It's joining Driver: San Francisco and Sniper Elite V2 today

I'm not sure where Far Cry 2 falls on your list, but for me, it's the most memorable game in the series -- despite not being my favorite to play. It's harsh pretty much across the board. It can often feel unfair. It requires patience and some relearning, especially early on while you're getting situated. But if you don't succumb to malaria and bounce right off, Far Cry 2 will leave a lasting, one-of-a-kind impression.

The divisive 2008 game, along with Sniper Elite V2 and Driver: San Francisco (but only if you have it on disc or previously bought a digital copy), are p??layable on Xbox ??One via backward compatibility.

Sniper Elite V2, Far Cry 2 and Driver San Francisco (available on disc or digitally if previously purchased) are coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today //t.co/qPMRNrLoTQ pic.twitter.com/TEuMUtcyNk

— Larry Hryb🎮🎙📺 (@majornelson) January 16, 2018

There's probably no going back to Far Cry 2's themes and not-exactly-us?er-friendly mechanics for U??bisoft, but I can't help wondering what a more modern take on its principles might look like.

Major Nelson [Twitter]

The post Far Cry 2 is another good get ??for Xbox One backward compat?ibility appeared first on Destructoid.

There it was, on the OnLive console, ju??st calling ??me. "Please, somebody buy me!" And so I went for it.

UPDATE: OnLive is dead. Damn...

There is really no reason for me to play this game, other than compare it to a
city I recently visited. So I just rushed through the game until the southwest
bay was unlock, just enough to fake my knowledge about ??San Francisco.

But wha??t about the game? It was fun. You drive around a lot.

Also, FOR DESTRUCTOID!!!

The post Storm’s Adventure with Driver: San Francisco appeared first on Destructoid.

Driver has been around for a long time, despite never really enjoying the kind of mainstream success that other open-world games such as Saints Row and Grand Theft Auto have. Of course, it doesn't help that the series has had a very poor critical history. The original Driver was well received, but it all went downhill from there.&??nbsp;

In the face of some massive open-world titles on the market, Driver: San Francisco definitely needed a drastic overhaul in order to stand out. An overhaul is certainly what it got, although I don't think anyb??ody could?? have predicted what Ubisoft Reflections had up its sleeve.

Driver: San Francisco (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed])
Developer: Ubisoft Reflections
Publisher: Ubisoft
Released: September 6, 2011
MSRP: $59.99 (360, PS3) / $49.99 (PC)

To say Driver: San Francisco delivers a swerve is to put it far, far too mildly. Everything starts off quite normally,?? as John Tanner and his partner Tobias Jones have to track down the recently escaped criminal Charles Jericho. Unfortunately, Jericho is able to outfox the wisecrackin??g cops, smashing into their vehicle with a truck and sending Tanner into a coma. 

What happens next goes beyond the realm of sensibility and kicks off one of the most deliriously stupid videogame plots in recent memory. I do not mean that disparagingly -- Driver: San Francisco's story is thoroughly ridiculous, but it's so refreshingly unique that one can't help but admire the foolishness. Essentially, Driver: San Francisco is what would happen if Quantum Leap and Jacob's Ladder were both turned into the same videogame. As Tanner flits in and out of reality, he becomes ?an astral projector, able to "shift" into the body of any driver in the city and continue his pursuit of Jericho. It's bizarre, to say the least. 

This ludicrous premise sets the scene for a game that's all about manipulating traffic to achieve one's ends. The actual missions are straightforward at heart, but the ways in which they can be completed are quite unlike anything played before. For inst??ance, if your job is to chase down a fleeing criminal, you can possess oncoming traffic and steer it into your prey. You can also switch between multiple cop cars, jockeying for a better position as you stay on a target's tail. Du??ring the course of the game, some absolutely brilliant ideas are presented, showcasing a remarkable amount of flexibility from what looks like a shallow gimmick. 

To leave a vehicle, one simply taps a button, where they'll have free rein to whiz about the city in a first-person perspective. Pushing back on the right stick allows Tanner to climb to greater heights, getting a better view of the city and as the story progresses, he can zoom out farther. Fundamentally, the system works, but I found that traveling across the city too??k far too long. Zooming in and out is sluggish, especially when Tanner reaches the greatest height possible, and traversing the map to reach mission markers is a slow and boring trundle. 

Once behind the wheel, things are a cocktail of fun and frustration. The various races, chases, stunts and time challenges are thrillingly innovative and well designed, but the cars control pretty awfully for the type of game Driver: SF wants to be. I'm of the mind that if you go for arcade-style, fast-paced, action-oriented driving, you don't want "realistic" cars that skid around everywhere, but those are the types of cars Driver uses. It's not uncommon to spin out at even the slightest nudge, a problem that is quite common thanks to awful NPC AI and oncoming traffic that actively steers into you. 

Likewise, the game also enjoys cheating. Of particular note are races, which feature rubber-banding AI to a disgusting degree. Driver seems to deliberately make races unfair in order to force you to use the shift mechanic and cheat back, but it doesn't stop it being annoying. The biggest issue is that the AI is designed to give the computer the greatest advantages while hindering players at every turn. For example, if you race into first place, then shift out of the car to possess oncoming traffic, the CPU will instantly slow down and allow enemy racers ??to drive past unchallenged. This is especiall??y galling in races where you need to make two cars finish in first and second place. As soon as you leave one car to get the other in position, it will deliberately slow down. The only way to win these races is to possess NPCs and break every opposing car, which defeats the point of it being a race. 

This can happen in chase sequences as well, with Tanner's car happily slouching behind and allowing an enemy to escape while you're busy trying to stop him with other vehicles. It seems like a needlessly frustrating ordeal, especially since the car handling is already challenging enough. 

These moments of vexation, however, are punctuated by some vastly entertaining and very stylish missions that do amazing things with the central idea. Whether you're possessing traffic to make them perform stunts in front of a film crew, or shifting around the city to destroy criminal cars before they find and smash a sensitive veh??icle, there's some amazing gameplay that you just won't find in any other game. 

Driver: San Francisco has plenty of content, too. Although the main campaign can be blasted through in a matter of hours, there's a ton of optional missions to undertake and garages where new cars and gameplay upgrades can be purchased. You'll be able to spend psych points -- earned by doing just about anything in the game -- to enhance Tanner's powers, letting him ram into other cars or boost at super speeds. There's a lot to play with, for those who want to take the time.? 

There's a multiplayer mode, and Ubisoft won't let you forget it. I am sure the publisher wants to make its "Uplay" online pass a big hit, but it could stand to not spam me with notifications every time I boot the game up.? Anno??ying customers into putting the code in is not a very friendly thing to do. 

Nevertheless, the multiplayer is a pretty fun little experience. There are multiple game modes such as Tag, in which players have to touch each other to become "it" and stay untouched as long as possible, or Trailblazer, in which players fight to stay within?? the stream that flows behind a fleeing car. Each match is preceded by a short qualifier challenge to determine what position all the players start from, and these can range from seeing who earns the most points for jumping, to who can smash the most objects in a street. 

Like with most online ??modes these days, there's an experience system, where players can earn extra upgrades to their powers and new personal icons. Ranking up is also required to unlock all the game's match types, whi??ch isn't an idea I'm particularly fond of. 

The multiplayer is fun for a while, with emphasis on a while. The match types make very clever use of the game's shift mechanic, but the ideas are only clever once, and you don't really need to play for much more than that in order to squeeze the maximum amount of fun from the experience. There's a two-day trial that players can use in order to try the multiplayer before enteri??ng an online pass code, and those two days are more than enough time to experience everything as much as it needs to be experienced. 

One defining factor of San Francisco is its sense of style. With its licensed cars, excellent soundtrack, and shamelessly silly narrative, Driver: SF has a very personal charm, not to mention plenty of silly humor. It's a game that knows just how stupid it is, and fully embraces the fact, rather than ever attempting to take itself seriously. Sadly, it's not a very visually impressive game. It's certainly not ugly, but the textures and effects are rather flat and dull, with only the vehicles having any sense of visual ??flair. 

Driver: San Francisco is a good laugh, and deserves immense praise for its ingenuity. It is sadly let down by some sluggish navigation and annoying vehicle controls, not to mention some severely imbalanced AI These issues hold back the experience, but certainly don't stop it delivering a solid amount of fun. Fans of open-world experiences who want to try something new will find exactly what they're looking for here, provi?ded they can forgive the needless hassle involved.

The post Review: Driver: San Francisco appeared first on Destructoid.

Driver: San Francisco was going to be the first Ubisoft game to make use of the company's new Uplay Passport, however, there's ??been a printing error on the inserts in some North American copies of the game. As a result, the Uplay co??ntent -- 11 multiplayer modes and the Film Director feature -- is now freely obtainable by all.

Yeah, even outside of North America. When playing Driver: SF, you??'ll co??me across a Uplay Passport menu, which is how you can access the aforementioned locked-out modes. Pick either "Start My 2-Day Free Trial" (this won't expire) or "Purchase Uplay Passport" (you won't be charged). And that's it!

Although many of you likely aren't happy with the notion of features being restricted to new copies of games, you have to give Ubisoft some ??props for the way this situation was handled.

The post Error results in free Uplay Pass cont??ent for Driver: SF appeared first on Destructoid.

Flipping vehicles, police car sirens blaring, blockades being destroyed, epic background music and one-liners. There's also some cutscenes peppered in there for good measure. Yup, everything is here for a successful launch trailer. Personally, seeing this game in action has me all nostalgic and remembering the good times I had with the first two titles back in the day. That's probably because San Francisco is?? a return to the formula those two games had, which can mean only good things in my ?book.

If you're somewhere in Europe, you can get your hands on Driver: San Francisco right now while the rest of us have to wait until next week. It was faced with a bit of controversy and delays this past summer, but I'm glad we're finally going to be able to check out Driver: San Francisco. Is anyone planning to pick it up next week?

The post Driver: San Francisco ?has a pretty intense launch trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Wait, what the f*ck is a Yelawolf?

...

Ok, it seems Yelawolf is a white rapper from Alabama who is on the verge of releasing his first major-label produced album. This is quite different from my initial assumption that he was actually a cowardly wol?f from Alabama. At least I got one part right.

The music video for the rapper's new single "No Hands" was inspired by Driver: San Francisco and Mr. Wol?f himself seems to feel a connection?? to the game's protagonist, John Tanner.

Yelawolf states: “My aggression on the record matches perfectly with the attitude of the game’s main character, T?anner. So when Ubisoft approached me with the opportunity to work together on the video, it made all the sense in the world to find a creative way to pair the song and game together.”

I'll say this, he??'s both aggressive and tenacious. There is also the constant presence of the game's cover car, a yellow Dodge Challenger, which Yelawolf attributes to his love for old-school muscle cars.

He's standing on top of one hundred grand. In my opinion, that's a weird thing to do with your money. However, if you think he cares abo??u??t you, he doesn't; not at all. Sounds like John Tanner to me.

The post D??river: San Francisco ge?ts a music video by Yelawolf appeared first on Destructoid.

A few weeks ago, Ubisoft announced that Driver: San Francisco would need a constant connection to the internet to be playable. This resulted in quite a few PC players to be pretty upset, to say the least. But I bring good news! Ubisoft has decided to listen to the fans, after sifting through ?a heaping pile of hate-mail, and loosened the ultra-strict DRM.

Now all you need to do is sign into the game with an internet connection once and the whole rest of the game can be run in offline mode. Reminds me of a recent story where Capcom pulled the same move with Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. Coincidence?

At any rate, here is the official?? statement Ubisoft made, if you're into that sort of thing:

We've heard your feedback regarding the permanent internet connection requirement for Driver and have made the decision to no longer include it. So this means that Driver PC gamers will only need to sign in at game launch but can subsequently choo??se to play the game offline.

The post U??bisoft lightens up the DRM in Drive?r: San Francisco appeared first on Destructoid.

Ubisoft was kind enough to release a pile of screenshots today for the not-far-off Driver: San Francisco. The gallery includes a selection licensed cars, running from the police and other shenanigans. Launch the gallery below to check them out for? yourself.

The game looks beautiful and the shift mechanic sounds like a really interesting idea; the 100+ licensed cars isn't that bad of a touch either. The game has been plagued with a bit of controversy and delays in the past few months, but with the release just around the corner I'm getting quite anxious to check out Driver: San Francisco for myself. The game hits shelves for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 ??and Wii September 6th and for the PC on September 27th.

The post A slew of Driver: San Francisco screens t??o salivate over appeared first on Destructoid.

Not only will PC gamers not be getting a demo for Driver: San Francisco, but the game has been slightly?? delayed, as well.

Publisher Ubisoft tells Blue's News that the out-of-body racing experience will be released on September 27. This is almost a month after the re??lease of the console versions, which hit shelves on August 30. Surprisingly,?? it wasn't a typo on the initial fact sheet Ubisoft gave us for the title, and a Mac version is still being planned with a "to be determined" release date.

From what I've played of the open-world racer, there's potential here for some seriously fun, arcade-style action. The ability to be able to shift in and out of other drivers' bodies to gain control of their cars is… weird, to ??say the least. But it's also a pretty good time. Let's hope the full game? holds up to that single cool concept.

DRIV?ER San Francisco PC Delayed, No Demo, Mac V?ersion TBD [Blue's News via VG247]

The post Driver: San Francisco PC delayed, Mac still in the wo??rks appeared first on Destructoid.

Two new demos of Driver: San Francisco are heading to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network soon. A single-player demo launched yesterday and a multiplayer demo is expected to arrive next Tuesday. While you wait for the latter, you can check out our preview and a trailer for the upcoming demo, p????lus the a fresh batch of screenshots below.

However, if you're looking forward to playing San Francisco on a PC then you're not as fortunate. Ubisoft has stated to Rock Paper Shotgun that "There are no current plans for a PC demo," which I'm sure won't go down well after PC users already found out they're going to be stuck with Ubisoft'??s always-connected DRM system in order to play the game.

Driver: San Francisco is due to launch on the September 6 for North America and Septembe?r? 2 for Europe.

Coming soon to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace [Major Nelson]
No PC Demo For Driver: San Francisco [Rock Paper Shotgun]

The post Driver demos hit XBL and PSN, no demo for PC appeared first on Destructoid.

Remember that crappy Ubisoft DRM that required PC games to maintain an Internet connection in order to work? It's back, baby! Driver: San Francisco will use the controversial DRM method, because constantly checking in with a publisher like some registered sex offender is the FUTURE!

If your game goes offline, you'll be al?lowed to play for a brief period of time before it pauses. It'll then unpause only when th?e connection is re-established. 

Ubisoft offered a justification for the DRM, saying: "Bear in mind though that the PC version of DRVSF is released simultaneously to consoles." I literally have no idea how t??hat validates anything. 

The French company was scaling back its DRM after everybody basically said it was f*cking?? sh*t. Seems it's chan??ged it's mind, which is just lovely.

Driver: San Francisco PC 'requires permanent internet conn??ection' [Shack News]

The post Driver: San Francisco PC needs constant ‘net connection appeared first on Destructoid.

Ubisoft has promised a bit of a renaissance for the Driver series with San Francisco. They've put more emphasis on the hollywoo??d chase scenes and removed the ability to exit your vehicle; so far so?? good.

It's been a while since I could say i was anticipating a Driver game.

The post Take a solo ride through Driver: San Francisco appeared first on Destructoid.

Sure, Driver: San Francisco's gameplay premise may border on sci-fi madness: the game's lead, John Tanner, can jump into and out of the bodies of drivers, effectively "possessing" them. (Ubisoft ??calls it "shifting.") But the cars you'll be getting behind the wheel of are 100% authentic.

Ubisof?t has released the full list of those cars today, all 125 of them. They're all fully lice??nsed vehicles, ranging from muscle cars to modern day sports cars.

Driver: San Francisco is out August 30, and based on what I've played, the "shift" gameplay mechanic is a bit silly, but fun. It comes in particularly handy in the multiplayer portion of the game, especially in the "king of the hill" style races. Jumping in and out of car?s, some of them headed in the opposite direction and straight at my opposition, was pure bliss.

Abarth 500 (2008)
Abarth Fiat 695 ss Assetto Corse (1970)
Alfa Romeo 159 Ti (2009)
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione (2007)
Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2 (1965)
Alfa Romeo Giulietta (2010)
Alfa Romeo Mito (2009)
Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto (1966)
AMC Pacer (1980)
Aston Martin Cygnet (2011)
Aston Martin DB5 (1963)
Aston Martin DB9 Volante (2010)
Aston Martin Rapide (2010)
Aston Martin V12 Vantage (2010)
Audi A4 2.0 TFSI (2010)
Audi Q7 4.2 FSI quattro (2010)
Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro (2010)
Audi RS 6 Avant (2008)
Audi S5 Coupe (2010)
Audi Sport quattro S1 - Rally (1985)
Audi TT RS Coupe (2010)
Bentley Arnage T (2005)
Bentley Continental Supersports (2010)
Cadillac CTS-V (2010)
Cadillac DTS (2010)
Cadillac Eldorado (1959)
Cadillac Escalade (2007)
Cadillac Escalade - Cop (2007)
Cadillac XLR-V (2009)
Chevrolet Bel Air (1957)
Chevrolet Blazer (2001)
Chevrolet C10 (1965)
Chevrolet C10 - Tow-Truck (1965)
Chevrolet Camaro SS (1968)
Chevrolet Camaro SS - Jones�car (2010)
Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (1986)
Chevrolet Chevelle SS (1970)
Chevrolet Corvette (1960)
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - Drift (2009)
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (2010)
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 - Cop (2010)
Chevrolet El Camino (1973)
Chevrolet Impala (2006)
Chevrolet Impala - Taxi (2006)
Chevrolet Volt (2011)
DeLorean DMC-12 (1983)
Dodge Challenger R/T - Tanner’s car (1970)
Dodge Challenger SRT8 (2009)
Dodge Charger R/T (1969)
Dodge Charger SRT8 (2009)
Dodge Charger SRT8 - Cop (2009)
Dodge Grand Caravan (2009)
Dodge Grand Caravan - Taxi (2009)
Dodge Monaco (1974)
Dodge Monaco - Cop (1974)
Dodge Neon (2002)
Dodge Ram 3500 Laramie (2010)
Dodge Ram SRT10 - Jericho’s car (2006)
Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR (2009)
Ford Crown Victoria (1999)
Ford Crown Victoria - Cop (1999)
Ford Crown Victoria - Taxi (1999)
Ford F-150 XLT SuperCrew (2010)
Ford F-350 Super Duty (2008)
Ford Gran Torino (1974)
Ford GT (2006)
Ford Mustang Convertible (2008)
Ford Mustang GT Fastback (1968)
Ford Mustang Mach 1 (1973)
Ford RS200 - Rally (1985)
Ford Shelby GT500 (2010)
Ford Taurus SHO (2010)
GMC C5500 (2008)
GMC C5500 - Ambulance (2008)
GMC Savana - News Van (2005)
GMC Sierra (1998)
GMC Sierra - Monster Truck (1998)
GMC Vandura (1983)
Hudson Hornet (1951)
Hummer H3X (2009)
Jaguar E-Type (1966)
Jaguar XFR (2010)
Jaguar XKR (2010)
Jeep Wrangler (1988)
Lamborghini Countach LP400S (1978)
Lamborghini Diablo VT (1994)
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 (2009)
Lamborghini Jalpa (1986)
Lamborghini Miura (1972)
Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 (2007)
Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV (2009)
Lancia Stratos - Rally (1974)
Lincoln Town Car (2010)
Maserati GranTurismo S (2008)
McLaren F1 (1997)
McLaren MP4-12C (2011)
McLaren SLR (2008)
Nissan 370Z (2009)
Nissan 370Z - Drift (2009)
Nissan GT-R (2010)
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R33) - Drift (1998)
Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 (1970)
Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser (1972)
Pagani Zonda Cinque (2009)
Pontiac GTO The Judge (1970)
Pontiac Lemans (1971)
Pontiac Solstice GXP (2009)
Pontiac Solstice GXP - Drift (2009)
Pontiac Trans Am (1975)
Pontiac Trans Am (1977)
Pontiac Trans Am (1980)
Range Rover Sport Supercharged (2010)
Ruf CTR 3 (2010)
Ruf CTR Yellow Bird (1987)
Ruf RK Coupe (2010)
Ruf RK Spyder (2009)
Ruf Rt 12 (2010)
Shelby Cobra 427 (1966)
Shelby GT500 (1967)
Volkswagen Camper (1965)
Volkswagen Scirocco R (2009)
Volkswagen Scirocco R - Rally (2009)
Volkswagen Baja Buggy (1963)
Volkswagen Beetle (1963)
Volkswagen Beetle Convertible (2009)

The post All 125 of Driver: San Francisco’s licensed cars revealed appeared first on Destructoid.

Ubisoft's Driver: San Francisco was pushed back by a whole year, but it looks as though we are in the clear -- the ga?me should most definitely arrive on August 30.

Nick Chester offered a pretty robust preview of the game during the last E3, so I won't go into much detail here. I will say that I've never played a Driver game before. I know nothing of the s?tory, nor do I care much about learning it. I'm not even ??all that crazy about driving games in general.

But I really, really, really, really, reaaaaaally want to buy Driver: San Francisco.

As you might already know, the game features a "Shift" ability that allows you to jump in and out of any car at will. Just stop and think about how awesome that is. You can literally be driving around, causing a ruckus, and go, "This is balls! I want that sweet hotness that just drove by ten seconds ago!" In the next moment, BOOM! ??You are in that other car!

I was goofing off in freeplay mode, where I could zoom up to the friggin' stratosphere, then zoom back down to any location in the city and commandeer any ride that caught my fancy. And because there are over 130 licensed vehicles to driv?e ranging from high-class rides to death traps, you'll get a different experience every time. It's pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Next, I tried multiplayer tag. Here, o??ne vehicle is carrying the tag and it's your job to slam into that vehicle and hold onto the tag for as long as possible. You earn a point for every second the tag is in your possession, and you win once you hit 100 points.

The kicker is that while shifting still works in this mode, the tag only sticks to the vehicle you were driving at the time, so you shouldn't jump out while you are "it." Everyone else will still be shifting up the place, and the whole affair makes you feel like an agent in the Matrix! You may think snatching the tag would be as simple as possessing the nearest car, but those cars tend to be going the speed limit, forcing you to waste time accelerating. It's a much better strategy to find a car a ways ahead of the "it" car, going in the opp?osite direction, and jump into that.

I lost both rounds I played, but I lost gloriously! This game feels more like the Matrix than the goddamn Matrix games! I'm anxious to ?get back in the driver's seat and start di?cking around with the laws of time and space once again!

The post E3: Driver: San Francisco puts you in the Matrix appeared first on Destructoid.

Driver: San Francisco slipped quite a bit since it's initial Q4 2010 ??release date, but here's a trailer to see how it has come along since then. Not much has changed on the gameplay front. You still drive a car, use the "SHIFT" mechanic to move from car to car using your projected consciousness, and drive around some more!

Nine online modes will cover most of the multiplayer, and the city itself will be dotted with 20 races and 80 "dares" to do some more racing outside of the storyline. You can also record your? stunts and chases with a Director replay mode, and then edit and share your movies.

The game wi??ll hit PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Mac on August 30, 2011.

The post E3: Driver: San Francisco trailer depicts driving i??????????????????????????n SF appeared first on Destructoid.