Preview: 'Driver' (iPhone)

Have you recently gone back and played a PSOne title? They don't hold up particularly well. While most games have controls and gameplay that work today, a huge barrier is the visuals, thanks to the original low resolution of the console. Classics have become ravaged by blocky pixels and jagged polygons, and even on standard definition sets they look surprisingly obtrusive.

A saving grace are modern-day portable consoles, which can faithfully adapt such titles onto a smaller screen, and make them far more palatable. This was one of the barriers of reviving one of the most critically-acclaimed PSOne titles, Driver, which featured a sprawling open world that hosted high-speed chases and obscene jumps, and is set to make a comeback to the iPhone in its original '70s-inspired glory.

Practically everything from the original game is here - the four American cities, from the steep San Francisco landscape to the night-based Los Angeles - along with the full campaign and set of minigames. While the layouts are the exact same, everything is retextured for a smoother look. The only glaring omission is the Director's Mode, which originally allowed you to replay a mission with custom camera angles, which developer Gameloft claimed would not have translated well to the platform, and instead wanted a fully-functioning, complete product.

The port also gave them the chance to tweak some of the more dated aspects of the game. While the campaign remains intact, a casual mode makes the police less aggressive, the car harder to destroy, and provides additional leeway for time-intensive missions. Most importantly, it makes the car park training mission actually possible by cutting out the stunts and only shows you the basics. Three radio stations with in-house produced rock, disco and 'oldies' music can be accessed, and the mission selection area has become far more streamlined with the use of touch selection. There is also a GPS route finder for maps and auto-saving checkpoints, too.

In fact, the only area left untouched was the driving mechanics, with Gameloft saying it was surprised at how well they stand up today. It uses the same game engine, hosting a realistic set of physics for crashes that send cars spiralling and suspension bouncing, and an impressive draw distance and on-screen population of traffic. Running red lights still attracts the attention of the Kamikaze police, and every alleyway is filled with a pile of boxes to smash through. Owners of a 3GS or 3rd generation iPod Touch will experience smoother framerates and less texture clipping, but the developer ensures that it will handle fine on older devices.

Three control schemes are included, such an initially alien but quickly intuitive tilt control, as well as an on-screen d-pad or analogue stick. The simplicity in the controls ensure the translation to a touch-only device is an easier one, and while they seem to hold up well in quick play tests, how they'll handle in the later missions with chaotic chases remains to be seen. The developer was also happy to admit there is no multiplayer or social networking features, which they felt would spoil the single-player experience of the original.

The iPhone version of Driver is very much the same game that dazzled us back in 1999, but presented in a much more sleek and well-rounded manner. How the controls perform over long play sessions will be crucial, as will the gameplay itself, which was heralded for its branching, diverse missions but also being notably difficult in places. Gameloft are clearly crafting a remake that plays real homage to the original, and we can't wait to hightail it across Miami once again, especially on the bus.

Driver will be released for iPhone and iPod Touch in December.