Car Game Review Racing Car Games Lover : "Driver: San Francisco"

Picture this: you’re chasing down an escaped con in a stolen police van when one of his buddies rams your police cruiser off the road. No matter, as you can jump out of your body and into that of suburban soccer mom, using her minivan to disable the escapee and complete the mission.

This is the main gimmick of Driver: San Francisco, the latest in a long-line of cops ‘n’ robbers driving games from developer Ubisoft. And it works, thanks to intuitive game play mechanics and missions that encourage thinking outside the box.

You play as John Tanner, a no-nonsense cop of the Nick Nolte / Bruce Willis variety. After an accident leaves him in a coma, you essentially spend the rest of the game “dreaming” that you’re on the trail of mass murdering psychopath Rip Torn Jericho and his cronies.

The voice acting is good – not great – and the story missions are well paced. You’ll also get distracted by a heap of “win this race”, “stop this person” and “escape the cops” missions that are as numerous as they are varied.

There’s never a dull moment, and with cars ranging from the AMC Pacer to the Aston Martin Rapide you’re unlikely to run out of things to do. The attention to detail in both the cars (inside and out) and the city of San Francisco is excellent, though the real star of the game is Taggart’s orange and black 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, which helps give the game a real Starsky & Hutch meets Life on Mars vibe.

With a dash of Grand Theft Auto-style arcade racer handling and a pinch of Quantum Leap-style body jumping, Driver: San Francisco is a refreshing twist to a somewhat stale franchise.

It’s no GT5 or Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, but it is a lot of fun. 4 stars out of 5.

By Tristan Hankins

Video:

Photo Gallery:

Video: New Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Thrashed Around the Nürburgring

The horsepower monster that is the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has been filmed lapping the infamous Nordschleife circuit in Germany.

Apparently, General Motors continues to fine-tune the flagship version of its new Camaro series that was first revealed to the public at this year's Chicago Auto Show in February, but won't arrive in dealerships before early next year.

Recently, GM released the final performance figures on the Camaro ZL1 that will top Ford's 550HP Shelby GT500 with its 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine producing a SAE certified 580-ponnies and 556 lb.-ft. (754 Nm).

The most powerful production Camaro ever will be offered with a standard six-speed manual gearbox, but buyers will be able to opt for a six-speed automatic transmission.

Video source: Youtube/Camaro5

Video:

New Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Rated at 580-Horsepower

In a predictably linear fashion, General Motors has uprated the output numbers of one of its new models just before it launches onto the market.

When GM revealed the new 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at this year's edition of the Chicago Auto Show in February, the company said the coupe's 6.2-liter supercharged V8 would deliver an estimated 550 horsepower and a massive 550 lb.-ft. of torque (745 Nm).

Fast forward to today, and those numbers have jumped to 580-horsepower and 556 lb.-ft. (754 Nm).

Not that we're complaining, but for those of you with a weaker memory, let us remind you that GM did the same with the Cadillac CTS-V, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and many other models in the past.

Billed as the most powerful production Camaro ever, ZL1 links the force-fed V8 engine to either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission, with the latter featuring three drive modes including "Drive" where the shift pattern is calibrated for optimal fuel economy, "Sport" which is aimed for aggressing driving and "Manual" that has no automatic up shifts.

The ZL1 will also get GM's erformance Traction Management (PTM) as standard equipment. The system, which was first introduced on the Corvette ZR1, integrates magnetic ride control, launch control, traction control and electronic stability control, to improve performance on the racetrack and drag strip. The PTM offers five different driving modes:

Mode 1 – Traction control set for wet conditions, with stability control on and Magnetic Ride Control set on Tour.

Mode 2 – Traction control set for dry conditions, with stability control on and Magnetic Ride Control set on Tour.

Mode 3 – Traction control set on Sport 1, with stability control on and Magnetic Ride Control set on Sport.

Mode 4 – Traction control set on Sport 2, with stability control off and Magnetic Ride Control set on Sport.

Mode 5 – Traction control set on Race, with stability control off and Magnetic Ride Control set on Track. Launch control tuned for VHT-prepped drag strips.

“The Camaro ZL1 delivers supercar performance and technology in the sports-car segment,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “For sheer power, the ZL1 delivers more horsepower than a Ferrari 458, more torque than an Aston Martin DB9 V12, and a better power-to-weight ratio than a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS", he added.

The Camaro ZL1 is scheduled to go on sale early next year.

Photo Gallery: