History VideoGame / Driver

%%* BadassDriver

* {{Cliffhanger}}: ''[=DRIV3R=]'' ended on one, which wasn't answered for seven years.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Driver 2'' compared to the original.

The latest instalment as of this edit is ''Driver: Speedboat Paradise'', with only [[RecycledInSPACE boats instead of cars]] to play with and developed by former Creator/{{Gameloft}} staff. Most recently, Reflections helped out with Ivory Tower with the development of ''VideoGame/TheCrew'', a racing MMO that was released in 2014.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/driver_ntsc__cdcovers_cc_front.jpg]]

Take the 3D open-world gameplay of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', put the player in the role of the police, set it in a [[TheSeventies '70s-esque]] RetroUniverse, and beat [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]] [[OlderThanTheyThink to the punch by two years]], and you have ''Driver''. In ''Driver'', you play as Tanner, an [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCityCops NYPD detective]] who, due to [[BadassDriver his driving skills]], is sent undercover to investigate a criminal syndicate, taking him on a journey to UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}, UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, UsefulNotes/LosAngeles and back to UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. The game was styled after '60s and '70s car chase films like ''Film/{{Bullitt}}'', ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'' and ''Film/TheDriver'', to the point of including a "Director's Mode" that allows you to place cameras during replays to follow your action.

* ObviousBeta: Looking at all the glitches, bugs, and sometimes poor physics in ''[=DRIV3R=]'', it's not unreasonable to conclude that the game just wasn't finished. And as several articles and research concluded; ''it wasn't'' and was rushed out the door to compete with its competitors.

* BareYourMidriff: Some female characters in ''[=DRIV3R=]''. Calita for one, and in Nice France, the French syndicate leader, Fabienne.

* FiveManBand: In ''Parallel Lines'':

* ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement: Tanner, especially in ''[=DRIV3R=]'', often commits/assists crimes that would be illegal even for Undercover Cops, such as taking part in Assassinations and planting explosives, he also almost certainly would be in trouble for the mission "Tanner Escapes" [[spoiler:where Tanner blows up dozens of Istanbul cop Cars with a Grenade Launcher and kills high amounts of Law Enforcement]].

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Cops at high Felony in Driver 1/2/3 will "Double speed" to catch up to you, the exact threshold depends on the game as well as the cop difficulty option in 1/2, this is partly why President's Run is so infamous since it starts you at just below double-speed Threshold, which will be reached barely a minute into the mission.

* ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement: Tanner, especially in ''[=DRIV3R=]'', often commits/assists crimes that would be illegal even for Undercover Cops, such as taking part in Assassinations and planting explosives, he also almost certainly would be in trouble for the mission "Tanner Escapes" [[spoiler:where Tanner blows up dozens of Istanbul COp Cars with a Grenade Launcher and kills high amounts of Law Enforcement]].

* ObviouslyEvil: Warren Nolan, Senator Ballard's chief of security in ''Renegade''. [[GoodHairEvilHair Slicked-back hair?]] Check. [[TheUnSmile Face locked in a near-perputual smirk?]] Check. [[VillainousCheekbones High cheekbones?]] Check. [[GoodEyesEvilEyes Unnerving stare?]] Check. [[spoiler:Is it really a surprise when he and his boss end up betraying you?]]

* EveryCarIsAPinto: ''[=DRIV3R=]' and ''Parallel Lines'' zigzag this trope. A vehicle that takes too much damage from collisions will simply stop working, while shooting vehicles enough times or hitting them with explosives will cause them to explode. Hilariously, ''[=DRIV3R=]'' allows you to get into a vehicle even after it's been blown up.

* BadassBeard:
** Tanner sports one in ''Renegade''.
** TK also has one in ''Parallel Lines'' after [[spoiler:serving his prison sentence]].
* BadassDriver

* {{Expy}}: There's a character in ''[=DRIV3R=]'' who is hiding in ten different places in each city, armed with an assault rifle and waiting to kill Tanner who in turn has to kill him, named Timmy Vermicelli. He is modeled after ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'''s main character, Tommy Vercetti and lampoons ''Vice City'''s weird human proportions with oversized hands. Also, Timmy's water wings make fun of Tommy's inability to swim due to the limitations of ''Vice City'''s engine (Tanner ''can'' swim).\\
Timmy is Reflection's answer to Tanner in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' who, although a man, was given the female walking animation cycle to poke fun at Tanner's weird walking moves in the earlier ''Driver'' games.

** The city of [[UsefulNotes/NorthEastEngland Newcastle-upon-Tyne]] in the first game, which is shown during the credits and [[DummiedOut can only be accessed in-game by hacking]]. It is also the hometown of Reflections.

* OnlyOneName: Tanner and Jericho. ''San Francisco'' revealed their first names to be "John" and "Charles" respectively.

* BareYourMidriff: Some female characters in [=DRIV3R=]. Calita for one, and in Nice France, the French syndicate leader,Fabienne.

* RubberbandAI: If a cop falls far enough behind you, it goes into what fans call "doublespeed", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gaining double the normal top speed in order to catch up]]. Especially noticeable in ''[=DRIV3R=]''.

* CoolCar: This should be a given, but special recognition goes to the Chevelle/Buick Skylark hybrid from Miami, the Fairlane from San Francisco, ''all'' of Havana's car from ''2'' [[spoiler:Yes, even the secret Mini]], the Bruiser, Retaliator and V8 from ''[=DRIV3R=]'', along with the Brooklyn, Andec and Cerrano from ''Parallel Lines'' and ''76.''

* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: In ''[=DRIV3R=]'', you play as Jones for exactly one mission in Istanbul, as he splits off from Tanner and you get to see what happens to him, then the game rewinds the story to the moment of the split and continues with Tanner, as usual.

* DirtyCop: Corrigan from ''Parallel Lines'' is an NYPD officer who secretly runs a criminal gang. [[spoiler:When TK gets out in 2006, Corrigan has become the Commissioner of the NYPD and is considering running for mayor. At the climax of the game, it's revealed that's he's been secretly helping TK kill his former comrades to keep his crminal past from coming to light.]]

* PlotTwist: In ''Parallel Lines'', it's [[spoiler:getting arrested because all five of your friends -- The Mexican, Candy, Slink, Bishop and Corrigan -- use you as a scapegoat for their crime and leave you to be arrested and jailed for 28 years. Your 6th friend (Ray) then betrays you later to defect to Corrigan.]]

** "Chase the Gun Man" in ''[[SequelDifficultySpike Driver 2]]'' is commonly regarded as the most difficult of the series, being even more luck based than "The President's Run".

* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''[=DRIV3R=]'' and ''Parallel Lines'' are this, While ''[=DRIV3R=]'' only really removes most of the luck elements from missions, ''Parallel Lines'' generally reduces it further with more generous time limits, health kits filling full health and generally more powerful weapons.
* SequelDifficultySpike: While the original could be quite difficult at times, some of ''Driver 2''[='s=] missions are ridiculously hard, even when compared to the original's most difficult missions.

* BareYourMidriff: Some female characters in Driv3r. Calita for one, and in Nice France, the French syndicate leader,Fabienne.