Driven
Our full preview and brand new screens of Driven.

Features

• Immerse yourself in the dangerous, yet seductive world of open wheel racing
• Based on the film, Driven, starring Sylvester Stallone
• Featuring the vocal talents of Sylvester Stallone
• Enter "the zone" with special visual and increased handling
• Take the race into the city, chasing teammates through busy streets, avoiding oncoming traffic and wrecking
• Choose from Arcade, Story and two-player modes
• Unlock additional tracks and cars
• Experience true team racing with two different perspectives -- blocker and racer for pole position
• Choose from eight teams, 12 drivers, each with distinct personalities and driving styles
• Eight tracks, from sunny California to the winding, wooded circuit of Germany
• GameCube version features improved control and handling
• Upgraded visuals over the PlayStation 2 version

Gameplay
Driven is a mix of F1 racing and arcade elements that draw inspiration from the motion picture. The movie revolved around a group of hotshot drivers who had no problems bending the rules now and then. Specifically, Sly Stallone's character was the most experienced "older" driver of the group who would enter "the zone" and hum when he was driving his best. This feature is one of the more arcadey elements, where the screen blurs on the sides and you experience increased handling. You can only enter the zone if you drive well for an extended period of time; this means no running into walls, other cars, or spinning out.

Driven delivers three modes -- Arcade, Story, and Multiplayer, offering up a total of eight tracks, 12 drivers, and 14 objective-based driving sequences. Arcade mode is where you race through the tracks simply placing above third place in each heat to advance and unlock other venues. In Story mode, however, you will actually be given objectives such as, "Enter the zone for more than 15 seconds and place at least second in the race." There are a total of 14, which offers up a lot of challenges. Multiplayer is limited to two-player and lets you race against a friend in the tracks you've unlocked.

Graphics
Driven's graphics engine was built around the PS2, and therefore lacks impressive texture work, advanced modeling, or anything of the sort. It uses a thick motion blur, which we're assuming is to help smooth out the otherwise unimpressive texture work. It almost looks like it's using Renderware at times. It carries itself at a fairly constant 60 frames per second, which is surely improved over the PS2 version.

In fact, it definitely looks better than the PS2 version, but the overuse of the motion blur is really agitating. The art on the other hand is actually pretty good. Skies, which are often overlooked and bland in many racing titles look great and the environments are convincing of the movie locations they're inspired by.

Outlook
Driven for GameCube implements improved control over the PS2 version which was much more unforgiving. Using the R and L triggers on the GCN pad you'll have much better control that still feels like F1 but also isn't completely a simulation, which it shouldn't be since you're entering "the zone." Overall, Driven should offer up an average racing experience for GameCube. It will be the only one of its kind when it's released, so it should at least be worth a look.