Nice Day for a Drive…r
Ubisoft puts its newly-acquired license to the test with Driver 76. License? Driving game? Yes, laugh it up, chums.
Published: January 22, 2007
Back in July, Ubisoft made a rather modest move by up and buying the Driver franchise, currently topping some 14 million units sold, from Atari and Reflections Interactive, all at the exchange rate of a cool $24 million. Not only that, but the entire personnel from Reflections up and transferred over to Ubi, presumably to oversee just how well its poster child would fare under new ownership.
And now, half a year since the acquisition, arrives the first sign of Driver in its new state. It’s new… portable state. Yes, friends, Sumo Digital, with the help of Ubisoft’s Reflections studio (we’re sure they’re thrilled with that name as well), are giving the seven-year old series a (hopefully) fresh injection on the PlayStation Portable with Driver 76. Technically a two-year prequel to last year’s Driver: Parallel Lines, 76 propels players back into the 1970s (can you guess which year?), where riveting Hollywood-style car chases await (along with the not-so-glamorous on-foot portions).
Venture through 27 all-new missions across six main plots, complete with an environment spanning New Jersey to Coney Island and a 70’s-specific soundtrack to pump you through it all. Additionally, go wild with side missions galore (your key to earning bags o' cash and blowing it all on car modifications), an expansive set of multiplayer games including Street Racing, Destruction Derby, Pink Slip Racing and Swap Meet, and even a little downloadable content luv in the form of… new paintjobs! Totally worth it, we know.
Driver 76 -- in addition to just about every game that’s been announced this month -- hits the streets in March, and using our priceless negotiation tactics, we’ve nabbed the first set of screens! Dig in, boys and girls.
And now, half a year since the acquisition, arrives the first sign of Driver in its new state. It’s new… portable state. Yes, friends, Sumo Digital, with the help of Ubisoft’s Reflections studio (we’re sure they’re thrilled with that name as well), are giving the seven-year old series a (hopefully) fresh injection on the PlayStation Portable with Driver 76. Technically a two-year prequel to last year’s Driver: Parallel Lines, 76 propels players back into the 1970s (can you guess which year?), where riveting Hollywood-style car chases await (along with the not-so-glamorous on-foot portions).
Venture through 27 all-new missions across six main plots, complete with an environment spanning New Jersey to Coney Island and a 70’s-specific soundtrack to pump you through it all. Additionally, go wild with side missions galore (your key to earning bags o' cash and blowing it all on car modifications), an expansive set of multiplayer games including Street Racing, Destruction Derby, Pink Slip Racing and Swap Meet, and even a little downloadable content luv in the form of… new paintjobs! Totally worth it, we know.
Driver 76 -- in addition to just about every game that’s been announced this month -- hits the streets in March, and using our priceless negotiation tactics, we’ve nabbed the first set of screens! Dig in, boys and girls.