Software:Driver 76

From HandWiki
Short description: 2007 video game
Driver 76
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Director(s)Darren Mills
Designer(s)Ned Waterhouse
Programmer(s)
  • Steve Camber
  • James Graves
Artist(s)David Blewett
Composer(s)
  • Marc Canham
  • Andy Gannon
  • Ed Scroggie
SeriesDriver
Platform(s)PlayStation Portable
Release
  • NA: 8 May 2007
  • AU: 10 May 2007
  • EU: 11 May 2007
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

Driver '76 is a 2007 action-adventure and driving video game for the PlayStation Portable.[1] It was developed by Ubisoft Reflections and Sumo Digital, and published by Ubisoft, and is the only Driver title for the system.

The game is a prequel to Software:Driver: Parallel Lines (2006), set two years prior. Driver 76 is very similar, set in the same game world environment and sharing most of the same vehicles as well as soundtrack, with minor differences in each of these. Plotwise, it revolves around player-character Ray and his friend Slink, both of whom were supporting characters in Parallel Lines.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot showing the player driving the car while using a weapon

Mission structure is similar to Software:Driver: Parallel Lines, where driving is an important aspect in gameplay, shooting still remains in the game.[2] Most missions are driving based while some are shootouts or when Ray sits in the back of a car and shoots incoming enemies. There are a total of 27 missions, grouped into 6 chapters, with the player awarded money, cars or weapons when successfully completed. Alongside these are the optional side missions such as delivering, track racing and demolition derbies.[3]

Missions, as well as the garage of vehicles, are all accessed via a single navigatable menu rather than accessed through a fully playable open world. That also means that the player doesn't have to drive across the city to start a mission, which is the case in Parallel Lines. There is however an option for free roaming.[4] Driver 76 also has ad hoc multiplayer modes.[4]

Driver 76 uses comic-styled illustrations rather than cinematic cutscenes, making the game behave more like a comic book, a unique aspect among the Driver games.[4]

Plot

In New York City during the year 1976, the story starts with Ray (Brian Bloom), a wheelman. He falls in love with Chen Chi (Dionne Quan), but she's already got someone, Jimmy (Masi Oka). With the help of Slink (Geoff Brown), he gains respect from Chen Chi's father, Zhou (Clyde Kusatsu), but Ray is then betrayed and has to earn money in the meantime. He eventually meets back with Zhou who informs Ray that Jimmy is a traitor, leading to Ray and Slink attempting to take down Jimmy's empire.

Development

The game was announced in January 2007. It was the first Driver title published by Ubisoft, who had purchased the franchise from Atari the previous year.[5][3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic57/100[6]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge7/10[7]
Eurogamer6/10[4]
Game Informer5/10[8]
GameSpot6/10[10]
GamesRadar+StarStarStar[9]
GameZone6/10[11]
IGN4.5/10[2]
PALGN4/10[12]
VideoGamer.com7/10[13]
X-PlayStarStarStar[14]

Driver 76 received "mixed" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[6]

Dave McCarthy of Eurogamer gave praise to the soundtrack, the comic-book plot presentation, and called the voice acting "first class", but was critical of controls, glitches and some of the plot narrative.[4] IGN's Jeff Haynes was more critical for the "extremely short" story, "useless collectibles", and "weak on-foot combat".[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Driver 76 - PSP". http://www.ign.com/games/driver-76/psp-802487. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Haynes, Jeff (23 May 2007). "Driver 76 Review". https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/05/24/driver-76-review. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Burnes, Andrew (2007-01-22). "Driver 76 Announced" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/01/22/driver-76-announced. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 McCarthy, Dave (20 May 2007). "Driver 76". http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/driver-76-review. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  5. ↑ "Ubisoft announces Driver 76 for PSP" (in en-US). 2007-01-23. https://www.engadget.com/2007-01-22-ubisoft-announces-driver-76-for-psp.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Driver 76 for PSP Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/driver-76/critic-reviews/?platform=psp. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  7. ↑ Edge staff (July 2007). "Driver 76". Edge (177): 94. 
  8. ↑ Bertz, Matt (July 2007). "Driver 76". Game Informer (171). http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/776D9F3F-7E57-45C5-972E-DA4590C0E317.htm. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  9. ↑ Lewis, Cameron (17 May 2007). "Driver 76 review". GamesRadar. http://www.gamesradar.com/driver-76-review/. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  10. ↑ Davis, Ryan (15 May 2007). "Driver 76 Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/driver-76-review/1900-6170788/. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  11. ↑ Zacarias, Eduardo (28 May 2007). "Driver 76 - PSP - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081006185649/http://psp.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r31575.htm. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  12. ↑ Keller, Matt (17 June 2007). "Driver 76 Review". Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100306153856/http://palgn.com.au/sony-psp/7770/driver-76-review/. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  13. ↑ Freeman, Will (28 June 2007). "Driver 76 Review". VideoGamer.com. http://www.videogamer.com/psp/driver_76/review.html. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
  14. ↑ Stevens, Tim (18 June 2007). "Driver 76". X-Play. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081122004231/http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1538/Driver_76.html. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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