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Driver: San Francisco preview: Shifting perspectives
The biggest accomplishment in Driver: San Francisco appears to be the city itself, a huge expanse that not only covers the northern part of San Fran, but also Marin County, the East Bay and Treasure Island. Ubisoft Reflections creative director Martin Edmondson gave me a quick tour, showing me both a zoomed-out look at the entire gameworld and views from within the driver's seat in different districts, to give me a taste of the variety in locales. To see it all recreated and in such grand scope -- and running at a smooth framerate -- was quite impressive. Unfortunately, I didn't get to drive around much on my own when I was at the controls. Instead, my playtime was relegated to roughly the first hour of the game and the northern section of the city, giving me a chance to see how protagonist Tanner gains the ability to possess other drivers -- what Edmondson calls "the shifting mechanic." %Gallery-122341%
Interview: Driver: San Francisco creative director Martin Edmondson
Formed in the mid-1980s, Reflections Interactive has been making games for longer than you might remember. While the studio has franchises like Shadow of the Beast and Destruction Derby under its belt, its longest standing franchise is Driver. This fall the wheelman returns in Driver: San Francisco, and Reflections -- now owned and operated by Ubisoft -- is once again steering the ride. Also returning to the series is Reflections founder Martin Edmondson who, in March 2005, walked away from Reflections Interactive and filed suit against former publishing partner and company owner Atari for "constructive unfair dismissal" before settling in 2006. We spoke with Edmondson regarding Driver's return to the streets and the finer points regarding the upcoming game's "Shift" car jumping system. %Gallery-95490%
