Nostalgia Sunday: Driver 2

Driver 2

This game was definatly part of my childhood. Even though most reviewers didn't like it, I had so much fun with it. Walking through the cities and finding new stuff, exploring new areas was the most fun part. Back then, I didn't use the internet much, so it was a much better experience. Of course the driving was fun too, and I liked the story. But more on that below.

The Story:

The story takes place in four cities: Chicago, Havana, Las Vegas and Rio de Janeiro. The Undercover cop Tanner and his partner Tobias Jones are trying to find and capture a guy named "Pink Lenny", who is the only witness of a shooting in a bar, which he could escape. They find him and ask him about it. He tells them, that the killers were after him and not after the other people in the bar. Apparently he is laundering money for Solomon Caine, one of the highest mobsters from Chicago to Las Vegas. The people he met in the bar were brazilian though, which makes it appartent, that he double crossed him with Avaro Vasquez, who wants to expand his business from Rio to the USA. A huge war between those two is about to explode. 

The Game:

The missions mostly consisted of "Follow that car", "Ram that car", or "Escape the police". You had a time limit most of the time, which could get pretty frustrating. Also there were some "on foot" missions. Apart from the story mode, you could get in a "free roam mode", which let you explore the cities. I don't remember much, because it's so long ago, when I played this game the last time, so I can just hope, you understand, when I say, this was a classic "driving game" game, with on foot segments. It also featured a two player splitscreen mode, which was a nice addition.

Prequels and Sequels:

Before a game with a "2" at the end, there is of course the first one, "Driver". While I never owned the game, I remember going into a shop one time, where the demo of the game was available to play. Now, the demo of course started with the infamous parking lot tutorial. I never got it done, making me not want to buy this game. After enjoying Driver 2, I was looking forward to Driv3r. Smart move by me, I lent it first from a video game rental store. Man, was I dissapointed. It tried too much to be a GTA, rather than to be a Driver. The weapons were unnecassary and I remember it being very glitchy. After that game, I didn't care about Driver games anymore, so "Parallel Lines" totally went under my radar. The latest game in the franchise though, Driver San Francisco, sparked my interest. I played it first on the Gamescom in 2011 and then later tried out the multiplayer demo on XBox Live. It's a good game, with the cool "Shift" feature, which is a nice addition to the franchise. Something you should check out.

I'll propably try this game on an emulator again some time. Might be still good.