Play Driver: You Are the Wheelman Online

Summary

Driver: You Are the Wheelman lets you tear through four iconic American metropolises—Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York—each rendered as a loose, open‑world playground. A hidden bonus district, Newcastle, pays homage to Reflections Interactive’s hometown, though it offers no missions and a tiny map.
The game’s DNA is pure cinema: series creator Martin Edmonson lifted the opening tutorial straight from a chase scene in the 1978 film The Driver, and even staged a wreck‑yard demolition with a JCB to capture the crunch of twisted metal. Those gritty sound effects give the crashes a visceral punch that still feels fresh on the PS1.
Critics and gamers alike drove the title to commercial success, pushing sales past one million within weeks and eventually topping four million worldwide, netting roughly $150 million. It snagged Best Racing Game at E3 ’99, landed on IGN’s Top 25 PlayStation Games, and earned finalist nods from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Reviewers praised its blend of arcade fun and realistic handling, calling it a dream for any driving enthusiast.
Yet the same ambition made the opening tutorial and the final showdown notoriously brutal, cementing Driver’s reputation on many “hardest PS1 games” lists. Its steep learning curve only adds to the nostalgic bragging rights for anyone who finally masters the wheel.

Storyline

In Driver: You Are the Wheelman, NYPD detective and former race driver John Tanner is pulled into an undercover assignment by Lieutenant McKenzie. He heads to Miami, proves his skill in a parking‑garage stunt, and becomes the getaway driver for a local crime crew. After a series of jobs he meets the pimp Rufus, rescues Rufus’s associate Jean‑Paul, and learns the syndicate’s leader, Castaldi, is operating out of San Francisco.

Tanner follows the trail to Los Angeles, where Castaldi plans to assassinate FBI agent Bill Maddox; the plot is foiled and a police ambush forces Tanner to protect the gangsters. He later discovers Castaldi’s partnership with political hopeful Don Hancock and a corrupt FBI agent, Marcus Vaughn, and learns the ultimate scheme: an assassination of the President.

When the moment arrives, Tanner defies orders, drives the President to safety, and watches as McKenzie offers his badge back. Suspicious of the police’s involvement, Tanner walks away, leaving his former life behind.