When Ubisoft bagged the Driver license from Atari they had a huge task on their hands – to restore the public’s faith in the series. Driv3r was the joke of the industry, after all. Ubisoft’s Wii conversion of Driver Parallel Lines and the PSP-exclusive Driver ’76 were a step in the right direction, and if reviews are to be believed Driver: San Francisco sees Tanner back on form. Even EDGE has given it a thumbs up, dishing out an 8.
With more development time behind it than the likes of Splinter Cell 3D, we’re hoping that Driver: Renegade 3D on 3DS has turned out a whole lot better. The current lack of reviews is a concern, however. Dual Pen Sports also arrives on 3DS; as the title suggests, you have to play it using a stylus in each hand.
Codemasters’ Bodycount is this week’s other big release. A serious shooter this is not and the developers are rather proud of this fact. Instead, it plays like a mixture of Bulletstorm and The Club with a focus on power-ups and netting high scores. The demo on Xbox Live was entertaining but the fact that it has had a troubled development is apparent – the visuals aren’t quite cutting edge and the presentation isn’t consistent.
If the video for Champion Jockey on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii is anything to go by you’re going to look a right tit when playing it. It uses the Kinect and Move and requires some very peculiar hand movements. Could be a fun one to play with drunk friends.
Madden NFL 12 is likely to be pretty good. If EA ever made a rubbish Madden game they’d have half of the US rioting outside their offices. We found last year’s rendition to be more than accessible for those unfamiliar with the sport.
Rounding the week off are We Dance and Phil Taylor’s Power Play Darts. The blurb for We Dance boasts of 40 tracks but the fact that they aren’t listed on the publisher’s site is a little strange. What are they trying to hide? Phil Taylor’s Power Play Darts meanwhile has the most unintentionally amusing box art we’ve seen for a while. Flame grilled Phil!
Next week: Dead Island (PS3, 360, PC), Star Fox 64 3D (3DS), Resistance 3 (PS3), El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (PS3, 360), Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (PS3, 360, PC), Monkey Island Special Edition Collection (PS3, 360, PC), Mystery Case Files: The Malgrave Incident (Wii), Rise of Nightmares (360), NHL 12 (PS3, 360), Order Up! (3DS), Penguins of Madagascar – Dr Blowhole Returns Again (PS3, 360, Wii, DS) and Thor (3DS).