By Jim Rossignol on July 22nd, 2011 at 8:16 am.
The forthcoming Driver game (subtitled “San Francisco”, but could probably do with being called “Coma Wars”), has an excellently weird videogame premise: the protagonist is in a coma and, as a consequence of his horrible unconsciousness, can psychically take over any driver in the city. Yes, it’s a game about the psychic danger of people in comas. A warning, some might say. Ubisoft are aware that this is super-bonkers, and have put out a new video to explain how the feature works. You can watch it at your leisure, below.
22/07/2011 at 08:27 Smannesman says:
Well.. it’s different.
22/07/2011 at 08:31 Stranglove says:
Looks fun.
EDIT: but will there be drunk driving?
22/07/2011 at 10:23 badoli says:
Drunk driving? I dearly hope so!!!
22/07/2011 at 11:44 max pain says:
Looks immersion breaking.
22/07/2011 at 17:24 DrGonzo says:
Just like the hud in Mario. There I am, thinking I’m an Italian plumber overdosing in his own vomit in a basement, then up pops my score and I remember I’m just playing a computer game.
22/07/2011 at 08:34 Bob Moron says:
So, say you’re being chased by cops. If you shift to another car, do they keep going for your old vehicle or does their famous psionics training program from Cop School tell them ‘psst, that guy actually got into that guy over there’?
22/07/2011 at 08:41 JB says:
This is a very good question, nice one Bob. We need to know!
22/07/2011 at 08:45 sasayan says:
Also, if you’re chasing a guy, what keeps you from just taking over him and stopping the car?
22/07/2011 at 09:03 Pemptus says:
@sasayan: Arbitrary game mechanics, I presume.
22/07/2011 at 09:33 Armand Van Flicknife says:
The cops keep chasing you.
But you can steer your newly possessed vehicle into the cops, or cause a huge pile up that will let your *actual* self escape when you leap back.
22/07/2011 at 09:40 PoulWrist says:
Probably they get around it by having the cars you start out in be somewhat necessary for the action, so you have to protect it, by using the shift ability. So you always end up at the starting point.. dunno, looks fun anyway. Who cares about whether it makes sense as long as it’s fun.
22/07/2011 at 08:34 JYzer says:
Driver: Life on Mars
22/07/2011 at 09:50 Drake Sigar says:
My thinking exactly. :)
22/07/2011 at 17:20 DrGonzo says:
Yes, I’m suprised more people haven’t mentioned it. Can’t think of a show that needs games inspired by it more either. Of course, I’m talking about the real version starring John Simm.
22/07/2011 at 08:35 Arona Daal says:
Dark Messiah meets GTA with a hint of Outburn Paradise?
Will keep an eye on that one.
On the other hand…. its Ubisoft. What kind of DRM will it have?
22/07/2011 at 08:37 pipman3000 says:
Ubisoft will be in control of your body for the duration of the game.
22/07/2011 at 09:01 Ross Angus says:
pipman wins one metric internet, for that comment.
22/07/2011 at 09:17 Scilantius says:
*Assuming direct control*
22/07/2011 at 10:40 Tei says:
The exact details about the new DRM are under NDA. You can’t talk about that, you will end in jail.
22/07/2011 at 08:39 _Jackalope_ says:
Did SUV’s filled with Soccer mom’s and their kids just became a videogame weapon?
22/07/2011 at 15:42 Nalano says:
Yes. Yes they did.
22/07/2011 at 08:44 sasayan says:
First thought from video still: Delorean!
The mechanic itself looks like it could be quite fun.
22/07/2011 at 12:37 JiminyJickers says:
Haha, yeah me too.
I have to admit, I had no interest in this game at all and when I read the description of this mechanic it sounded dumb. But now that I have watched the video, I am quite excited about it. It looks like a pretty interesting and surreal game.
22/07/2011 at 08:44 GT3000 says:
Nobody is gonna say it? Why are they driving while talking? Nevermind the Delorean. Feature looks as gimmicky as their presentational style.
22/07/2011 at 09:03 Ross Angus says:
I like the sound of the power, but I found the game devs in sunglasses awkward. I need to see their shifty eyes. No pun intended.
22/07/2011 at 15:43 Nalano says:
“Hey, look at the cool cars we as developers bought.”
22/07/2011 at 08:46 Shadowcat says:
Anyone else really disturbed by the cuts back and forth between the murderous in-game driving, and the game developers driving their own cars? Isn’t that exactly the parallel that we don’t want to be drawing?
Especially White Shirt Guy who is clearly a massive retard. Keep your eyes on the fucking road, you dick! You’re driving a car!
Man… who the hell thought that was a good idea for a video?
22/07/2011 at 15:43 Nalano says:
It’s okay: He’s controlling all the traffic around him.
22/07/2011 at 17:35 golden_worm says:
No, the parallel they don’t want to be drawing is to Driver: Parallel Lines. Different kind of car crash.
22/07/2011 at 08:50 Diziet Sma says:
Now I’m interested. :D
22/07/2011 at 08:59 heretic says:
Crazy idea but looks quite fun.
22/07/2011 at 09:00 Ondrej says:
I am still not convinced.
22/07/2011 at 09:06 indigohjones says:
Meh. I’m more stoked about the release of Arkham City on October 2011, 18th.
22/07/2011 at 09:12 Bungle says:
I came in thinking Shift was ridiculous but now I can’t stop thinking about how silly Ram is.
22/07/2011 at 09:22 lurkalisk says:
So… You’re not just mind-raping innocent motorists, but encouraged to use said motorists to often potentially fatal ends…
Sounds odd. Sounds fun also. Let’s hope the important stuff holds up.
22/07/2011 at 09:32 eleion says:
Wait, so why are you stealing people’s bodies? I’m not sure I get the point.
22/07/2011 at 09:38 Armand Van Flicknife says:
This post doesn’t really make clear that Tanner isn’t actually leaping between everyone’s minds -he just thinks he is, ’cause he’s in a coma.
Don’t get me wrong, that still makes for a tenuous narrative.
It’s a lot of fun though. Even Ram. Some unusual car licenses too, not the usual driving game suspects.
22/07/2011 at 11:34 henben says:
Is the premise that he’s in a coma and he’s imagining everything? Or is the premise that he’s in a coma, freeing his spirit to roam around and possess people? I thought it was the latter.
22/07/2011 at 16:43 Armand Van Flicknife says:
Heavy.
The devs explained it as more the former, but maybe they’ll use that ambiguity for some interesting plot twists…
22/07/2011 at 09:42 Njordsk says:
looks garbage.
22/07/2011 at 09:53 imajack says:
dont worry all mirrors in the mental ward will be removed swiftly ,until then …stand vast
22/07/2011 at 09:51 I_have_no_nose_but_I_must_sneeze says:
“I can sort of pick a body and WHAM I’m inside them.” Now that’s just wrong.
22/07/2011 at 09:51 CaspianRoach says:
Just wait until someone in US claims that they broke the driving rules because a man in a coma took control of them.
22/07/2011 at 09:55 imajack says:
if they could do it in the matrix then why not!
22/07/2011 at 10:22 Moni says:
“Shift into the jackass” is a pretty surreal objective.
22/07/2011 at 10:38 Tei says:
“Mr Officer, I was not drunk!, I was poseed by a dude in coma!. ”
Sure, this is going to work :DDDDD
22/07/2011 at 10:38 mejoff says:
Driving game with a shift mechanic? Only avoids confusion in the US where everyone drives an automatic.
22/07/2011 at 12:18 armyofdan says:
Need For Speed: Shift did poorly here because it didn’t feature an auto V6 Ford Mustang convertible.
22/07/2011 at 13:57 Big Murray says:
Also it featured right-hand corners. American’s heads exploded.
22/07/2011 at 15:13 PoLLeNSKi says:
Americans’ heads…unless one single American has multiple noggins.
22/07/2011 at 16:45 Shadowcat says:
Clearly he was referring to Mr McGee.
22/07/2011 at 10:42 yxxxx says:
Loved the driver series its allways been a bit unforgiving and the move to a more gta like feel was a bad decision.
Im excited for this as they have apparently gone back to what made the game good and diffrent the driving.
I am however a little worried about this shifting stuff its going to be one of those features that if it works its going to be a lot of fun but if it doesnt is going to be a real pain and horrible to play
I for one am hoping they get it right..
22/07/2011 at 10:57 Forceflow says:
It looks fun – isn’t that what’s important? I don’t care the ludicrous backstory behind it, it just looks like it’s a mechanic that mimics a kid playing with toy cars :)
22/07/2011 at 11:01 Sirico says:
Hey cool the devs own iconic cars
22/07/2011 at 11:14 FKD says:
I am probably the only person who is this incredibly boring, but I am really looking forward to the ability to take over the police cars. I have spent hours in GTA getting a police car, then driving around doing the “speed limit”, stopping at lights, etc and then waiting to see someone get jumped or some kind of traffic infraction and then I pull them over. I am really looking forward to a driving game that is free roaming in a city like this where I can finally splurge on a wheel too.
22/07/2011 at 13:56 Big Murray says:
… what did you do with them once you’d pulled them over?
22/07/2011 at 22:43 FKD says:
Well unfortunately that is where the realism (depending on who you ask..) starts to break down.. I could always pull them out of the car and leave it, or you know.. let the beatstick do the talking :/ But really, if we have things like Bus Simulator, how come we never get any police simulator things! You could drive around and pull people over, go to calls and have a “note taking simulator” and then get that 1% chance of a crazy call (depending on where you live) and then have it switch to something similar to the SWAT games..
I just installed APB today, and it consisted of me doing pretty much my normal routine..driving around, using my blinkers, stopping at lights and then if the call deemed it, use my lights/siren to get somewhere. The only problem of course is the other players who can’t seem to control their vehicle and then randomly smash into you :/
22/07/2011 at 11:34 StickyNavels says:
I really like the idea, it has some potential for Solid Fun. Not so keen on them artificially limiting the shift ability, which, IMO, should be a constant in terms of gameplay.
Kind of-sort of like restricting a venerable mechanic like the Portal gun to an ammunition count: “If you want more Portal ammo, you gotta do some neat tricks first!”. It’s sheit.
22/07/2011 at 12:46 UncleLou says:
I am surprised I am really saying this, but this looks – fun. I couldn’t care less about a silly story as long as it works as a gameplay mechanic, and it looks like it does. And I like what I am seeing of the physics/handling – looks like proper Driver of old, not another Burnout clone.
22/07/2011 at 13:55 Big Murray says:
Wait, so a man’s in a coma, where he unlocks the hidden ability to take control of the bodies of people, but only those people who are driving cars, a power which can only be strengthened by taking over their bodies “driving cool”.
“…”
22/07/2011 at 22:45 FKD says:
And it looks like you might have those car transportation trucks (or whatever it was he drove up like a ramp..) every block or two so you can get STYLE POINTS!! :/
23/07/2011 at 00:30 Acorino says:
Haha, I’m looking forward to how they’ll deal with all this crazy gameplay stuff in the story!
22/07/2011 at 15:40 Urthman says:
It makes me sad that this mechanic keeps getting described as weird and bizarre. To me it seems exactly like a video game mechanic.
If you’d asked me 15 years ago, I’d have predicted that more games by now would be like this — crazy fun stuff that would be totally impossible in the real world — and a lot fewer would be trying to create some “realistic” simulation of driving or war or whatever.
22/07/2011 at 16:52 sergio.schuler says:
GTA 5: Twilight Zone
22/07/2011 at 21:23 utzel says:
The crashes look not really fun and I hate those stupid damage bar things. Yes, I’m looking at you, “Need For Speed – Hot Pursuit – The New One”.
And for God’s sake, can’t they spend just a little bit less on their cars so they have enough money for a proper monitor and calibration?
22/07/2011 at 22:06 Daedalus207 says:
Oh dear, I think this may need the “staring eyes” tag. The overlay shown when choosing a victim to possess is disturbing.