It's astonishing just how much Driver 2 Advance looks, feels, and plays like the PlayStation version of Driver 2. When Infogrames handed the project to Sennari Interactive, the company no doubt specified that the game should follow the same basic plot and mission setup of the popular PlayStation car crime simulator. The coders at Sennari have far exceeded expectations, however, and delivered a handheld driving game with a 3D perspective that is just as satisfying as its console counterpart.

Steal cars, avoid the cops, and make it to the destination.

The gist of Driver 2 is that you're a cop named Tanner who has to infiltrate a crime syndicate in order to stop the smuggling of illegal weapons into the United States. Rather quickly, you get a lead when the body of a small-time Brazilian thug turns up in Chicago full of holes. Since Chicago is the territory of crime boss Solomon Caine, it is his outfit that you must join with the purpose of sniffing out the overseas connection. The unique twist here is that you don't use Tanner's detective or marksmanship skills to accomplish your mission--you drive.

Driver 2 Advance is a mission-based driving game. To earn each successive piece of evidence, you need to drive stolen vehicles from point A to point B and accomplish the tasks Caine sets out for you. There are a variety of mission types, the majority of which involve snaking your way through the city, escaping the cops, and reaching a destination on time. Not all of them are so cut and dried, however--there are a few missions that involve tailing a target from a distance or ferrying passengers to multiple destinations within the city. The first half of the game is set in Chicago, with the later portions taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although the Game Boy Advance version of Driver 2 is missing the Vegas and Havana locations from the PlayStation version, the two included cities are still fairly large.

One of the coolest features of the game is that you can climb out of your car at any time and just steal another one right off the road. The cops get a little more suspicious each time you crash into something, so changing cars is a good way to lessen the heat. Another bonus from jacking a new ride is that you get a fresh car to drive, which helps in the missions where rival gangsters are trying to smash into you left and right. Another nice feature is the take a ride mode, which lets you wander both cities unfettered by objectives.

Walk around on foot and steal cars.

Compared to the controls in other handheld driving games, the controls in Driver 2 are basic. Nonetheless, they're more than adequate for this kind of game. The A and B buttons let you move forward or in reverse, while the R button enables you to enter or leave an idle vehicle. Most cars are of the heavy muscle variety, which means you have to swerve and skid through turns just as you would in an arcade-style racing game. Although there are only about 10 different vehicles copied repeatedly throughout both cities, they vary with respect to speed, handling, and toughness. Vans and large sedans can take a lot of punishment, but they're not very fast. Conversely, roadsters and police cars can cross five city blocks in mere seconds, but their turn radius and damage capacity are pathetic.

The simplicity of Driver 2 is one of its best assets. Weaving through traffic and avoiding the police is a basic game design that works really well on the Game Boy Advance. There are some missions that involve tense time limits or driving badly damaged vehicles full of explosives, but the game never strays too far from its pedal-to-the-metal roots. The real challenge comes from trying to discover the best path for each mission, which isn't always easy considering you're free to roam just about anywhere within the city.