotes/NorthEastEngland Newcastle upon Tyne]] in the first game, which is shown during the credits and [[DummiedOut can only be accessed in-game by hacking]]. It is also the hometown of Reflections.
72	** Falling into the skybox in the sequel normally registers as a BottomlessPit death, but with a certain glitch, you can survive the fall and drive around in the void.
73	* NewYorkIsOnlyManhattan: Averted by ''Driver'' and ''Driver: Parallel Lines''. ''Driver'' takes place in New York in the last part of the game and part of the map includes Brooklyn. ''Parallel Lines'', on the other hand, includes not only Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx (but not Staten Island), but a portion of New Jersey as well.
74	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Depending on where they're set up, police barricades in the first game can be a blessing in disguise. Since they never think to block off the sidewalk, you can just slip right through while most of your pursuers smash right into it.
75	* NintendoHard:
76	** The final level of the first game, "The President's Run," is a LuckBasedMission... meaning that if you get really, really lucky, you ''might'' be able to do it.
77	** The ''tutorial'' level in the first game. It requires perfection for various driving tricks all within a very strict time limit, and it's the first level so you won't have a clue about controls or gameplay just yet. Many people have never seen anything past this first level and is considered one of the worst introductions to a video game.
78	** "Chase the Gun Man" in ''Driver 2'' is commonly regarded as the most difficult of the series, being even more luck based than "The President's Run".
79	** Even the normal, non-hard-as-balls missions can be really tough, too. Even if the cops are dumb as rocks, acting more like homing missiles with sirens, they can be ''extremely'' persistent, and the slightest mistake can ruin the entire mission.
80	* NitroExpress: In one mission of the first game, you must deliver a crate of unstable explosives in a pickup truck across the hills of San Francisco. In another level in the second game, you must take down an explosives-laden truck by ramming it, this is repeated in a mission in the third game.
81	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The criminal organizations that Tanner infiltrates in the first and second games are based on TheMafia and the Chicago Outfit respectively but are never named.
82	* ObviouslyEvil: Warren Nolan, Senator Ballard's chief of security in ''Renegade''. [[GoodHairEvilHair Slicked-back hair?]] Check. [[TheUnSmile Face locked in a near-perputual smirk?]] Check. [[VillainousCheekbones High cheekbones?]] Check. [[GoodEyesEvilEyes Unnerving stare?]] Check. [[EvilSoundsRaspy Gravelly voice?]] Check. [[spoiler:Is it really a surprise when he and his boss end up betraying you?]]
83	* OnlyOneName: Tanner and Jericho. In fact, one of the [[https://www.mobygames.com/images/promo/l/473047-driver-2-magazine-advertisement.png print ads]] for the second game referred to the former as "one cop with one name". ''San Francisco'' revealed their first names to be "John" and "Charles" respectively.
84	* PlotTwist: In ''Parallel Lines'', it's [[spoiler:getting arrested because all five of your friends -- The Mexican, Candy, Slink, Bishop and Corrigan -- use you as a scapegoat for their crime and leave you to be arrested and jailed for 28 years. After you track down and kill the people who betrayed you, it's revealed that Ray, who has been helping you, has been working for [[DirtyCop Corrigan]], who then decides that YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness.]]
85	* ProductPlacement: Advertisements for Nokia and [=SoBe=] are everywhere in ''[=DRIV3R=]''. Strangely, the Miami stage features big rigs belonging to [[BlandNameProduct "Haul-U"]].
86	* RailroadTracksOfDoom: Las Vegas in the second game has a level where you must run for a car parked on a train bridge and get it off the tracks before the train arrives.
87	* RegionalBonus: The Japanese version of the original game allows you to skip the infamous training mission.
88	* RetroUniverse: Despite being set in the present day (except for the first half of ''Parallel Lines''), the games all feel ''very'' [[TheSeventies '70s]]. Incidentally, the first half of ''Parallel Lines'' actually takes place in the '70s.
89	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: TK, after [[spoiler:being betrayed by his employers and getting incarcerated for 28 years]], spends the second half of ''Parallel Lines'' getting back at the people responsible for his imprisonment.
90	* RubberBandAI: If a cop falls far enough behind you, it goes into what fans call "doublespeed", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gaining double the normal top speed in order to catch up]]. Especially noticeable in ''[=DRIV3R=]''.
91	* SawedOffShotgun / GunsAkimbo: Jericho dual wields double barrelled sawn off shotguns.
92	* SensoryAbuse: Dying close to an car explosion in DRIV3R and Parallel Lines, makes an earrape explosion sound that can easily scare you.
93	* ShoutOut:
94	** The tutorial in the first game is lifted directly from a similar scene in ''Film/TheDriver'', where the main character proves his skills to some gangsters in a parking garage.
95	** To prevent any doubt, they even lifted the car crash sound effect from this scene in the movie.
96	** Several missions in the first game and the sequel also mirror or homage famous car chase sequences in movies such as ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'' and ''Film/{{Bullitt}}''.
97	* TheSpook: In ''Driver 2'', the captain suggests Vasquez is just a name.
98	* TheStarscream: In ''3'', [[spoiler:Jericho kills Caine for letting Tanner, an undercover cop, into the group and leading to Jericho's arrest.]]
99	* TheyKilledKennyAgain: Timmy Vermicelli can be killed 30 times throughout ''[=DRIV3R=]''. This does serve a purpose: If you've killed all ten Timmies in one city, this enables a bonus.
100	* TimedMission: Quite a few. Perhaps the worst offenders are certain missions in the first game that require you to rendezvous with another character while the police aren't actively looking for you. Since you could just drive leisurely to the rendezvous point with little difficulty, the game enforces an arbitrary time limit for these missions requiring you haul ass. Either the people giving you these missions are giving out completely unreasonable meeting times, or Tanner is the ultimate procrastinator. And of course, then there's the first mission with a ridiculously strict 60 seconds. Most of the time-limits also give very little room for error.
101	* TimeSkip: ''Parallel Lines'' fast-forwards 28 years after TK [[spoiler:is betrayed and sent to prison]].
102	* TimeTravel: Beating ''Parallel Lines'' allows you to switch between 1978 and 2006.
103	* TutorialFailure: The ForcedTutorial is legendary for being complete garbage; due to being incredibly difficult with little hints and no cheats to help you.
104	* [[WakeUpCallBoss Wake-Up Call Mission]]: "Find the Clue" in ''Driver 2''.
105	* WideOpenSandbox: From ''Parallel Lines'' onward.

Context VideoGame / Driver