Driver was brutally difficult back in 1999 even with a dual analog controller on a large screen and although Gameloft has lightened the difficulty with an easy mode for the Iphone, it’s still a rough ride especially with the super springy suspension and less than ideal controls you’re given.  But before you drive off the bridge or worse yet throw your Iphone across the room in frustration, here are some driving tips that might help you lose the heat.

  

1) Use the easy mode rather than normal or you’ll have a hard time getting out of the opening garage tutorial.

2) Use the D-pad.  The other two control options are broken.  The D-pad requires a light touch unless you want to be spinning donuts all day, but with practice it’s workable.  Remember, different cars handle differently.

3) Save whenever you get multiple job offers on your message machine in case you choose a particularly tough set of missions.

4) In Miami and San Francisco (the hardest missions) drive down the sidewalks whenever the mad dogs are after you.  There seems to be just enough room for you to squeeze between the poles and the buildings, it helps  keep your car straight, you’ll be able to get by a lot of the road blocks and most importantly, it’s harder for the cops to line you up for head-on collisions.  Besides, it fun to run over pedestrians, trash cans, parking meters and such. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work as well in L.A. or New York.

5) Spinning donuts by accelerating on hard turns will confuse and lose the cops even when they’re right down the street.

6) Keep an eye on your map for cops and alternate routes.  The green route may lead you through too many turns and traffic.

  

MISSION SPECIFIC TIPS - SPOILERS!!!!!

The Informant (Miami) - This is the first really tough chapter you’ll come across with a couple of missions that’ll have you pulling your hair out (Free Jean-Paul and Chase the Train).  In Free Jean-Paul you’ll be told to ram an armored truck before it reaches its destination.  It takes about 8 solid hits to take down the truck.  Forget it.  Just beat the truck to its destination.

In Chase the Train you’ll have to follow an overhead train.  You don’t have to follow the train at every turn.  There are two instances, once at the beginning of the mission and once toward the end, where the train will circle a block and you can intercept it by going straight without losing contact.  Learn the route and beat it to the end.

Chinatown Pick-up (San Francisco) - What makes this mission so hard is its length without the benefit of a checkpoint.  This also makes it one of the most interesting missions. In the first part you have to make it to the pick-up point within a few minutes.  There’s plenty of time but you don’t want to alert the cops or take damage so it’s a game of cat-and-mouse with the mad dogs.  They won’t jump you unless you break the law. Once you hit the pick-up point there won’t be a checkpoint and you’ll be faced with a long, mad getaway which is why you need a totally intact vehicle.  Time is not a factor now because the clock is moving up. Good luck.

Tanner vs. Slater - (San Francisco)
The take out missions are the toughest.  Slater will start out weaving down the street then he’ll take the first left.  Head straight for the first intersection and a direct hit will take him out.

Get Molly to the Hospital (LA) - 55 seconds of precision driving.  If the cops start knocking you around, restart.

Hopefully these tips will help you get through the tough spots on your way to becoming a wheelman.  Your reward for finishing the story is the no damage cheat and immunity to police.  The no damage cheat lets you go on some wild rides through each city while the cops knock you around like a pinball.  Great fun!



goyami@comcast.net