Driver 76

Driver '76
Developer(s)	Sumo Digital Ubisoft Reflections
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	Driver
Platforms	PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)
Genre(s)	Racing, Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer, single-player

Driver '76 is a video game for the PlayStation Portable, which was released on May 8, 2007 in the US, and on May 11, 2007 in the EU. The game is a prequel to Driver: Parallel Lines, and is set two years prior. It is the first game in the Driver series for the PSP. It was developed by Ubisoft Reflections and Sumo Digital, and published by Ubisoft.

Story

In New York City 1976, the story starts with Ray, a wheelman. He falls in love with Chen Chi, but she's already got someone, Jimmy. After gaining respect from her father, Ray is betrayed and has to earn money in the mean time. He eventually meets back with Zhou, Chen Chi's father, he tells him of how Jimmy is a traitor and for the remainder of the game you must take down Jimmy's empire. After Jimmy is presumably killed in an explosion, Zhou gives Ray his blessing to go out with Chen Chi, but finds out that she has been kidnapped by a scarred Jimmy, however Ray manages to save Chen Chi and shoot down Jimmy's helicopter with a car.

Missions

Mission structure is similar to Driver: Parallel Lines, where driving is an important aspect in gameplay, shooting still remains in the game. Most missions are driving based while some are shootouts or when Ray sits in the back of a car and shoots incoming enemies.

One difference that sets Driver '76 from the rest of the Driver series is that it uses comic-styled illustrations rather than cinematic cutscenes, making the game behave more like a comic book.

There are 26 main missions, grouped into 6 chapters. The missions get harder as the player progresses through the chapters. Money, cars and weapons are rewarded if missions are successfully completed.

New York City

The simulation of New York is similar to the previous installment, but since it is set two years before as a prequel, there are some differences. Mostly it is all the same, with a few differences in cars, buildings, landscape, and GPS's.

Soundtrack

• The Wrecking Crew - Bump And Boogie
• Sir Mack Rice - Bump Meat
• Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - Bustin' Loose
• Dave Hamilton - Cracklin' Bread
• Maceo & The Macks - Cross The Tracks
• Billy (Sugar Billy) Garner - I Got Some
• Funkadelic - I'll Bet You
• Savoy Brown - I'm Tired
• The Pazant Brothers & The Beafourt Express - Loose And Juicy
• Iggy Pop - Neighbourhood Threat
• Blondie - One Way Or Another
• Billy Preston - Outa-Space
• The Temptations - Papa Was a Rolling Stone
• The Stranglers - Peaches
• Roy Ayers - Running Away
• Johnny 'Hammond' Smith - Shifting Gears
• Donald Byrd - Street Lady
• David Bowie - Suffragette City
• Labi Siffre - The Vulture
• War - Low Rider
• Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man
• Blondie - Denis
• Sam & Dave - Hold On I'm Comin'

The songs One Way or Another by Blondie and "Neighbourhood Threat" by Iggy Pop are used in the game that takes place in 1976, regardless of the fact that song first came out in 1978 and 1977, respectively.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 59.89% Metacritic 57/100 Review scores Publication Score Edge 7/10 Eurogamer 6/10 Game Informer 5/10 GameSpot 6/10 GamesRadar GameZone 6/10 IGN 4.5/10 PALGN 4/10 VideoGamer.com 7/10 X-Play

Driver '76 was met with very mixed reception upon release, as GameRankings gave it a score of 59.89%, while Metacritic gave it 57 out of 100.

External links

• Driver 76 | Official Site
• Ubisoft's Driver 76 page
• Driver 76 at MobyGames