I've always been a fan of Starsky & Hutch and Steve McQueen's Bullit, so as you can imagine I was one of the first to get my hands on Driver for the original PlayStation. Impressed by the free roaming car chases all over a massive city, I couldn't imagine how it could be improved. They tried in Driver 2 and it was a fair effort but then the Grand Theft Auto series turned up and really stole the crown. Now the ultra-hyped Driv3r is out and it's a clear attempt to regain the title of best car chase and driving game in town.

Yes, Tanner, your favourite undercover cop and racing maniac, is back in the driving seat again. This time he's thrust into a high-octane tale of organised crime, police chases, betrayals, shootouts, large scale driving destruction and out and out mayhem. The story kicks off in Istanbul where a Crime Lord from Miami is holed up. Running into a massive gun battle with the authorities as he steps out of his hotel, he and Tanner end up pointing guns at each others' heads. Snap forward in time to a hospital ward and Tanner and his nemesis are unconscious on hospital beds next to each other, with some dubious procedure about to be performed. Next thing you know, we're flung back six months in time and the game begins.

Although there are plenty of options to choose from, the core of the game really is the story mode, in which this tale of police espionage and driving antics is set. It is very linear, not giving the option to choose between missions but thrusting you from one to another as the story develops. There are an amazing number of cars available and each handles just as you'd expect it would. The suped-up Pontiac Firebirds are quick off the mark and handle remarkably well, but steal a taxi and you're going to find a world of bad suspension, under-steering and poor acceleration. At first I found this a little irritating, having gotten used to the way one handles only having to adapt to another. I soon found this gave the game a bit of depth though and became quite good fun. Police cars are great entertainment when taking them for a spin, because as Elwood Blues once said "It's got a cop motor, a four hundred and forty cubic inch plant, it's got cop tyres, cop suspension, cop shocks…" [Kudos for the Blues Brothers quote, a film that trashed more cars in one chase than any that came before it. Ed] This makes them great fun to drive and you certainly feel in control of a heavy piece of machinery, sirens blazing and all.

You drive these various models on a variety of different missions, starting with a simple spin from Tanner's house to the police station for some target practice. The learning curve can be a bit steep though, because next thing you know you're in a cop car pelting along the highway to a siege. Once you're past the shooting bit (more on that later) you're leaping into a sports car and chasing down a criminal in an equally fast car. It's at this point you realise that the scenery is not your friend. Clip another car and you'll do visible damage and as your car gets more wrecked the handling, suspension and acceleration are all affected. You've also got to watch out for walls, lampposts, trees and other heavy objects. If you hit one of those head on, bits come flying off your car, the damage gauge in the top left of your screen goes into the red and occasionally you'll flip over onto your side and roof, meaning you have to start the level again. My only gripe with this is that some things are more solid than they should be. For example, I was trying to escape a cop and thought I'd take a sneaky spin through some gardens, only to find myself being abruptly stopped in my tracks by a large green bush. However, exploring the landscape is essential, as the little map in the top right of your screen only shows major roads and not sneaky little shortcuts through gardens, commercial districts, wastelands and so on.

The variety of the missions can only add to the gameplay though. My favourite levels include a time trial destruction derby when your bad guy boss-man tells you to take him through a rival's construction yard causing as much damage as possible. This includes exploding barrels, driving through poorly constructed shacks and even hitting a ramp to take you up onto the roof of a portacabin with some offending building materials atop it. Another is a chase sequence through a shopping mall, with a police car in hot pursuit. They've blocked off the car park, so you have to speed your way through glass panelled doors and shop fronts, being waylaid by coppers all intent on shooting the tyres, you or the passengers in the car. The echoing of screeching radials, the claustrophobic surroundings and the edge of your seat handbrake turns are fantastic entertainment.

That isn't all - you can also control speedboats, motorbikes and articulated lorries. The speedboats shoot through the water at a rate of knots and are invariably used when trying to board luxury yachts or little houses on stilts. Running a motorbike at full tilt down busy Miami streets is real edge of your seat stuff, as clipping one vehicle means you're flipped over and over and flung quite a considerable distance from your poor machine. Getting up and picking up the bike isn't always an option, as the contraption is usually trashed from such encounters, if Tanner isn't himself. The excitement of driving these two-wheeled powerhouses around busy city streets is probably the closest you'll get to the real thing without breaking several hundred laws.

However, the thrill of driving is interrupted a little too much by the running around and shooting at people. I understand that Atari are trying to give value for money and offer as much variety as possible, but I can't help feeling this was included to stick two fingers up at Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Unfortunately, while interesting and certainly fun at times, it's altogether too clunky and lets the gameplay down. You're given a third and on some occasions first person perspective of Tanner as he leaps out of cars on various errands. These little jobs can include heading off the bad guys down a back alley, shooting up a bar under the instruction of the Crime Lord or escaping from a car pick-up gone wrong. First of all, there're the rather awkward controls. Tanner is steered via the two thumbsticks, going forwards and backwards with one, strafing left and right while aiming up and down with the other. Unfortunately, while you're provided with a crosshair that conveniently goes red when someone is in your sights (or blue if they're innocent), you often accidentally press up or down when strafing left and right and so shooting over or under your intended target. It doesn't help that you push up to aim down and vice versa.

There are some nice touches though. Tanner does a great forward roll when trying to get somewhere and needing to stay under cover. Also he can crouch and pan left and right to see if any enemies are about. Standing by an open door and panning left and right often gives you a good idea if anyone is right behind you, plus you can often use the red crosshairs to take someone out from this position without them ever seeing you. Also, these red crosshairs are good for picking the opposition off at a distance. This is essential when you're low on health and low on ammo. That said, you pick up plenty of artillery from the guys you gun down, from standard revolvers and the odd Uzi to rocket launchers and grenades. There are also plenty of green health boxes in the earlier levels, which keep you alive while you acclimatise to the clunky controls and this allows a certain degree of fun to be had without too much frustration.

The visuals in the running and walking sections let down the game a bit, not really being the equal of many games out there that are purely third person shooters. Tanner, viewed from behind, looks like he's wearing an outfit made of cardboard and the opposition are equally plain and stiff. His movements aren't particularly well animated, except perhaps for those forward rolls, but the rag doll physics aren't too bad. People get knocked over, shot and flung around in a suitably realistic fashion, all arms and legs flailing everywhere. However, get back into your car and it's a different story altogether.

The cars themselves look great, with fantastic attention to detail, right down to each bump and scrape you get. As your car gets more and more battered the bonnet [That's the hood, for those Americans amongst you! Ed] will fly up, doors will fall open as you spin round corners and black tyre marks are left everywhere you look. If you get out and look at a defunct car, there'll be a pall of smoke in the air and if the bonnet is off you get a great look at a completely hammered engine. Hit something really hard, such as another car, a lamppost or a wall and debris goes flying everywhere. There are so many bits of crunched metal spinning through the air it's a wonder the processor can keep up.

The environment within which you drive is just as impressive and there is a massive draw distance. When you're speeding down a long, wide boulevard it's amazing how much you can see in the distance. There is none of the usual fog out of which massive structures miraculously appear. The details are visible quickly too and when they're within 100 yards of you there's nothing left out. The road markings, shop windows, bushes and people on the streets all look fabulous, almost of a cinematic quality.

This is reflected again in the night-time scenarios, as the street light effects meld with the lights from your car as you approach, gleaming off the bonnet as you pass. Each car you see has similar effects bouncing off it and it does look like something out of Gone In 60 Seconds. The daytime effects are equally great though, particularly at dusk when the sun is setting. These are painted in glorious technicolour, loads of lovely reds and oranges, which are almost of a photo quality. In fact, they rival the real thing! These warm colours give the landscapes a similar tinge and as dusk turns to night, the streetlights are illuminated and cars start popping their lights on. The game is full of great visual effects like this and it really adds to the fun and atmosphere.

Besides the quality of the in-game graphics, the film-like sequences between levels that progress the plot are also very well done. While obviously computer generated images, the detail of expression on each character's face makes them very believable. Tanner, for example, looks like the kind of brooding, edgy and dangerous man you'd expect him to be, living a dual life as cop and criminal. This is reflected in the subtle nuances such as the raised eyebrows, steely glares and mirthless mouth. The settings and camera are equally well considered, being both atmospheric and dynamic.

Attention has also been lavished on the audio aspects of the title, to such an extent that the line between game and cinema blurs even further. First of all, the soundtrack is varied and exciting, so while you don't have the freedom to choose the music, such as the radio in GTA, the tracks are well put together and serve each setting nicely. Also, it's performed by some exceptional talents, such as Iggy Pop. Besides this, the noise of the motor vehicles is well considered, varying from make to make. For example, the throaty roar of a revving sports car is a very different sound to the rumble of a taxi. As for the smashes, crashes, booms and bangs, it seems like the noise is coming from all around you. When you crash and all the glass and metal is flung into the air, even when your car is finally stationary you can still hear bits of debris hitting the ground around you. My only criticism is the awful whine of the motorbikes. They don't sound like that! The last time I heard that noise I was riding one of those horrible 100cc chicken-chasers I drove in my youth.

However, that minor point aside, the coup de grace of the aural treats is the voice acting. You can tell a lot of time and money has been spent on the casting, with the aim of making a game that rivals even Bullitt for the movie experience. Atari have managed to enlist the exceptional vocal talents of Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Thelma and Louise), Ving Rames (Pulp Fiction, Dawn of the Dead, Mission: Impossible), Mickey Rourke (Wild Orchid, Angel Heart, Rumble Fish) and Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil, Girl Fight, The Fast And The Furious). What a line up and they serve the game exceptionally well. It's a refreshing change to have quality voice acting and these actors are definitely comfortable in their roles. For example, Michael Madsen is always good at edgy characters that are a law unto themselves and Tanner is certainly that. He doesn't cut anyone's ear off though [You sound disappointed. Ed.]

Despite all of these accolades there is an area of great disappointment for me - no multiplayer! There is no option to go careering around each of the three locations (Miami, Nice and Istanbul) with your mates, or with your online chums. That's an absolute crying shame, as the possibilities are endless - cops versus robbers, chases, destruction derbies, time trials and so on. That's not to say there aren't extras to keep your interest once you've completed the story mode. You can save your replays of particularly gruelling or exciting chases and edit them with a 'film director' tool. Once completed, you can upload your masterpiece so others can see what an amazing director/driver you are. Also there are a few different driving games and a Free Ride option you can use to really suss out each city. The survival game is really good fun and if you've got mates around you're going to have a blast trying to outdo each others' best times while trying to keep your car intact from the suicidal police.

Atari has done well to take on its rivals with this quite challenging, yet slightly flawed game. Although the gameplay loses out with its linearity and the walking episodes are weak, it makes up for it with awesome driving sections, a great story, fantastic graphics and the wonderful casting of A-list Hollywood actors. The sound actually comes close to rivalling the graphics too, with good old Iggy fronting the line up. This doesn't have quite the free roaming of the Grand Theft Auto series but it certainly has a greater cinematic feel and you can't help but become engrossed. Roll on Driver 4 and fully online multiplayer options.

Reviewed by Dave Wynn for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).