Driver | |
---|---|
Genres | Action-adventure, racing |
Developers |
Ubisoft Reflections Sumo Digital Ubisoft |
Publishers |
GT Interactive (1999) Infogrames/Atari (2000–2006) Ubisoft (2006–present) |
Creators | Martin Edmondson |
Composers |
Allister Brimble (Driver) Allister Brimble & Rich Aitken ('2) Rich Aitken & Marc Canham (3, Parallel Lines, San Francisco) |
First release |
Driver 30 June 1999 |
Latest release |
Driver: Speedboat Paradise December 2014 |
Driver is a series of mission-based action-adventure video games developed by Reflections Interactive (now Ubisoft Reflections), and originally published by GT Interactive, later by Atari and now by Ubisoft. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action-adventure and driving in open world environments. Since the series began in 1999, there have been five main installments released.
As of August 2011, the series has sold more than 16 million units worldwide.
The first game of the Driver series was released for the PlayStation on June 30, 1999 in the US. It was later released for Game Boy Color in April 2000, Windows in September 2000, Mac in December 2000, and iOS in December 2009. In the game, the player controls a former racecar driver turned undercover police detective named John Tanner. It featured a storyline inspired by 1960's/70's car chase movies such as Bullitt (1968) and The Driver (1978) and based in four real-life cities; Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. It was the best selling game of the Driver series and an evolution of the freedom to explore a city as brought forth in the early "Grand Theft Auto" games.
The second installment in the Driver series was released for the PlayStation on November 13, 2000 in the US by Infogrames (now known as Atari), and later ported to the Game Boy Advance on October 4, 2002 in the US. It featured detective John Tanner once more, along with a new partner, detective Tobias Jones, in four more real-life cities (Chicago, Havana, Las Vegas, and Rio de Janeiro). It was the first game in the series to feature 2-player modes, curved roads, and the ability to get out of the car at any time (Apart from while being in a pursuit from the police) in order to steal another car on the street.