Driver: San Francisco

In the game you sit behind the wheel of Tanner’s unique car and visit the largest city in the history of the genre (209 square miles of San Francisco), and drive through a series of missions, which ultimately lead to the final confrontation with Jericho. The main innovation is the Shift system, which allows the main character switch between cars. This makes it possible to drive many different vehicles during a single mission, and increases dynamism. The only limits come during missions, depending on their, so e.g. you cannot take control over the car you are chasing.

Putting in a variety of characters and rapid changing of cars created huge possibilities for both developers and players. For example, while you take part in a pursuit, you can switch between different police cars and even set an unexpected blockade (e.g. ram him with an oncoming truck). The system allows you to watch the nearby streets from the air, and even observe the whole city when you zoom out. In this view you can see the parameters of cars or look out for new jobs marked with appropriate icons.

These new gameplay features come with a huge number of cars – the game includes more than a hundred. What is more, there are also seventy trucks to please everyone who loves big machines. Each car was created using real brands and rendered with attention to details (also in of the interiors). Players drive across bustling streets, narrow alleys, and dirt roads. Such a broad set of surfaces can be found in virtual version of San Francisco, which was scaled down a little (so that driving did not get tedious). Other important elements of gameplay are complex driving model and damage system.

The game also includes an extensive editing tool, which allows you to record gameplay and cut it into a film.

The distinguishing feature of the game is the huge city prepared by the developers. What is more, there are cinema-like scenes inspired of classic movies (Italian Job, Ronin). Also players should not complain about music, as the soundtrack includes dozens of old and new songs. All aforementioned gameplay features, primarily the Shift system, also appear in multiplayer, which offers several play modes.