Driver: San Francisco

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 461 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 273 out of 461
  2. Mixed: 131 out of 461
  3. Negative: 57 out of 461
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  1. JaydenPickens
    Feb 20, 2019
    7
    Tanner returns boys! This is my third fav Driver game (right after Driver 4 & 2) and I love what they have done here. The city (San Francisco) lives, lots of cars and people everywhere. The thing that makes me sad though, is that you can no longer run over people with your car... you could kill people in Driver 4 and the rag doll of bodies was fun, but here sadly no. It's a massive minusTanner returns boys! This is my third fav Driver game (right after Driver 4 & 2) and I love what they have done here. The city (San Francisco) lives, lots of cars and people everywhere. The thing that makes me sad though, is that you can no longer run over people with your car... you could kill people in Driver 4 and the rag doll of bodies was fun, but here sadly no. It's a massive minus of the game to me. The other one is that the story is kinda pointless. At least most of it. I don't want to spoil it, but it's just stupid. Everything else is just good old driver. Pickens approves!… Expand
  2. LDUK
    Nov 8, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I began this game, expecting the Driver Franchise to be ruined because I heard that you can't get out of your car, and it was just driving. I expected it to be like the last two. I didn't watch trailers or reviews I just went straight to playing the game. So, here's me thinking this game is going to suck really bad.
    I began playing and already felt like the handling sucked. Driving around, feeling like the game is seriously limited. The voice acting so bad, it made me cringe.
    I stuck to it for a little longer when the game began to change. I was shocked. Completely stunned by what was happening. I was overwhelmed and got goosebumps it was so different.
    I did not expect to be able to jump from your car into another, in such a quick space of time. Control the cars on the road as you race, blocking other racers and opening clear paths for yourself just made this game something else. No other game is like this. It's fantastic. Incredibly unique. The more I played, the more fun I had. I began to get used to the driving and figured out that it was the handling you had to get used to. The voice acting began to make sense. Cheesyness was the best way to play it. The game all began to fit together and make sense to me.
    So yes, I completely changed my view on this game after playing, and it was awesome.
    I would highly advise people to play this game! No matter what you think of it before playing, just do it, it's worth it.    … Expand
  3. Marick
    Jul 5, 2015
    6
    It is one of the best game, but he has something interesting .
  4. theFunkyMan
    Oct 18, 2011
    7
    Basically this game is quite good, but there are some problems. the MI is infernal. The civilians know nothing about the rules of the road(they can't even let the police or ambulance with its siren screaming go), they are blind, deaf and their intelligence is a void function. The Team race is a nightmare, because the partner of the player simply lets the enemy overtake him. The graphics ofBasically this game is quite good, but there are some problems. the MI is infernal. The civilians know nothing about the rules of the road(they can't even let the police or ambulance with its siren screaming go), they are blind, deaf and their intelligence is a void function. The Team race is a nightmare, because the partner of the player simply lets the enemy overtake him. The graphics of the cars are good, but the city isn't too detailed.
    The car selection is good, and there are some fun game modes.    … Expand
  5. kowalski
    Sep 27, 2011
    7
    After spending mere 15 hours with the game, it seems more clear than not that the makers wanted to go for GTA4 meets San Francisco, but their laziness got in the way. So we have great graphics, nice choice of cars and a big, stunning map plus a lot of challenges and all sorts of diversions. And the idiotic storyline, which makes even 10 year old ask, WTF? The map is big, but the world isAfter spending mere 15 hours with the game, it seems more clear than not that the makers wanted to go for GTA4 meets San Francisco, but their laziness got in the way. So we have great graphics, nice choice of cars and a big, stunning map plus a lot of challenges and all sorts of diversions. And the idiotic storyline, which makes even 10 year old ask, WTF? The map is big, but the world is not opened. I'm far from telling you why - you'll have to judge that by yourself. Driver SF is a fun game, but it's not a game changer, and withing a couple of months, gamers will forget about it. It offers what most gamers take for granted - the SHIFT gameplay is definitely a great invention, but it can't carry the title to the gold. The game gets boring after 2 days of playing, and in today's reality, you really expect more.… Expand
  6. neild
    Dec 31, 2011
    5
    I had great expectations but I had greater disappointments. From the start you are spoon fed where and how you drive. The best part about previous Drivers was that you had the freedom to go wherever you wanted. Red zones within 15 minutes of driving. C'mon! Then when you are flying above cars looking for one to take, you have to fly along roads, you can't even fly over buildings! VeryI had great expectations but I had greater disappointments. From the start you are spoon fed where and how you drive. The best part about previous Drivers was that you had the freedom to go wherever you wanted. Red zones within 15 minutes of driving. C'mon! Then when you are flying above cars looking for one to take, you have to fly along roads, you can't even fly over buildings! Very poor. The graphics are amazing and driving along a straight road without other traffic is fun, just don't hit another car.… Expand
  7. Vic
    Dec 9, 2011
    6
    This is the worst game I've played this year! It has the worst driving mechanics, stupid and short story, ridiculous side quests, no manual gearbox, it's almost impossible to drive without hitting anything in this game and I guess the developers knew that and that's why almost all missions in the game are concentrating on destroying something! It's pain in my heart when you have to crushThis is the worst game I've played this year! It has the worst driving mechanics, stupid and short story, ridiculous side quests, no manual gearbox, it's almost impossible to drive without hitting anything in this game and I guess the developers knew that and that's why almost all missions in the game are concentrating on destroying something! It's pain in my heart when you have to crush your SLR into other vehicles. I thought they would make something more realistic and serious than this "destroy-everything-in-your-way" game!… Expand
  8. BriTisH
    Nov 14, 2011
    6
    Was not expecting much from this, But its all right driving is okish until you get the turbo witch is up on the analog stick but it can probably be changed . its arcadey and fast story a cop with the ability to switch body's ...sure you know what ever its a game makes normal car chances and races interesting . The selection of cars is good more then i was expecting vista cruiserWas not expecting much from this, But its all right driving is okish until you get the turbo witch is up on the analog stick but it can probably be changed . its arcadey and fast story a cop with the ability to switch body's ...sure you know what ever its a game makes normal car chances and races interesting . The selection of cars is good more then i was expecting vista cruiser to a maclaran mp4
    pc performance its locked at 60 even when recording looks ok nothing outstanding 30$ its a buy    … Expand
  9. L34D
    Apr 5, 2013
    7
    Good game. It have the old driver feeling. The amount of cars is huge i really liked to play with buses and trucks. What i dont like were the features like the crash action or throwing cars. Thats really stupid. Doesnt fit in this series. The story is also a bit crazy that could be much better.
  10. Izoeros
    Jun 5, 2022
    5
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  11. OneVoice
    Nov 26, 2011
    7
    This game deserves points for creativity and for mindless fun, but for me it's not playable for any sort of long-term period of time. I think for what it is, a driving game with a good variety of driving missions, it's quite well done, and I think a lot of people will really enjoy this game. The producers of this game definitely deserve respect for their effort here. If you enjoy gamesThis game deserves points for creativity and for mindless fun, but for me it's not playable for any sort of long-term period of time. I think for what it is, a driving game with a good variety of driving missions, it's quite well done, and I think a lot of people will really enjoy this game. The producers of this game definitely deserve respect for their effort here. If you enjoy games that are solely driving games, I think you'll find this game to be a gem. If you want more than just driving, go elsewhere.… Expand
  12. dumle
    Mar 13, 2013
    7
    I enjoyed playing this game. The shift-function works really well and and feel like a core part of the gameplay and not just some stupid gimmick. It is also used quite frequently in the game in a lot of different ways making the game really stand apart from other racing game. I completed the campaign in 12 hours but I had a lot of side missions left to do. The story was actuallyI enjoyed playing this game. The shift-function works really well and and feel like a core part of the gameplay and not just some stupid gimmick. It is also used quite frequently in the game in a lot of different ways making the game really stand apart from other racing game. I completed the campaign in 12 hours but I had a lot of side missions left to do. The story was actually surprisingly decent and it really fits with the shift-function. The conversations that occur when you shift both in free roaming and in narrated side missions also works really well and i found myself smirking from time to time. I thought the driving worked well enough as an arcade racer but i seldom play racing-games so i don't know how it compares to other games in its genre. The game isn't flawless though. The checkpoints sometimes forces you to replay needless bits, the environment is quite static and there is some invisible walls here and there, cinematic-views sometimes take away the control of your car in critical times, lack of customization, some gameplay bits in certain missions just doesn't work very well and the game does look kind of visually dated here and there. I still had a lot of fun with this arcade-racer and if you are looking for a racing game that tries something different you should give Driver San Francisco a shot.… Expand
  13. thepatient613
    Feb 16, 2016
    7
    I was never a fan of the Driver series until I stumbled across this gem. It may not be the most memorable game or GOTY material but it's different enough that I can actually say I really enjoyed the entire experience. There's really nothing bad to say about it either. It's a good game. If you can snatch it for 10$ I say it's worth it.
  14. MadJaples
    Oct 28, 2014
    5
    I had this game when it was released and never did a review. And then I remembered why I HAD this game. It's clunky as **** the driving mechanics are shoddy as **** and the tips are absobloodylutely pointless.
    "Drive into oncoming traffic to lose your enemies" does NOT ****ing help when your enemies are a horde of pissed off cops driving faster cars than you. You can try ANYTHING you    I had this game when it was released and never did a review. And then I remembered why I HAD this game. It's clunky as **** the driving mechanics are shoddy as **** and the tips are absobloodylutely pointless.
    "Drive into oncoming traffic to lose your enemies" does NOT ****ing help when your enemies are a horde of pissed off cops driving faster cars than you. You can try ANYTHING you like, shifting into oncoming traffic to smash them, driving into oncoming traffic, weaving in and out of either side of the road, the whole nine yards. The learning curve is about as non-existent as the fun factor to begin with. This was a graphically smooth game, but the gameplay was ****ing ****e.    … Expand
  15. dandalis
    Aug 30, 2017
    6
    Driver San Francisco for me turned into love/hate affair. It has the potential to be a very good open world driving, racing game, but is completely let down by rubbish car physics and driving model. Driving feels like youre on ice all the time, all the time you turn and slow down your car it loses grip and you slide all over the place. That is made even worse by the traffic amount in thisDriver San Francisco for me turned into love/hate affair. It has the potential to be a very good open world driving, racing game, but is completely let down by rubbish car physics and driving model. Driving feels like youre on ice all the time, all the time you turn and slow down your car it loses grip and you slide all over the place. That is made even worse by the traffic amount in this game, there are games in which i often wish there were more cars on the road, but on Driver SF there just too much damn traffic which very often turn into you, hit you in blind spots and go crazy when you barely touch them. Plus it seems there are no brakes in the game, the one that should function that way is just another handbrake which doesnt allow you to slow down normally from high speeds, it instantly locks up and causes you to slide all over the place. Of road handling in the game is different kind of bad and annoying, it makes you question what kind of an idiot was responsible for such handling model while developing the game. However if youre just cruising around off missions and activities driving can be serviceable and decently fun, but when it counts it can be become a nightmare.

    Really only thing that kept me playing was the enticing story that i really wanted to see how it plays out, altough the ending of the game made me question ''Is that it ?'', its tad disappointing in my opinion, i wanted something more compelling. Also the way game transitions from CGI cutscenes to in game footage during in game cutscenes felt bit way off and weird, however the CGI parts are really well done. I've never been to San Francisco in real life, closest thing i guess has been San Fierro in GTA San Andreas, but the city felt very well made for the game, and the adding of pedestrians roaming the streets added the alive factor thats missing from most open world driving games.

    Graphics for a 2011 felt bit dated, also game is bit too dark, i often ran into walls and objects that i simply couldnt see while driving fast and focusing on driving itself. Also there was no way to get rid of black bars while playing in my native 16:10 aspect ratio, but it didnt hurt the experience too bad. I wish the HUD wasnt so huge aswell, especially the annoying hint and boost bars, thay made felt like game is straight up console port, but atleast the game ran extremely well with locked 60 fps, without single crash, tho sometimes i saw some visual artifacting occuring, which bugged me out thinking my GPU might be on its last legs.    … Expand
  16. Tilt1k
    Nov 11, 2019
    7
    Interesting mechanic of switching cars, i enjoyed this game when i was younger.
  17. rezo_21
    Sep 18, 2021
    7
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 74 IIIIIIIIII====================
  18. AltMetal
    Oct 24, 2022
    7
    A good re-imagining of Driver 1 for 2011, just don't expect it to be like GTA.
  19. Kostas101
    Nov 9, 2021
    6
    I really like how the cars handle in this game, but that's probably the only satisfying part of this game. The story isn't very good, there are some frustrating missions, and not enough things to do in the city. In the end it's just a fun racing game but it doesn't excel in anything.
  20. Zeneko90
    Jul 14, 2022
    7
    Nettes. Spiel es hat echt viel Spaß gemacht. Mehr davon! Nicht zu lang, nicht zu kurz. Genau richtig.
  21. basic123
    Oct 18, 2022
    7
    Good overall game but it came too late to save the Driver series. At least it is much better than Driver 3 and Driver Parallel Lines.
  22. haruorjatta
    Jul 10, 2022
    6
    Игра с уникальным и интересным геймплеем, но очень слабым сюжетом.

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best PC Game of 2011
57
#57 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
48
#48 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Dec 4, 2011
    60
    Family-friendly smash-ups and a goofy concept. There's something refreshing in this game's profanity-free self-confidence. [Christmas 2011, p.64]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Nov 15, 2011
    80
    We were worried that the new Driver would be just "good one" but expectations were exceeded by far. Great story, driving physics and a top soundtrack made new Driver a game to remember. [Nov 2011]
  3. PC Gamer
    Nov 9, 2011
    80
    Hardly the drive of your life, but easily one of the most memorable--and a great one-time gimmick done well. [Holiday 2011, p.78]
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