Driver is a 1999 action / driving game developed by Reflections Interactive (now known as Ubisoft Reflections). In the screens and video below, you can notice an early version of the game, with various differences: in the beta the Miami city main car was yellow with a black stripe (a kind of vehicle that is only used in Driver 2), an early pause / debug menu and the car resists to more damages than in the final version.
The HUD wasn´t complete and the map color is green instead of red. Some cars seen in the beta Newcastle city were not used in the Playstation version, but they can still be “unlocked” with gameshark / AR codes. The PC version of Driver could be considered as a director´s cut since the city and the unused cars can be normally unlocked in the game.
Super Slav has made us to notice that in the beta demo you coud drive your car into the water as there are no barriers to stop you in some parts of Miami area. Also some of the boats do not have textures. Hacking the demo to have unlimited time and damage, it’s possible to roam the beta map and to found some interesting stuff! (Check the third video below) Only half of the Miami map is avalable, peds can walk on water, and the boats are not solid. The water has no effect on the civilian cars (they can drive on it like the they drive on roads), the water only affects your car. Also, the map was a bit different in the beta demo.
Also, the original beta featured screenshots and videos of a yellow Buick GSX, but this car did not feature in the final game. It was, however, included as a bonus car in Driver 2.
Thanks to Vicente, Martin and Super Slav for the contributions!
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Video:
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U64 is an archive with articles, screens and videos for cancelled, beta & unseen videogames. Every change & cut creates a different gaming experience: we would like to save some documents about this evolution for curiosity, historic and artistic preservation.
7 Responses to Driver [PSX - Beta]
Vicente
July 17th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I noticed o difference with the PC version, the original released in fall 1999, come with the soundtrack, but the re-release came without the soundtrack.
Dallas
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:55 pm
So THAT’S why in San Francisco when you glitch your way into the water you actually float, it was originally meant to be able to be driven into!
Martin Bigg
October 15th, 2010 at 4:28 am
Here is a very rare video I uploaded of some replays that featured the original GSX model!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvID3VcotJw
Martin Bigg
October 15th, 2010 at 4:29 am
The original beta featured screenshots and videos of a yellow Buick GSX, but this car did not feature in the final game. It was, however, included as a bonus car in Driver 2.
monokoma
October 15th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
THanks for the video and info Martin! :D
Martin Bigg
October 15th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
A retrospective article I wrote on Driver that also features beta artwork:
http://gamerlimit.com/2010/08/retrospective-driver-you-are-the-wheelman/
monokoma
October 16th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Thanks Martin! I will add those info / media as soon as possible :)