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By max.thunder
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by IGN Staff [AUGUST 11, 2000]

There's no doubt that Driver was a huge success on PlayStation when it launched in 1999. It offered the overcrowded racing genre a breath of well-needed fresh air. So what can the sequel possibly do to topple the original, aside from the usual touch up a few things here and there? Add a few new car models or a bit of multiplayer action?

This is an issue that Driver's main man Martin Edmonson feels strongly about. That's why he's included the option for lead character Tanner to get out of the car and run around GTA-style.

The game is currently slated for a mid-November release. We caught up with Edmonson to discuss all things Driver related.

IGNPSX: How do you plan to build on the success of the original, which was huge?

Martin Edmondson: We try to make the second version much better than the first and give players a good reason to buy it. I hate it when I buy a sequel just to find out that it's the same as the first. So what we've done is put a much bigger team on it and we've spent a year and a half on its development.

We have rewritten the code for the cities and included curved roads, roundabouts, slip roads, and freeway exit ramps. Basically it's a lot more realistic.

We also allow the player to get out of the car, run around, and perform simple tasks. Driving is still the main element but being able to get out of the car adds a little more interest. It's not like Tomb Raider with cars or anything.

IGNPSX: So how will this new feature play its part in the missions?

Martin Edmonson: First of all, it's optional at any time. If you're being chased by the cops you can't jump out, but if your car gets smashed up you can get out and take something else -- faster or stronger.

Some missions require you to take a different car. One mission sees the player come out of his motel chasing someone. The bad guy jumps into a car and screeches off, then comes the player and there's an old car in front of you. You can run out into the street and find something faster -- but it will take longer. It enhances the missions in that way and gives more of a choice. Plus at the end of the mission, whereas in the last one it would come to an end and that was it, now you have to get out of the car and run into a certain building.

IGNPSX: What locations will the sequel be based in?

Martin Edmonson: The sequel will take place across the cities of Chicago, Illinois, Havana in Cuba, Las Vegas, Nevada, and then on to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. They are all new.

IGNPSX: Are they are realistic as in the original?

Martin Edmonson: They're actually more realistic this time because we have the curved roads and proper junctions that we didn't have in Driver 1. The cities themselves are bigger and have more key buildings.

IGNPSX: Tell us about the overall story to the game.

Martin Edmonson: The original lacked a real story but the sequel does have more emphasis on plot. The player is attempting to stop warfare between two gangs. One lot is from Rio, the other from Chicago. You have to stop war on the streets between these two leaders, and one thing we have done to enhance the story is to change the cut scenes from the first. These were very simple, they told the story -- just, so the scenes in the second have been vastly enhanced. The difference between them in terms of quality is like night and day.

IGNPSX: Give us an example of the missions in Driver 2.

Martin Edmonson: There are missions where the player has to deliver stuff from A to B, but we also have things where you have to get out of the car. For example, you might have to set an explosion in a building or follow someone to a destination. That along with the fact that some missions start with choices about your car, greatly enhances the feeling.

IGNPSX: How much emphases have you placed on multiplayer options this time round?

Martin Edmonson: It's there in a limited way. You can't play missions in multiplay, but we've included some driving games from the original. These include checkpoint races and quick chases. They've been set up as a split-screen two-player competitive games.

IGNPSX: What do you think this will add to the game?

Martin Edmonson: It adds more in terms of it being great fun to sit down with your buddies and play when it you get in from the pub. It doesn't involve a story or cut-scenes. It's meant to be an after the pub affair.

IGNPSX: What are your personal plans for the future of Driver?

Martin Edmonson: We'll probably start working on the next generation version in the future. We've been working on next-gen development for a while now, but it really is just exploration. We're learning the hard way, getting engines and stuff that may be appropriate to Driver's future. We don't have any demos of Driver 3 on PlayStation 2 or anything like that.

[Gavin Ogden]

Source

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