The Driver series isn't what it used to be, but that's mainly because the gaming world has marched on since 1999 when the first game hit to rave reviews. The sequel met far less gracious reviews, and after Grand Theft Auto III hit, it seemed the world had forgotten about one detective Tanner and his undercover quest for justice. Ah, but developer Reflections Interactive hasn't forgotten, and they've been hard at work converting the Stuntman engine into a game that's (hopefully) actually fun.



"Driver 3 is a complex game that comes with amazingly high expectations," explains Reflections Managing and Development Director Martin Edmondson. "It is important to both Reflections Interactive and Atari to dedicate the time and resources necessary to ensure that Driver 3 meets our own goals for exciting gameplay and next-gen performance laid out by our ambitious design document. Reflections has asked Atari for more time to make sure Driver 3 has only the highest production values from start to finish in all facets of the game. Atari is happy to help us do whatever it takes to redefine the genre that the Driver series created."



Good news, to be sure, since Driver 2 arrived by most accounts a bit too early. We'd love to see the game regain its former glory; Driver was an absolute masterpiece, and we emphatically stand behind any company that will delay a game that they see as being less than ready for the market in order to make it better. Games should be published when they're done, not to meet financial predictions. Driver 3 was previously slated to hit stores during this year's holiday season, but has now slipped to simply "Spring 2004." We'll be crossing our fingers in the hopes the third game in the series can recapture the magic of the first one.