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Driv3r Ships 2.5 Million, Reviews Not So Sunny
Thanks to Yahoo! for reprinting a press release revealing Atari has shipped 2.5 million copies of long-awaited PS2/Xbox title Driv3r, with Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell reassuring: "The global Driver fan base is as robust and passionate as ever, as indicated by retail reaction in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and other key territories." However, some of the initial reviews are decidedly mixed, in a similar vein to Atari's big 2003 title Enter The Matrix, with GameSpot lamenting of the third Driver title: "Driver 3 is full of the sorts of glitches and problems that final retail products shouldn't have", and IGN complaining that the game "...plays like a bigger, prettier version of Driver 2 with band-aids, but no real solutions to the problems that riddled it." Most of all, Eurogamer were previously skeptical about a late preview version, and are even more scathing regarding what they see as a "class-A disaster" final product. Fair, or not so fair?
Having played the game for some time, it's apparent this isn't one of those "good" games you'd want to play. A 3 might be a big harsh, as there are some pretty poor games you can buy now (Showdown: Legends of Wrestling for example, which was released a day after Driv3r, is a great example of a TERRIBLE game).
There's a huge list of reasons why this game is poor including, but not limited to: mediocre graphics, poor physics, bad controls (particularly on foot), bad AI, and boring, repetative gameplay.
Still, take these reviews with a grain of salt - they SHOULD be harsh. They should pick out flaws and nit pick. Yes, a game is ultimately all about having fun, but there are a lot of things that impede that present in this game. I know of a couple of people who say they're having fun with the game, but to say it's "good" would be a reach.