History VideoGame / DriverSanFrancisco

Released in 2011, ''DriverSanFrancisco'' is the first entry in the Driver Series for the current console generation. The game takes place in, surprise surprise, [[WideOpenSandbox The City of San Francisco]], in the present day, starring series protagonist John Tanner in the pursuit of an escaped criminal named [[MeaningfulName Charles Jericho]].

** Such as The [[Film/BackToTheFuture DeLorean DMC-12]], a [[{{Bullitt}} 1970 Ford Mustang Fastback]], [[SmokeyAndTheBandit Pontiac Trans Am]], [[TheCannonBallRun Lamborghini Countach]], [[TheLoveBug Volkswagen Beetle]] etc. Pretty much every CoolCar used in a chase scene shows up.

* XMeetsY : ''San Francisco'' is probably the illegitimate child of ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'' and ''{{Bullitt}}'', with some input[[note]]Don't try [[{{Metaphorgotten}} holding on the metaphor]], it won't work. Maybe ''QuantumLeap'' was the nanny.[[/note]] from ''QuantumLeap''.

The game received major critical acclaim for its unique gameplay as well as its campy, ''Serie/StarskyAndHutch''-style tone as well as some MindScrew thrown in with the Coma dream element. It is available on Steam as well as the PS3 and XBOX 360.

* NewGamePlus: Which allows you to still fully explore San Francisco with no red barriers (aside from a certain mission which was meant to stop due to a boundry at that point), keep unlocks, abilities and WP points after the start of chapter 1 (which skipped the introduction to garages, dares and challenges).

--> Tanner: "Have you ever had an out-of-body experience?"
--> Jones: "You been eating moldy waffles again? I told you about cleaning out your fridge."
--> Tanner: "Hey! We agreed never to mention what happened on 'weird Tuesday' -you promised."

--> Tanner: "Let's go grab a cup of coffee, there's something I need to talk to you about."
--> Jones: "You're not pregnant again are you?"
--> Tanner: "Trust me, with this (shifting) thing I got going on, it makes just as much sense."

* LethalJokeCharacter: While more joke than lethal, the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser does count, since it's basically a station wagon variant of the Oldsmobile 442.

** Then there are the cars that are ''in'' the single digits. Pagani Zonda [[BilingualBonus Cinque]] anyone?

Released in 2011, ''DriverSanFrancisco'' is the first entry in the Driver Series' for the current console generation. The game takes place in, surprise surprise, [[WideOpenSandbox The City of San Francisco]], in the present day, starring series' protagonist John Tanner in the pursuit of an escaped criminal named [[MeaningfulName Charles Jericho]].

The game is set in motion when Tanner is rammed by the aforementioned Jericho slams their car with an armored prisoner transport van, [[AllJustADream and John enters a coma]]. From here on out, the game takes place in Tanner's Coma dreams influenced by the news broadcast in his hospital room, in which he continues the chase for Jericho through the city.

The game received major critical acclaim for its unique gameplay as well as its campy, StarskyAndHutch sytle tone as well as some MindScrew thrown in with the Coma dream element. It is available on Steam as well as the PS3 and XBOX 360.

In 2011, Reflections (now {{Ubisoft}} Reflections) took another shot at [[VideoGame/{{Driver}} the series]] with ''Driver: San Francisco'', the first game in the series for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox360. Returning to the first three games' continuity and, like ''Parallel Lines'', taking place entirely in one city ([[CaptainObvious guess which one it is]]), ''San Francisco'' goes the supernatural[=/=]MindScrew route by taking place [[AdventuresInComaland while Tanner is in a coma]]... and giving him "shifting" powers that allow him to [[MindControl possess other drivers on the road]].

* CoolCar: Tanner's Dodge Challenger in ''San Francisco''. This also applies to some of the 139 other vehicles

** One mission has you drive a semi-truck that needs to be kept [[Film/{{Speed}} above 60 mph]].

* ThoseTwoGuys: In the first level, you meet Jun and Ayun, two down-on-their luck racers trying to make money for Ayun's college fund. Because it's for a good cause Tanner decides to help them out. However, Ayun gets the wise idea of continuing to race even after they make all the money, forcing Tanner to help them in most of the following chapters.

* ShoutOut: The tutorial in the first game is lifted directly from a similar scene in ''The Driver'', where the main character proves his skills to some gangsters in a parking garage. Which was then ported as a special challenge in this game.
** Same goes for the "Movie Challenges", special missions, that closely resemble famous movie chase scenes.
** In one mission, Tanner has to catch two lowlifes who stole a church collection box. His reaction? He's always wanted to say that [[TheBluesBrothers he's on a mission from God]]
*** The [[EasterEgg secret]] NintendoHard NostalgiaLevel is unlocked by [[spoiler: driving [[Film/BackToTheFuture 88 mph in a DeLorean]].]]
*** One mission has you drive a semi-truck that needs to be kept [[Film/{{Speed}} above 60 mph]].
**** Some of the cars are this as well. Do you REALLY think its a coincidence that there's [[Series/TheATeam a heavily-customized old GMC Vandura that a red stripe and a set of rims away from being a perfect replica of a certain famous van]]?
**** How about the AMC Pacer that's the same year as the one used in ''WaynesWorld''?
**** Then there's the Trans Am from [[SmokeyAndTheBandit Smokey and the Bandit]] and the Mustang from [[GoneInSixtySeconds Gone in Sixty Seconds]].
**** Also, there's the Dodge Challenger from [[VanishingPoint Vanishing Point]], [[TheDukesOfHazzard a '69 Dodge Charger]], and [[JamesBond 007's Aston Martin DB5]].
**** Some of them get REALLY obscure. [[MyNameIsEarl There's a reason they made the El Camino a '73 instead of the '70 El Camino fans are complaining its not, and his name rhymes with "pearl."]]
**** Pretty much every car in the game is a shout out to some famous car from a TV show or movie, there's too many to list.
* SuicideAttack: You can shift into other cars and do this to take out other vehicles, its very effective.

**** Some of the cars are this as well. Do you REALLY think its a coincidence that there's [[TheATeam a heavily-customized old GMC Vandura that a red stripe and a set of rims away from being a perfect replica of a certain famous van]]?

** Played straight when [[spoiler:Tanner discovers Jericho is able to do the same thing he is and traps him in a state where he's in control of everything.]]

* RetroUniverse: Despite being set in the present day, the game feels ''very'' [[TheSeventies '70s]]. Some challenges even limit the cars on the road to classics and throw on a sepia filter with film grain to simulate a TV show from the era.

* RetroUniverse: Despite being set in the present day, the game feels ''very'' [[TheSeventies '70s]].

* ArbitrarySkepticism: Even after he accepts that Tanner can shift, Jones has an alarming tendency to dismiss Tanner's additional revelations later in the plot as "crazy talk".

* DeadpanSnarker: Both Tanner and Jones can get their snark on. Makes sense since they're buddy cops.

*** The [[EasterEgg secret]] NintendoHard NostalgiaLevel is unlocked by [[spoiler: driving [[Film/BackToTheFuture 88 Mph in a De Lorean]].]]
*** One mission has you drive a semi-truck that needs to be kept [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Speed above 60mph]]

**** How about the AMC Pacer that's the same year as the one used in [[WaynesWorld Wayne's World]]?

* RubberbandAI: As said by [[{{ZeroPunctuation}} Yahtzee]], opponent cars slow down dramatically once you're far enough behind them.

* XMeetsY : ''San Francisco'' is probably the illegitimate child of ''LifeOnMars'' and ''{{Bullitt}}'', with some input[[note]]Don't try [[{{Metaphorgotten}} holding on the metaphor]], it won't work. Maybe ''QuantumLeap'' was the nanny.[[/note]] from ''QuantumLeap''.

In 2011, Reflections (now {{Ubisoft}} Reflections) took another shot at [[{{Driver}} the series]] with ''DriverSanFrancisco'', the first game in the series for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox360. Returning to the first three games' continuity and, like ''Parallel Lines'', taking place entirely in one city ([[CaptainObvious guess which one it is]]), ''San Francisco'' goes the supernatural[=/=]MindScrew route by taking place [[AdventuresInComaland while Tanner is in a coma]]... and giving him "shifting" powers that allow him to [[MindControl possess other drivers on the road]].