Driver 2 (also known as Driver 2: Back on the Streets and as Driver 2: The Wheelman Is Back in North America) is a 2000 action driving video game and the second installment of the Driver series. It was developed by Reflections Interactive and published by Infogrames for PlayStation. A port to the Game Boy Advance, titled Driver 2 Advance, was released in 2002, developed by Sennari Interactive and released under Infogrames' Atari range of products.

The follow up to Driver, Driver 2 too was a commercial success, although received a less enthusiastic critical reception in comparison. The next installment would be Driver 3 in 2004, while a prequel title was released as Driver: Renegade in 2011.

Gameplay

thumb|left|Driver 2 'Take a Ride' (free drive) in Chicago

Driver 2 expands on Drivers structure, as well as adding the ability of the character John Tanner to step out of his car to explore on foot and commandeer other vehicles in the game's environments. The story missions are played separately from the 'Take a Ride' mode where the player can explore the cities in their own time.

Missions in the game are generally vehicle-oriented, and involve trailing witnesses, ramming cars and escaping from gangsters or cops. A cutscene is shown prior to almost every mission to help advance the storyline, and thus the game plays rather like a Hollywood-style car chase movie. Although Tanner can leave his car and interact with certain elements of the environment, all violence takes place during pre-rendered scenes.

While the original PlayStation version offered a two-player split screenplay, the Game Boy Advance version introduced a four-player link option.

Music

In a move similar to the first game, Driver 2 featured a soundtrack reminiscent of typical 1970s car movies, containing instrumental funk and boogie tracks as well as more popular songs by artists and composers, to further emphasise the retro feel of the game. The original music was composed by Allister Brimble.

Background music for each city seems to match both with the car-chasing movie music and the predominant music styles of each city, for example, Havana BGM seems to be influenced by the Son cubano, Vegas BGM sounds with influences of North America's Western music and Rio BGM is influenced by samba and bossanova.

Cars in the levels themselves have approximately 5 or 6 seconds of looped music, in Chicago it is Rock/Electro Beat style, Havana is Jazz-funk, Las Vegas is Funk/Soul and Rio is Drum & Bass.

The licensed songs featured in the game (as listed in the credits) are:

  • "Fever" by Dust Junkys – the first cutscene in Las Vegas with the trucks pulling into the gas station.
  • "In the Basement" by Etta James – in a bar in Las Vegas where Tanner and Jones shoot pool.
  • "Help Me" by Sonny Boy Williamson – Tanner arrives back at his apartment and confronts Jericho.
  • "Sitting Here Alone" by Hound Dog Taylor – the opening scene of the game at the Red River bar.
  • "Just Dropped In" by Kenny Rogers & The First Edition – plays over the end credits of the game.
  • "Lacrimosa" by Mozart – the climactic scene in Rio at the base of the statue of Christ the Redeemer.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. 23 issues later, Star Dingo called Driver 2 Advance "a mildly impressive technical feat...well, for a Game Boy Advance game, anyway."

Sales

Driver 2 was counted as a success by Infogrames as the game sold 2 million units worldwide by February 2001. Alongside the Greatest Hits/Platinum release of Driver, Deer Hunter 4: World-Class Record Bucks and Unreal Tournament, the game was credited with an increased sale revenues for Infogrames North American Division during the Second Quarter of 2000-01 fiscal year. The PlayStation version received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 units in the UK. The same console version was the 12th best-selling game of 2001 in the UK. The same console version was also the 10th best-selling game of 2001 in the U.S., selling a total of 865,709 units. However, Grand Theft Auto III by Rockstar North, which is the closest competitor of the game, ultimately sold a total of 1.96 million units, edging out the game by approximately 1.1 million units.

Awards

The PlayStation version won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award in the "Favorite Video Game" category. GameSpot named the Game Boy Advance version the best game of October 2002. The same handheld version won the award for "Best Driving Game on Game Boy Advance" at GameSpots Best and Worst of 2002 Awards, and was nominated for the "Best Graphics on Game Boy Advance" award, which went to Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3.

Notes

References

  • Driver 2 retrospective at Gamer Limit