Driver: San Francisco

Driver: San Francisco is an action-adventure racing movie game developed by Ubisoft Reflections and published by Ubisoft. The game was unveiled at E3 two thousand ten and was released in Australia on September 1, 2011, Europe on September Two, two thousand eleven and North America on September 6, two thousand eleven [Trio] on PlayStation three and Xbox 360, [6] while the Microsoft Windows version was released in North America on September 27, 2011. [Four]

Ubisoft Porto Alegre (Wii version)

Contents

A fresh feature is Shift, which permits Tanner to teleport from one car to another without discontinuing the mission. [7] One of the inspirations for Shift comes from Google Earth. [7] The game is also being described as a “comeback to the roots” of the series as the capability to get out of the car, which was introduced in Driver Two, has been eliminated and substituted with the capability to Shift (teleport) into other cars, as the developers felt that too many games have this kind of feature already and “it wasn’t desirable [for us] to just copy that exact mechanic.” [7] [8] With Shift, the player can also embark missions. As well as the capability to use Shift, all cars will be tooled with a ‘boost’ feature, requiring the player to thrust up on the left thumbstick to use it. Players can also thrust L1 on the PlayStation three or the left shoulder button on the Xbox three hundred sixty version of the game to perform a special ‘ram’ attack on cars. The film director mode, which was absent from Parallel Lines, also comebacks, and players can share their movies on the Driver Club website. [7] The game runs at sixty frames per 2nd. [9]

Setting Edit

The game has one of the largest driving environments. The game’s San Francisco recreation has about two hundred eight miles (335 km) of roads. [8] [Ten] Various landmarks are recreated in the game including half of the Bay Bridge and parts of Marin County and Oakland. In the Wii version, however, access to the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges are blocked, thus preventing the driver from driving through parts of Marin County and Oakland. [Ten]

Multiplayer Edit

Split screen and online multiplayer are also available for the very first time in the series with nineteen different game modes including trailblazer, tag, sprint GT, cops and robbers, among others. In Trail Blazer, the players have to go after the trail of an AI-controlled car to accumulate points. The player who accumulates more points will win the match. The Tag game mode is similar to regular tag, but in switch roles. All the players are attempting to “tag,” or hit, one player. Once he is hit, the person who tagged him is now it. [8] [Ten] The multiplayer will also have practice points. [11]

Cars Edit

San Francisco is unique from other games in the series, in that the game features licensed real-life cars. The game includes one hundred forty fully damageable licensed vehicles ranging from buggies, muscle cars, and sport cars including Chevrolet, Audi, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Bentley, Ruf Automobile, Dodge, Ford, McLaren, Hummer, Shelby, Volkswagen, Pagani, Lincoln, DeLorean, Lamborghini, and Cadillac. [12]

Wii version Edit

The Wii version of the game does not include the “Shift” mechanic but permits players to use guns while driving. The SMG, the pistol, the shotgun, the attack rifle and the RPG are all the weapons available in the game. All weapons can be upgraded in the following categories: clip size, reload speed, and harm. There is a maximum of four levels for each upgrade. Upgrade points can be earned by doing various tricks and earning awards around the city. A fresh feature for the Wii is the localized multi-player, where a 2nd player may take control of the gun or, if they desire, can connect a DS, DSi or 3DS system through download play. The DS device can be used to make road blocks, look for police and buy player one some more time through playing various mini games. There is also a four player split-screen multiplayer. The split screen mode includes four game variants. The variants are Capture the flag, in which the players must grab a flag and drive it to a specific location, Pass the Bomb, in which players must pass a bomb from car to car before a timer counts down, ending the game, Gold Rush, in which the players must grab a bag of money and hold on to it for points, and elimination, in which players must race each other. There is also a cops and robbers split screen mode.

PlayStation Three, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows Edit

Hours after the shootings in Istanbul, Jericho was revived from his gunshot wounds. After recovery, he eluded the hospital security and Istanbul police, and escaped the Istanbul hospital, fleeing from Turkey and escaping back to the U.S. After six months of searching for him, Tanner and Jones managed to find him and arrest him. He is presently in San Francisco, awaiting trial for numerous homicide cases and running a major criminal organization, and also for being closely tied with Solomon Caine, whom he killed.

In San Francisco, Jericho is shown being transported in the back of a prison truck to his trial. A hired assassin fires an RPG at the convoy; whilst Jericho’s guards are dispersed, he melts through his chains with a hidden vial of acid given to him by a bribed guard. He overpowers his guards, and hijacks the truck. Tanner and Jones witness this from Tanner’s car and pursue Jericho as he causes havoc on the streets of the city. Tanner loses track of Jericho when he turns into an alley, and is caught by surprise when Jericho drives up behind him. Jericho uses the truck to ram Tanner’s car into the path of a semi truck, resulting in a devastating crash, putting Tanner into a coma. [7] [Ten]

Whilst in a coma wish, Tanner soon detects his capability to “shift” into another person’s figure, retaining his persona but, to everyone else, looking and sounding exactly the same as the person he has shifted into. Using this confusing power, Tanner helps people around the city whilst attempting to figure out Jericho’s plan. After deducing that Jericho is after the materials to create a cyanide gas bomb, he shifts into Ordell, a low-time crook looking to rise up through Jericho’s organization.

Tanner later detects that Jericho can also shift, and realises that when he is not in his figure, Jericho can take over. Eventually, Tanner figures out that he is in a desire world when the strange messages from the real world creep into his mind. Jericho’s powers become more potent, but Tanner realises that as it is all in his mind, he can play by the same rules, and he ultimately defeats his mental projection of Jericho. In a mental visualisation of a police interrogation room, Tanner embarks questioning Jericho and figures that the news reports from the television in his real-world hospital bed are feeding his coma fantasy. From this he knows of a real-world bomb plot, but deduces that it is not real – Jericho is a gangster, not a terrorist.

Eventually waking up, Tanner requests his car keys from Jones, who reminds him of the truck that hit his Dodge Challenger. Tanner leaves in Jones’ Chevrolet Camaro and goes for downtown San Francisco, which is being evacuated due to the bomb threat. A massive cloud of gas gushes from the city as Tanner approaches, but he quickly detects it is harmless; the bomb is a literal smokescreen being used to cover a prison break. Jericho had made a deal with a prisoner for US$30 million to break him out of jail. After a pursuit, Tanner sees Jericho head into the docks. Tanner and Jericho drive at each other in an apparent game of chicken and a potential head-on collision, but Jones emerges in an SFPD-outfitted Cadillac Escalade and rams Jericho from the side, incapacitating him. Tanner claims that he knew what he was doing, but Jones reminds him whose car he was driving, before suggesting a well-deserved beer.

Nintendo Wii Edit

The plot of the Wii version of Driver: San Francisco is a totally different story and the story is a prequel to the original Driver. It features John Tanner as a rookie undercover cop. Tanner and his playmate, Alvarez are pursuing the gangster Solomon Caine when they get into a car crash. Alvarez is killed and Tanner goes undercover to find his killer. He is accompanied by Tobias Jones, who Tanner dislikes at very first. Tanner gains the trust of a gang run by Caine and does various jobs for him. He also finishes up setting two rival gangs, the Dog Fish and the Dragon Ladies, up against each other to create a market for military-grade arms. Later on, Tanner must pick up a member of Caine’s gang, known as “the Geek” to help them steal back confiscated weapons. Tanner’s identity is foiled when the Geek recognizes him as a cop who put him away before and alerts the others. Tanner is then held captive by Caine’s squad.

Meantime, Jones and the other officers believe Tanner is dead until they get a peak about his location. Jones saves Tanner from almost being killed. Tanner now knows who Alvarez’s killer is and Caine’s plans. They end up trapping one of his gang members and talking to a witness for information on a weapons drop. Once they get the intel, they set up a fake drop to arrest Caine. Tanner and Jones then take down a convoy of weapons trucks before they reach their buyers. When they comeback to the drop, Caine escapes again but Tanner tracks him down and arrests him again. When they take him to the police precinct, Caine’s gang members save him. Tanner and Jones then use a police helicopter to pursue him. Caine is ultimately captured when a helicopter he gets into crashes on Alcatraz Island.

In the end, Caine is convicted of murdering Alvarez and arms-dealing. He is sentenced to life in prison, but he manages to escape and departs to Chicago. Elsewhere, Jones suggests to Tanner a beer and the two race back to the police headquarters.

The game was in development for around five years. [13] A fresh game in the series was confirmed to be in production at the two thousand five Tokyo Game Demonstrate when Sony announced a list of one hundred two that would be released on the PlayStation Three. [14] Ubisoft later confirmed a fresh game in the series after acquiring the series from Atari. [15] In June 2008, the Big black cock conducted reports on the computer game industry, [16] among those reports were in-game, and development footage of the next Driver game. [17] On April 21, 2009, Ubisoft registered the trademark Driver: The Recruit. [Legitimate] In January 2010, it was confirmed that a fresh Driver game was in development and due for release in Ubisoft’s fiscal year ending in March 2011. [Nineteen]

On April 23, 2010, Ubisoft registered the domain driversanfranciscogame.com as well as driversanfrancisco.com and driversanfran.com, suggesting that San Francisco was the setting of the fresh game in the series. [20] [21] On May 27, 2010, Ubisoft confirmed that the next installment in the Driver series would show up on E3 2010, along with other games. [22] [23] On June 7, 2010, Ubisoft released a teaser website containing a live activity trailer, resembling the very first mission of the original Driver game, along with a countdown for Ubisoft’s E3 two thousand ten conference. [24] [25]

Ubisoft also created the game’s Facebook page, which, upon clicking in the “Like” button, opens a slightly different version of the trailer, demonstrating a Californian driver license of John Tanner. [26] [27] A billboard at the LA Convention Center for E3 exposed the title of the fresh game to be Driver: San Francisco. [28] Ubisoft officially announced the game on their E3 two thousand ten conference. [29] On November 12, two thousand ten the game had been delayed and would be released in FY 2012, which was inbetween March 31, two thousand eleven and the same date in 2012. [30]

Reflections founder and series creator Martin Edmondson, returned to Reflections after he temporarily left the game industry in 2004. The game was developed by five Ubisoft studios with Reflections as the lead, and four other developers: Vancouver, Kiev, Shanghai and Montreal. [31] Ubisoft released a free DLC, with twelve fresh routes for all online modes on September 12. [32]

On July 15, two thousand eleven Ubisoft announced that all of their future games with online functionality would require ‘Uplay Passport’ online pass. Driver: San Francisco would be the very first in line to utilize this feature. [33] However, due to misprinted codes, which left players who bought fresh copies of the game incapable to play online, the online pass was waived for the Xbox three hundred sixty version. [32]

Audio Edit

The game’s audio was mixed at Pinewood Studios, which is known for the James Bond film franchise. [34] The game includes sixty licensed songs, an original score from Marc Canham along with a fresh version of the Driver theme by Canham. [35] The OST is mixed and produced by Rich Aitken at Nimrod. On August 30, the soundtrack was confirmed with seventy six songs with genres like funk, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock and hard rock from artists such as Aretha Franklin, Dr. John, DJ Shadow, The Black Keys, The Cure, Beastie Boys, Queens of the Stone Age, The Intense, Unkle, and Elbow. The PlayStation three and Xbox three hundred sixty versions support custom-made soundtracks which permits the player to listen to their own music during gameplay. [36]

Comic mini-series Edit

A comic book mini-series published by Wildstorm Productions based on the game was released. The storyline takes place after the events of Driv3r and before San Francisco, and concentrates on Tanner’s private vengeance against Jericho: the mini-series was written by David Lapham and illustrated by Greg Scott. The very first issue was released in August two thousand eleven and a preview entitled The Pursuit of Nothingness was available on Comic-Con 2010. [37]

Collector’s edition Edit

A collector’s edition was also available for the PlayStation Trio, Xbox three hundred sixty and Microsoft Windows versions of the game for PAL territories only. The pack includes an 18×9×9 cm replica of a one thousand nine hundred seventy Dodge Challenger R/T four hundred forty Six Pack, a map of San Francisco detailing the in-game location of the eighty dares scattered across the city, three off the hook in-game cars for multiplayer mode including one thousand nine hundred sixty three Aston Martin DB5, one thousand nine hundred seventy two Lamborghini Miura, and one thousand nine hundred sixty six Shelby Cobra 427, four single player challenges: Mass Pursue – a wrongfully accused driver attempts to escape the entire police force of San Francisco and prove his innocence; Relay Race – switch car inbetween laps to win race; Russian Hill Racers – Race against three super cars in the famous district; Taxi – Race against other taxis in Downtown. [38]

Driver: San Francisco

Driver: San Francisco

Driver: San Francisco is an action-adventure racing movie game developed by Ubisoft Reflections and published by Ubisoft. The game was unveiled at E3 two thousand ten and was released in Australia on September 1, 2011, Europe on September Two, two thousand eleven and North America on September 6, two thousand eleven [Three] on PlayStation three and Xbox 360, [6] while the Microsoft Windows version was released in North America on September 27, 2011. [Four]

Ubisoft Porto Alegre (Wii version)

Contents

A fresh feature is Shift, which permits Tanner to teleport from one car to another without discontinuing the mission. [7] One of the inspirations for Shift comes from Google Earth. [7] The game is also being described as a “come back to the roots” of the series as the capability to get out of the car, which was introduced in Driver Two, has been eliminated and substituted with the capability to Shift (teleport) into other cars, as the developers felt that too many games have this kind of feature already and “it wasn’t desirable [for us] to just copy that exact mechanic.” [7] [8] With Shift, the player can also embark missions. As well as the capability to use Shift, all cars will be tooled with a ‘boost’ feature, requiring the player to shove up on the left thumbstick to use it. Players can also thrust L1 on the PlayStation three or the left shoulder button on the Xbox three hundred sixty version of the game to perform a special ‘ram’ attack on cars. The film director mode, which was absent from Parallel Lines, also comebacks, and players can share their movies on the Driver Club website. [7] The game runs at sixty frames per 2nd. [9]

Setting Edit

The game has one of the largest driving environments. The game’s San Francisco recreation has about two hundred eight miles (335 km) of roads. [8] [Ten] Various landmarks are recreated in the game including half of the Bay Bridge and parts of Marin County and Oakland. In the Wii version, however, access to the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges are blocked, thus preventing the driver from driving through parts of Marin County and Oakland. [Ten]

Multiplayer Edit

Split screen and online multiplayer are also available for the very first time in the series with nineteen different game modes including trailblazer, tag, sprint GT, cops and robbers, among others. In Trail Blazer, the players have to go after the trail of an AI-controlled car to accumulate points. The player who accumulates more points will win the match. The Tag game mode is similar to regular tag, but in switch sides. All the players are attempting to “tag,” or hit, one player. Once he is hit, the person who tagged him is now it. [8] [Ten] The multiplayer will also have practice points. [11]

Cars Edit

San Francisco is unique from other games in the series, in that the game features licensed real-life cars. The game includes one hundred forty fully damageable licensed vehicles ranging from buggies, muscle cars, and sport cars including Chevrolet, Audi, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Bentley, Ruf Automobile, Dodge, Ford, McLaren, Hummer, Shelby, Volkswagen, Pagani, Lincoln, DeLorean, Lamborghini, and Cadillac. [12]

Wii version Edit

The Wii version of the game does not include the “Shift” mechanic but permits players to use guns while driving. The SMG, the pistol, the shotgun, the attack rifle and the RPG are all the weapons available in the game. All weapons can be upgraded in the following categories: clip size, reload speed, and harm. There is a maximum of four levels for each upgrade. Upgrade points can be earned by doing various tricks and earning awards around the city. A fresh feature for the Wii is the localized multi-player, where a 2nd player may take control of the gun or, if they desire, can connect a DS, DSi or 3DS system through download play. The DS device can be used to make road blocks, look for police and buy player one some more time through playing various mini games. There is also a four player split-screen multiplayer. The split screen mode includes four game variants. The variants are Capture the flag, in which the players must grab a flag and drive it to a specific location, Pass the Bomb, in which players must pass a bomb from car to car before a timer counts down, ending the game, Gold Rush, in which the players must grab a bag of money and hold on to it for points, and elimination, in which players must race each other. There is also a cops and robbers split screen mode.

PlayStation Three, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows Edit

Hours after the shootings in Istanbul, Jericho was revived from his gunshot wounds. After recovery, he eluded the hospital security and Istanbul police, and escaped the Istanbul hospital, fleeing from Turkey and escaping back to the U.S. After six months of searching for him, Tanner and Jones managed to find him and arrest him. He is presently in San Francisco, awaiting trial for numerous homicide cases and running a major criminal organization, and also for being closely tied with Solomon Caine, whom he killed.

In San Francisco, Jericho is shown being transported in the back of a prison truck to his trial. A hired assassin fires an RPG at the convoy; whilst Jericho’s guards are dispelled, he melts through his chains with a hidden vial of acid given to him by a bribed guard. He overpowers his guards, and hijacks the truck. Tanner and Jones witness this from Tanner’s car and pursue Jericho as he causes havoc on the streets of the city. Tanner loses track of Jericho when he turns into an alley, and is caught by surprise when Jericho drives up behind him. Jericho uses the truck to ram Tanner’s car into the path of a semi truck, resulting in a devastating crash, putting Tanner into a coma. [7] [Ten]

Whilst in a coma wish, Tanner soon detects his capability to “shift” into another person’s assets, retaining his persona but, to everyone else, looking and sounding exactly the same as the person he has shifted into. Using this confusing power, Tanner helps people around the city whilst attempting to figure out Jericho’s plan. After deducing that Jericho is after the materials to create a cyanide gas bomb, he shifts into Ordell, a low-time crook looking to rise up through Jericho’s organization.

Tanner later detects that Jericho can also shift, and realises that when he is not in his bod, Jericho can take over. Eventually, Tanner figures out that he is in a fantasy world when the strange messages from the real world creep into his mind. Jericho’s powers become more potent, but Tanner realises that as it is all in his mind, he can play by the same rules, and he ultimately defeats his mental projection of Jericho. In a mental visualisation of a police interrogation room, Tanner commences questioning Jericho and figures that the news reports from the television in his real-world hospital bed are feeding his coma desire. From this he knows of a real-world bomb plot, but deduces that it is not real – Jericho is a gangster, not a terrorist.

Ultimately waking up, Tanner requests his car keys from Jones, who reminds him of the truck that hit his Dodge Challenger. Tanner leaves in Jones’ Chevrolet Camaro and goes for downtown San Francisco, which is being evacuated due to the bomb threat. A massive cloud of gas explodes from the city as Tanner approaches, but he quickly detects it is harmless; the bomb is a literal smokescreen being used to cover a prison break. Jericho had made a deal with a prisoner for US$30 million to break him out of jail. After a pursuit, Tanner sees Jericho head into the docks. Tanner and Jericho drive at each other in an apparent game of chicken and a potential head-on collision, but Jones emerges in an SFPD-outfitted Cadillac Escalade and rams Jericho from the side, incapacitating him. Tanner claims that he knew what he was doing, but Jones reminds him whose car he was driving, before suggesting a well-deserved beer.

Nintendo Wii Edit

The plot of the Wii version of Driver: San Francisco is a totally different story and the story is a prequel to the original Driver. It features John Tanner as a rookie undercover cop. Tanner and his fucking partner, Alvarez are pursuing the gangster Solomon Caine when they get into a car crash. Alvarez is killed and Tanner goes undercover to find his killer. He is accompanied by Tobias Jones, who Tanner dislikes at very first. Tanner gains the trust of a gang run by Caine and does various jobs for him. He also finishes up setting two rival gangs, the Dog Fish and the Dragon Ladies, up against each other to create a market for military-grade arms. Later on, Tanner must pick up a member of Caine’s gang, known as “the Geek” to help them steal back confiscated weapons. Tanner’s identity is foiled when the Geek recognizes him as a cop who put him away before and alerts the others. Tanner is then held captive by Caine’s squad.

Meantime, Jones and the other officers believe Tanner is dead until they get a peak about his location. Jones saves Tanner from almost being killed. Tanner now knows who Alvarez’s killer is and Caine’s plans. They end up trapping one of his gang members and talking to a witness for information on a weapons drop. Once they get the intel, they set up a fake drop to arrest Caine. Tanner and Jones then take down a convoy of weapons trucks before they reach their buyers. When they come back to the drop, Caine escapes again but Tanner tracks him down and arrests him again. When they take him to the police precinct, Caine’s gang members save him. Tanner and Jones then use a police helicopter to pursue him. Caine is eventually captured when a helicopter he gets into crashes on Alcatraz Island.

In the end, Caine is convicted of murdering Alvarez and arms-dealing. He is sentenced to life in prison, but he manages to escape and departs to Chicago. Elsewhere, Jones suggests to Tanner a beer and the two race back to the police headquarters.

The game was in development for around five years. [13] A fresh game in the series was confirmed to be in production at the two thousand five Tokyo Game Showcase when Sony announced a list of one hundred two that would be released on the PlayStation Trio. [14] Ubisoft later confirmed a fresh game in the series after acquiring the series from Atari. [15] In June 2008, the Big black cock conducted reports on the computer game industry, [16] among those reports were in-game, and development footage of the next Driver game. [17] On April 21, 2009, Ubisoft registered the trademark Driver: The Recruit. [Legitimate] In January 2010, it was confirmed that a fresh Driver game was in development and due for release in Ubisoft’s fiscal year ending in March 2011. [Nineteen]

On April 23, 2010, Ubisoft registered the domain driversanfranciscogame.com as well as driversanfrancisco.com and driversanfran.com, suggesting that San Francisco was the setting of the fresh game in the series. [20] [21] On May 27, 2010, Ubisoft confirmed that the next installment in the Driver series would emerge on E3 2010, along with other games. [22] [23] On June 7, 2010, Ubisoft released a teaser website containing a live activity trailer, resembling the very first mission of the original Driver game, along with a countdown for Ubisoft’s E3 two thousand ten conference. [24] [25]

Ubisoft also created the game’s Facebook page, which, upon clicking in the “Like” button, opens a slightly different version of the trailer, demonstrating a Californian driver license of John Tanner. [26] [27] A billboard at the LA Convention Center for E3 exposed the title of the fresh game to be Driver: San Francisco. [28] Ubisoft officially announced the game on their E3 two thousand ten conference. [29] On November 12, two thousand ten the game had been delayed and would be released in FY 2012, which was inbetween March 31, two thousand eleven and the same date in 2012. [30]

Reflections founder and series creator Martin Edmondson, returned to Reflections after he temporarily left the game industry in 2004. The game was developed by five Ubisoft studios with Reflections as the lead, and four other developers: Vancouver, Kiev, Shanghai and Montreal. [31] Ubisoft released a free DLC, with twelve fresh routes for all online modes on September 12. [32]

On July 15, two thousand eleven Ubisoft announced that all of their future games with online functionality would require ‘Uplay Passport’ online pass. Driver: San Francisco would be the very first in line to utilize this feature. [33] However, due to misprinted codes, which left players who bought fresh copies of the game incapable to play online, the online pass was waived for the Xbox three hundred sixty version. [32]

Audio Edit

The game’s audio was mixed at Pinewood Studios, which is known for the James Bond film franchise. [34] The game includes sixty licensed songs, an original score from Marc Canham along with a fresh version of the Driver theme by Canham. [35] The OST is mixed and produced by Rich Aitken at Nimrod. On August 30, the soundtrack was confirmed with seventy six songs with genres like funk, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock and hard rock from artists such as Aretha Franklin, Dr. John, DJ Shadow, The Black Keys, The Cure, Beastie Boys, Queens of the Stone Age, The Strong, Unkle, and Elbow. The PlayStation three and Xbox three hundred sixty versions support custom-made soundtracks which permits the player to listen to their own music during gameplay. [36]

Comic mini-series Edit

A comic book mini-series published by Wildstorm Productions based on the game was released. The storyline takes place after the events of Driv3r and before San Francisco, and concentrates on Tanner’s individual vengeance against Jericho: the mini-series was written by David Lapham and illustrated by Greg Scott. The very first issue was released in August two thousand eleven and a preview entitled The Pursuit of Nothingness was available on Comic-Con 2010. [37]

Collector’s edition Edit

A collector’s edition was also available for the PlayStation Three, Xbox three hundred sixty and Microsoft Windows versions of the game for PAL territories only. The pack includes an 18×9×9 cm replica of a one thousand nine hundred seventy Dodge Challenger R/T four hundred forty Six Pack, a map of San Francisco detailing the in-game location of the eighty dares scattered across the city, three special in-game cars for multiplayer mode including one thousand nine hundred sixty three Aston Martin DB5, one thousand nine hundred seventy two Lamborghini Miura, and one thousand nine hundred sixty six Shelby Cobra 427, four single player challenges: Mass Pursue – a wrongfully accused driver attempts to escape the entire police force of San Francisco and prove his innocence; Relay Race – switch car inbetween laps to win race; Russian Hill Racers – Race against three super cars in the famous district; Taxi – Race against other taxis in Downtown. [38]

Driver: San Francisco

Driver: San Francisco

Driver: San Francisco is an action-adventure racing movie game developed by Ubisoft Reflections and published by Ubisoft. The game was unveiled at E3 two thousand ten and was released in Australia on September 1, 2011, Europe on September Two, two thousand eleven and North America on September 6, two thousand eleven [Trio] on PlayStation three and Xbox 360, [6] while the Microsoft Windows version was released in North America on September 27, 2011. [Four]

Ubisoft Porto Alegre (Wii version)

Contents

A fresh feature is Shift, which permits Tanner to teleport from one car to another without discontinuing the mission. [7] One of the inspirations for Shift comes from Google Earth. [7] The game is also being described as a “comeback to the roots” of the series as the capability to get out of the car, which was introduced in Driver Two, has been eliminated and substituted with the capability to Shift (teleport) into other cars, as the developers felt that too many games have this kind of feature already and “it wasn’t desirable [for us] to just copy that exact mechanic.” [7] [8] With Shift, the player can also commence missions. As well as the capability to use Shift, all cars will be tooled with a ‘boost’ feature, requiring the player to shove up on the left thumbstick to use it. Players can also shove L1 on the PlayStation three or the left shoulder button on the Xbox three hundred sixty version of the game to perform a special ‘ram’ attack on cars. The film director mode, which was absent from Parallel Lines, also comebacks, and players can share their movies on the Driver Club website. [7] The game runs at sixty frames per 2nd. [9]

Setting Edit

The game has one of the largest driving environments. The game’s San Francisco recreation has about two hundred eight miles (335 km) of roads. [8] [Ten] Various landmarks are recreated in the game including half of the Bay Bridge and parts of Marin County and Oakland. In the Wii version, however, access to the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges are blocked, thus preventing the driver from driving through parts of Marin County and Oakland. [Ten]

Multiplayer Edit

Split screen and online multiplayer are also available for the very first time in the series with nineteen different game modes including trailblazer, tag, sprint GT, cops and robbers, among others. In Trail Blazer, the players have to go after the trail of an AI-controlled car to accumulate points. The player who accumulates more points will win the match. The Tag game mode is similar to regular tag, but in switch roles. All the players are attempting to “tag,” or hit, one player. Once he is hit, the person who tagged him is now it. [8] [Ten] The multiplayer will also have practice points. [11]

Cars Edit

San Francisco is unique from other games in the series, in that the game features licensed real-life cars. The game includes one hundred forty fully damageable licensed vehicles ranging from buggies, muscle cars, and sport cars including Chevrolet, Audi, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Bentley, Ruf Automobile, Dodge, Ford, McLaren, Hummer, Shelby, Volkswagen, Pagani, Lincoln, DeLorean, Lamborghini, and Cadillac. [12]

Wii version Edit

The Wii version of the game does not include the “Shift” mechanic but permits players to use guns while driving. The SMG, the pistol, the shotgun, the attack rifle and the RPG are all the weapons available in the game. All weapons can be upgraded in the following categories: clip size, reload speed, and harm. There is a maximum of four levels for each upgrade. Upgrade points can be earned by doing various tricks and earning awards around the city. A fresh feature for the Wii is the localized multi-player, where a 2nd player may take control of the gun or, if they desire, can connect a DS, DSi or 3DS system through download play. The DS device can be used to make road blocks, look for police and buy player one some more time through playing various mini games. There is also a four player split-screen multiplayer. The split screen mode includes four game variants. The variants are Capture the flag, in which the players must grab a flag and drive it to a specific location, Pass the Bomb, in which players must pass a bomb from car to car before a timer counts down, ending the game, Gold Rush, in which the players must grab a bag of money and hold on to it for points, and elimination, in which players must race each other. There is also a cops and robbers split screen mode.

PlayStation Three, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows Edit

Hours after the shootings in Istanbul, Jericho was revived from his gunshot wounds. After recovery, he eluded the hospital security and Istanbul police, and escaped the Istanbul hospital, fleeing from Turkey and escaping back to the U.S. After six months of searching for him, Tanner and Jones managed to find him and arrest him. He is presently in San Francisco, awaiting trial for numerous homicide cases and running a major criminal organization, and also for being closely tied with Solomon Caine, whom he killed.

In San Francisco, Jericho is shown being transported in the back of a prison truck to his trial. A hired assassin fires an RPG at the convoy; whilst Jericho’s guards are dispersed, he melts through his chains with a hidden vial of acid given to him by a bribed guard. He overpowers his guards, and hijacks the truck. Tanner and Jones witness this from Tanner’s car and pursue Jericho as he causes havoc on the streets of the city. Tanner loses track of Jericho when he turns into an alley, and is caught by surprise when Jericho drives up behind him. Jericho uses the truck to ram Tanner’s car into the path of a semi truck, resulting in a devastating crash, putting Tanner into a coma. [7] [Ten]

Whilst in a coma wish, Tanner soon detects his capability to “shift” into another person’s figure, retaining his persona but, to everyone else, looking and sounding exactly the same as the person he has shifted into. Using this confusing power, Tanner helps people around the city whilst attempting to figure out Jericho’s plan. After deducing that Jericho is after the materials to create a cyanide gas bomb, he shifts into Ordell, a low-time crook looking to rise up through Jericho’s organization.

Tanner later detects that Jericho can also shift, and realises that when he is not in his figure, Jericho can take over. Eventually, Tanner figures out that he is in a fantasy world when the strange messages from the real world creep into his mind. Jericho’s powers become more potent, but Tanner realises that as it is all in his mind, he can play by the same rules, and he ultimately defeats his mental projection of Jericho. In a mental visualisation of a police interrogation room, Tanner starts questioning Jericho and figures that the news reports from the television in his real-world hospital bed are feeding his coma wish. From this he knows of a real-world bomb plot, but deduces that it is not real – Jericho is a gangster, not a terrorist.

Eventually waking up, Tanner requests his car keys from Jones, who reminds him of the truck that hit his Dodge Challenger. Tanner leaves in Jones’ Chevrolet Camaro and goes for downtown San Francisco, which is being evacuated due to the bomb threat. A massive cloud of gas spews from the city as Tanner approaches, but he quickly detects it is harmless; the bomb is a literal smokescreen being used to cover a prison break. Jericho had made a deal with a prisoner for US$30 million to break him out of jail. After a pursuit, Tanner sees Jericho head into the docks. Tanner and Jericho drive at each other in an apparent game of chicken and a potential head-on collision, but Jones emerges in an SFPD-outfitted Cadillac Escalade and rams Jericho from the side, incapacitating him. Tanner claims that he knew what he was doing, but Jones reminds him whose car he was driving, before suggesting a well-deserved beer.

Nintendo Wii Edit

The plot of the Wii version of Driver: San Francisco is a downright different story and the story is a prequel to the original Driver. It features John Tanner as a rookie undercover cop. Tanner and his fucking partner, Alvarez are pursuing the gangster Solomon Caine when they get into a car crash. Alvarez is killed and Tanner goes undercover to find his killer. He is accompanied by Tobias Jones, who Tanner dislikes at very first. Tanner gains the trust of a gang run by Caine and does various jobs for him. He also completes up setting two rival gangs, the Dog Fish and the Dragon Ladies, up against each other to create a market for military-grade arms. Later on, Tanner must pick up a member of Caine’s gang, known as “the Geek” to help them steal back confiscated weapons. Tanner’s identity is foiled when the Geek recognizes him as a cop who put him away before and alerts the others. Tanner is then held captive by Caine’s squad.

Meantime, Jones and the other officers believe Tanner is dead until they get a peak about his location. Jones saves Tanner from almost being killed. Tanner now knows who Alvarez’s killer is and Caine’s plans. They end up trapping one of his gang members and talking to a witness for information on a weapons drop. Once they get the intel, they set up a fake drop to arrest Caine. Tanner and Jones then take down a convoy of weapons trucks before they reach their buyers. When they come back to the drop, Caine escapes again but Tanner tracks him down and arrests him again. When they take him to the police precinct, Caine’s gang members save him. Tanner and Jones then use a police helicopter to pursue him. Caine is eventually captured when a helicopter he gets into crashes on Alcatraz Island.

In the end, Caine is convicted of murdering Alvarez and arms-dealing. He is sentenced to life in prison, but he manages to escape and departs to Chicago. Elsewhere, Jones suggests to Tanner a beer and the two race back to the police headquarters.

The game was in development for around five years. [13] A fresh game in the series was confirmed to be in production at the two thousand five Tokyo Game Demonstrate when Sony announced a list of one hundred two that would be released on the PlayStation Trio. [14] Ubisoft later confirmed a fresh game in the series after acquiring the series from Atari. [15] In June 2008, the Big black cock conducted reports on the computer game industry, [16] among those reports were in-game, and development footage of the next Driver game. [17] On April 21, 2009, Ubisoft registered the trademark Driver: The Recruit. [Legitimate] In January 2010, it was confirmed that a fresh Driver game was in development and due for release in Ubisoft’s fiscal year ending in March 2011. [Nineteen]

On April 23, 2010, Ubisoft registered the domain driversanfranciscogame.com as well as driversanfrancisco.com and driversanfran.com, suggesting that San Francisco was the setting of the fresh game in the series. [20] [21] On May 27, 2010, Ubisoft confirmed that the next installment in the Driver series would emerge on E3 2010, along with other games. [22] [23] On June 7, 2010, Ubisoft released a teaser website containing a live activity trailer, resembling the very first mission of the original Driver game, along with a countdown for Ubisoft’s E3 two thousand ten conference. [24] [25]

Ubisoft also created the game’s Facebook page, which, upon clicking in the “Like” button, opens a slightly different version of the trailer, displaying a Californian driver license of John Tanner. [26] [27] A billboard at the LA Convention Center for E3 exposed the title of the fresh game to be Driver: San Francisco. [28] Ubisoft officially announced the game on their E3 two thousand ten conference. [29] On November 12, two thousand ten the game had been delayed and would be released in FY 2012, which was inbetween March 31, two thousand eleven and the same date in 2012. [30]

Reflections founder and series creator Martin Edmondson, returned to Reflections after he temporarily left the game industry in 2004. The game was developed by five Ubisoft studios with Reflections as the lead, and four other developers: Vancouver, Kiev, Shanghai and Montreal. [31] Ubisoft released a free DLC, with twelve fresh routes for all online modes on September 12. [32]

On July 15, two thousand eleven Ubisoft announced that all of their future games with online functionality would require ‘Uplay Passport’ online pass. Driver: San Francisco would be the very first in line to utilize this feature. [33] However, due to misprinted codes, which left players who bought fresh copies of the game incapable to play online, the online pass was waived for the Xbox three hundred sixty version. [32]

Audio Edit

The game’s audio was mixed at Pinewood Studios, which is known for the James Bond film franchise. [34] The game includes sixty licensed songs, an original score from Marc Canham along with a fresh version of the Driver theme by Canham. [35] The OST is mixed and produced by Rich Aitken at Nimrod. On August 30, the soundtrack was confirmed with seventy six songs with genres like funk, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock and hard rock from artists such as Aretha Franklin, Dr. John, DJ Shadow, The Black Keys, The Cure, Beastie Boys, Queens of the Stone Age, The Intense, Unkle, and Elbow. The PlayStation three and Xbox three hundred sixty versions support custom-made soundtracks which permits the player to listen to their own music during gameplay. [36]

Comic mini-series Edit

A comic book mini-series published by Wildstorm Productions based on the game was released. The storyline takes place after the events of Driv3r and before San Francisco, and concentrates on Tanner’s private vengeance against Jericho: the mini-series was written by David Lapham and illustrated by Greg Scott. The very first issue was released in August two thousand eleven and a preview entitled The Pursuit of Nothingness was available on Comic-Con 2010. [37]

Collector’s edition Edit

A collector’s edition was also available for the PlayStation Three, Xbox three hundred sixty and Microsoft Windows versions of the game for PAL territories only. The pack includes an 18×9×9 cm replica of a one thousand nine hundred seventy Dodge Challenger R/T four hundred forty Six Pack, a map of San Francisco detailing the in-game location of the eighty dares scattered across the city, three off the hook in-game cars for multiplayer mode including one thousand nine hundred sixty three Aston Martin DB5, one thousand nine hundred seventy two Lamborghini Miura, and one thousand nine hundred sixty six Shelby Cobra 427, four single player challenges: Mass Pursue – a wrongfully accused driver attempts to escape the entire police force of San Francisco and prove his innocence; Relay Race – switch car inbetween laps to win race; Russian Hill Racers – Race against three super cars in the famous district; Taxi – Race against other taxis in Downtown. [38]

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