Driver 3 (DRIV3R) review - ColourShed

[@sXeVaker]

There's NO doubt, this game was rough around the edges but it had a certain charm about it that made it special in its own way. It's easy to brush off the graphics now but back then this game / the environments looked great on Xbox, the driving physics were on point and the Director mode was tons of fun to mess with.

[@Petersonmgee]

Totally agree

[@Mahoromatic]

DPL was more fun than 3, and that was a bargain bin game. Many great moments in this game's NYC. Wish they had kept director mode.

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

@@Mahoromatic TBH I didn't have nearly as much fun with Parallel lines. It may have had more content on paper, with its numerous side missions, but IMO the driving model wasn't as good, not really bad, just boring. The NYC map was bigger than all of Driv3r's maps combined, but seemed a lot more samey. Nearly evety road in PL is just 2 or 3 lanes each direction. Driv3r had a lot more small windey roads and highways with interchange complex intersections. The AI for NPC drivers felt about the same across the board in PL lines too, they'd pretty much go the same speed and the same lane possition anywhere in the city. In 3 it felt like they had a bit more freedom, sometimes even driving around you if blocked the road as opposed to just sitting there and honking non-stop.

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

bought to go sleep, writinh KZbin commebts after sleeping pill was bad plan, the screne i wave. Me look in,morning how bad it lok.

[@SuperGeronimo999]

If we're being honest, the graphics and and driving physics were a lot better than on GTA San Andreas. And just for the record, i love both games.

[@evanhanley6437]

Despite this game being unfinished, I love playing it. Its a lot of fun. That soundtrack is incredible.

[@Hectrrod]

And the cutscenes and story were great IMO.

[@wheatthinn]

I still give the intro/main menu song a listen every once in a while, it's so good.

[@Dunbie_]

Every single bit of music in this game is amazing. Especially the Free Ride mode music in all the different times of day and cities. Still go back and listen to them every so often.

[@fnd2583]

The game was finished actually, just lacks polish in non driving sections.

[@acidocloridrico9168]

@@Dunbie_ That menu track and Destiny by Syntax were amazing

[@nightmoodandy9146]

We need a remake. The cinematic " Heat like" feel of this game is still unmatched.

[@fnd2583]

I like the graphics of this game as is, but it would be great if the on foot part got finished.

[@AMANAPLANACANALPANTS]

i think io did a better job capturing that Heat-like feel with Kane and Lynch

[@fnd2583]

@@AMANAPLANACANALPANTS one did for shooting and the other did for driving.

[@kasrakh86]

It would be very interesting if Ubisoft would make a remastered version of this game. Do a proper justice to this game

[@SeriousDragonify]

​@@kasrakh86Lmao they wouldnt. Remaster does nothing. Have you seen AC3 Remastered version?

[@ix-badsport-xix7433]

I don’t care how bad of a rep or the perception people have on this game, it was my intro to the PS2 and quite possible had the most impact on me as a kid. This was my San Andreas so to speak, a hidden gem that has been lost due to time.

[@Jupex]

Hidden gem xD You funny!

[@SammEater]

Me too friend at the time I bought my PS2 after coming out from the PS1 it was definitelly mindblowing how big and detailed Driver 3 was.

[@ix-badsport-xix7433]

@@Jupex Well in today’s standards it is for a sandbox game, all that people seem to talk about is GTA Online or GTA 6.

[@razumijinatreides4691]

Me too, it was one of the first ps2 games that I played and it blow my mind.

[@fnd2583]

@@Jupex It was well know, but at the same time people forgot about this game and some people only bring it up to talk about useless journalism (PR) drama.

[@TheLeggedOne]

Driv3r is one of my guilty pleasure games. It may be a broken mess, but I keep coming back to it

[@sirishant]

This game and True Crime NYC made up a big part of my childhood. Despite their PR nightmares, they'll always have a place in my heart for helping me get through countless hours of boredom.

[@spiderjerusalem8284]

Also this game had a really strong influence from Michael Mann´s movies. The intro cutscene with the massive shootout and the flashing back to Miami with that shot of Tanner looking out of his window with the blue sky really took a lot of inspiration from several scenes of Heat.

[@alkap91]

man that movie inspired so many other movies, games and even real crimes like the north hollywood shootout

[@MarkVinewood]

This game had so much potential and despite its indisputable flaws I still look back fondly on it because of nostalgia. If you look at the cutscenes, the voice acting and the soundtrack, this game is made like a movie and the story itself is also quite matching. I just wish the gameplay itself could hold up to the same level.

[@fnd2583]

I played Driv3r 2 times recently and i can attest that it is a great game with great graphics, no nostalgia required.

[@pudie8952]

Reflections was really good with scenes and stories like this. The whole Driver series could 100% be movies without any actual major differences to fit the movie style. Gotta give props to Reflections for that, the games excel at what would never become better out of technology evolution

[@slobodancvejic7942]

Graphics were bad for 2004 you had like a bunch of better looking games at the time, even GTA San Andreas looks better.

[@chilldragon4752]

Gotta love when KZbin doesn't push me notifications even when I turn the bell on. Luckily still caught this video early. Anyway played this a ton as a kid and remember my friends and I using the record feature and watching them together.

[@peacekeeper3154]

Same. Had no idea he uploaded until now.

[@marcusjohnson7441]

I remember trying to make short films. 3 hours equaled epic 30 secs of chase glory..lol In video editor

[@M1tZk1]

I don't know whether it was me, but you have to turn the bell on "all" from "personalised"

[@M1tZk1]

@Cardboard Homestar well... if you're subscribed to 200+ channels it gets messy and still won't show every new video.

[@Yungbeck]

Same ?? :/

[@spiderjerusalem8284]

Possibly my favourite bad game, it had so much soul thrown in it, the plot was nice, the cast was simply perfect, the soundtrack is really memorable, the marketing including the live-action trailer... Makes me think what could have been without all the development hell and scandals it had. . . . Also, the PC version is nice if you find it illegally out there and it has a unique mission in Miami that didn´t make it to the other platforms due to tech limitations.

[@beegyoshi6525]

The PC version is very difficult to run on a modern computer tho, it wouldn't work without a virtual machine for me

[@zombie-2358]

@@beegyoshi6525 wdym?? It runs perfectly on my modern gaming laptop. Runs over 500 fps and has no bugs. (You may need to set Compatibility mode to Windows XP)

[@blakecooper669]

Oh hey it's you

[@emptyog1266]

Nope, the Miami mission 'The Hit' (the one only on PC) is not on other console cuz they don't have enough development time (PS2 and Xbox version released earlier than PC version, which make sense since that they only got time to make it work in PC version). There's also a lot of mission that didn't make it into the final game, which was believed due to the limited time they can work on the game (since Atari pushed them to release it early)

[@spiderjerusalem8284]

@@emptyog1266 Oohhh, interesting, I thought it was due to technical issues considering how long it was, the amount of hostile NPCs and scripted explosions. But yeah, didn´t know the PC version came out later.

[@TheLifesach33z]

It wasn't even that good... but that Free ride mode... with the driving physics and the way your car just flipped over at the slightest turn or jump made it even better for me. I loved that game! Edit: the driving physics were why I got addicted to this game when I was younger and is why I prefer GTA IV over V. I loved driving around and crashing my car. Physics are almost everything to me in a driving game. If they aren't good, it's not worth it in my eyes.

[@Twiskoxo]

Free ride and finding the go cart on track with that Timmy vermicelli🖤

[@SavageMontreal]

Exactly. The physics are what makes you want to push the car to it's limit and see what it's capable of.

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

Same thoughts here. Spent countless hours sending cars off the ramps on the Beach in Nice just to watch them tumble. I agree with you on GTA IV vs GTA V too, heck I never even finished V, the driving was so boring, and I'll be honest, the shooting sections gave me a lot of trouble too with how agressive and aimbot the AI is.

[@Twiskoxo]

@@scottthewaterwarrior itd be sick if you could some how get coop on driv3r so you could drive with a friend and get into some nice chases and jumps🙂

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

@@Twiskoxo One person drives, the other shoots? Yeah, that would be pretty fun. Driver San Fransisco on Wii actually works kinda like that: player two controls a pointer they can shoot enemies with using a variety of weapons. The Wii version should have had a different name though, it is totally different from the other versions of Driver SF, but still quite good, even more impressive given it was developed on significantly less powerful hardware and probably had 1/10th the budget of its bigger console counterparts.

[@SavageMontreal]

16:10 I remember it took me so long to finish this final shoot out in the street, trying to run and gun or snipe them out. Out of frustration, I just decided to run through them as they shot me from all sides, only to find them disappearing from my sight as it spawned a new set of enemies up ahead. This happened again and again as I realized the street was dotted with spawn points, and since the game could only hold so many characters on screen, each new spawn removed the last, eliminating the threat. When I got round the corner where Jericho was, he stood in one place, mindlessly shooting at me, but only hitting the bin I was using for cover. I just stood there firing back at him, hitting him in the head until he died. It was one of the most pathetic gaming moments I have ever had. In saying that, I still loved the game, and spent quite a bit of time enjoying it (Reflections really know how to make a driving game). The cars and damage were great, and the replay editor was amazing. On Xbox, you could play your own custom music and sync the edit of your escapades to the song of your liking. It was awesome.

[@fnd2583]

Yeah what where they thinking putting the awful on foot shooting in the finale, should have stuck to the cinematic.

[@n64fan60]

Great review. I had Driver 3 on my Xbox. I remember thinking that while it was kind of janky in some ways (mostly the on-foot stuff), the driving aspect of the game was clearly superior to GTA3 and Vice City. That era of GTA games has a "toy-like" quality to the graphics. Everything looks like a miniature. Driver 3 actually went for a more realistic look, and achieved some impressive stuff on that front for sixth-generation game. The surface-level detail was on-point. As you say though, GTA has little details, people doing things, etc. Driver 3 is barren lol.

[@Don_Ramiro]

Even Driver 1 and 2 beats by a mile every ps2 GTA in terms of driving physichs and car damage. Even nowadays, other modern titles could learn a thing or two from them.

[@crazeguy26]

i remember this game being janky and broken mess this kind of salty over have my dad spending $50 for it this mess.

[@Visstnok]

There's always the Timmy Vermicellis...

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

For the stealth mission, headshots actually _do_ kill in one hit, however the aiming curser doesn't match when looking up/down, so you have to aim about a head and a half above the guard on the steps.

[@TyCal_]

I absolutely love this game. I know it’s not good and even as a kid I could tell it was clearly unfinished but god damn there’s something about this games style and atmosphere that I’ve come to love more and more as I’ve gotten older.

[@Twiskoxo]

Absolutely, As a kid the driving physics amazed me

[@zombie-2358]

I retried playing and I enjoy it so much. Works perfectly on new hardware too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6LYkGunfshoe8k

[@AS-bc9qd]

The graphics had many bugs, but overall were among the best graphics on PS2 and Xbox. Also the soundtrack was amazing and what people tend to forget about: Jericho is one of the coolest villains in game history. And why do people always compare Driver to GTA? Both have a different approach.

[@SweatyCowch]

This is my most played xbox game. Hours upon hours were spent and none of it was with the campaign. Im glad to see I wasnt missing out. I was fascinated with exploring the cities and excited when i discovered secrets; like the go kart track Miami. Reflecting on it now and you're right, it felt like exploring the set of a movie rather than a city.

[@JL3001]

Been waiting for this review! I remember being SO hyped for this game in 2004, meticulously looking online for new updates and screenshots, but the poor reviews and San Andreas coming out shortly after warded me away. I fell in love with the game's soundtrack though, and artists like Slo Mo (Boy From The City) and Syntax (Destiny) from the game I still listen to these days.

[@paulclynes9865]

Always thought this got an overly harsh reception, the shooting was iffy but the driving was good + the maps were great, Nice + Istanbul were such different places for an open world game to choose and it made it feel so fresh. Games like this are why I despair at people who defend buggy releases nowadays though, this wasn't even as bad as some big name titles of the past few years have been but it was considered unacceptable by the standards of 20 years + 3 console generations ago.

[@kylesoler4139]

I wish the Driver IP was brought back. I quite liked Driver SF. Maybe go for a reboot but still with licenced vehicles. Maybe go for a Mafia style of Open world. have the game somewhat being linear to avoid the usual Ubisoft formula and making it unique from other Ubi Openworld games.

[@HChun-wd6mz]

It's always a treat when ColourShed uploads a new video!! Appreciate your hard work man! Much love

[@Alexp37]

Awesome review. I actually did finish and bought this one new back then. No regrets. I saw all its faults, but still loved it.

[@samz8691]

One annoying weird issue with on-foot is that third/first person have different sensitivities, first person is much faster turning than third. Close-Combat is easier in first person due to this but the game never tells you.

[@StronkiTube]

I can't stop praising this channel for it's amazing dedication to doing research around the history of the games' development. True quality!

[@HPA97]

I grew up with this game and I loved it, especially with its mood and atmosphere. What a shame with all the issues surrounding it along with it being unfinished.

[@mikef55]

I feel like it's one of those "if you know.. you know" type of games. On the surface yeah it looks pretty bad, but my lord this was easily top 3 on the PS2 for me

[@1994CPK]

This was my favorite game back in the day, awesome graphics and a good plot. Now I don't know if I can go back to it even though it would be fun to kill everyone on the yacht again.

[@rglover444]

Ready to be saddened because i LOVED THIS GAME As a kid regardless of its shortcomings. Hours upon hours worth of good times had with my brother...I miss it...Simpler times... (Saddened because MOST PEOPLE think the game was awful)

[@SuperGeronimo999]

Man, these graphics blown my mind back in the day. It almost made GTA look like a PS1 game... also the driving physics were way superior. Also damage models... IIRC they had little details like bullet holes in cars too, which GTA didn't have.

[@patrickhunter]

Still to this day, Driv3r seriously has one of the BEST soundtracks I've ever heard

[@PlethoraYT]

Even if you don’t see this, I just want to say your reviews are just simply amazing. Been a sub for around a year now and your channel is of the highest quality.

[@chaseburman3800]

There must be a lot of planning and time that goes into these reviews. This is a seriously underrated channel. Keep up the great work!

[@AK-lw2jw]

Great video as always! The driver series was a big part of my childhood. I look forward to when you get around to reviewing driver parallel lines and its psp port/prequel; driver 76. Both of the games are near copies of eachother but its interesting to see how they tried to mask that up, and I believe you'll get a kick out of it if you play them back to back, which shouldnt be an issue since I remember beating driver 76 twice in one day on multiple ocasions as a kid since its only about 2 hours long.

[@ninochaosdrache3189]

I remember how much I abused the third person quirk of being able to shoot through walls and how much tries I needed for Carlita's chase mission. Aside from that, I played the game a lot as a kid, but even then, I thought that it was a letdown.

[@dantesk8]

this game had unmatcheable vibes forreal i remember every city felt so different from one another and immersed at that time

[@lenny0347]

I finished Driv3r multiple times and loved every moment of it.

[@SwampFox178]

Im going to be brutally honest here. I grew up with GTA VC and San Andreas but my good friend till this day showed me this game. As soon as I started playing as a kid I just felt a very different feeling than GTA and just absolutely fell in love. The soundtrack I can still listen to just randomly whenever because its SO GOOD. Sometimes I still play the game but in my adulthood I see how its very much unfinished and the control on foot is atrocious but something deep down in me makes me really love and enjoy this game for everything it is. I enjoy deleting my save so I can go kill the mockery of Tommy Vercetti again all over Miami and the other maps. I know it doesnt have day and night cycles but changing the time of day and having the music change just pulls me so far in and I love it. The story is decent and I will load up the first mission just to hear that beautiful beautiful song..... just brings peace and light to me. This game will forever be something I defend when I hear about it negatively and its not just nostalgia. Its a preview to how the gaming world today is minus them being able to patch it by updates and im fine with how the game is. Hoping one day modders or a true fan base can fix this game to its true glory on PC or something...

[@MrRodrigues520]

The soundtrack is amazing

[@Mach_Style]

Hey man. Just wanted to say thank you for bringing me back to my childhood. Spent the last 4 hours or so watching countless reviews of all these games that I have throw so many hours too. Really makes me want to break out my PS2 and play them again. Looking forward to more like Flatout *hint hint* lol

[@RacingVideoGames]

I suggest you still review Parallel Lines as well, if you didn't plan to already! My favourite in the series. Although in comparison San Francisco obviously is great too, and holds up better today.

[@JWUniverse]

I can’t wait for the Driver TV Series in Development by Ubisoft hopefully to a Streaming Service we have because I never heard of Binge Gaming Streaming Service!

[@mattferrara6312]

Man. This was my game daily!!! All the drivers for the ps2. Even the one in the 70s. Was dope too. Remake these!!

[@darexas1602]

Played this on PC. Quite hard to control the car with a keyboard but once I plugged my steering wheel, it was insanely fun. Play on PC, use any kind of analog input, switch to first person camera and just enjoy the game.

[@SweatyCowch]

HOLY CRAP YES! Been hoping you'll review this. I can't watch right but soon! Added to watched later. I am excite!

[@melodicatofficial3065]

Love your work dude it's always a vibe watching reviews from you when they come out. I grew up on this game because my parents said I wasn't allowed to play grand theft auto....but they never said I couldn't play Driv3r. 🤷‍♂️ Poor man's GTA

[@ClellBiggs]

I played it on the Xbox and enjoyed it. I don't remember having many issues. It wasn't a great game but I was engaged enough to finish it. I even killed all the Tommy Vercetti clones. I also use the right thumbstick for gas/brake when the option is available. ; )

[@Slosten]

I streamed the entire game for my friends a few years ago, and it's even worse on PC than on console. I had to choose between using KB&M with astronomically high mouse sensitivity (even after reducing my DPI to 400), or a controller with the slowest analog stick sensitivity I've ever experienced. I ended up using the controller for driving and switching to KB&M on foot because the analog sensitivity made it genuinely impossible to play any combat sequences. The game was an absolute chore to finish, especially that awful attempt at forcing the player into platforming using a forklift, but I'm glad I completed it for one simple reason: it made me appreciate Parallel Lines even more than I already did. Seriously, I despise Driv3r, but I think Parallel Lines is an underrated gem. It still has janky on foot combat, but it has much less of it than Driv3r, with the majority of the missions focusing on what the series is known for: driving. It's also not as janky as its predecessor, mostly thanks to switching to hard lock auto aim similar to the GTA games of the same era, though it is still absolutely the weakest aspect. The story was far more interesting to me than Driv3r's extremely forced attempt at a cliche rivalry, and the era shift halfway through the story still feels very unique to this day. As I mentioned at the beginning, the gameplay primarily focuses on the driving, and I think the handling and vehicle physics still hold up even against modern competitors like GTA V. And, unlike Driv3r, it actually feels like a finished product. To me, PL feels like what 3 would've been in a perfect world, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that considers themselves a fan of the franchise.

[@blakecooper669]

I only like it for the story. I just don't think it's better then three imo

[@shinkansenhype8694]

Thank you for doing a video on this. This game here was my childhood

[@mikef55]

Tbh this game was a freeroam godsend, I never really did the missions.. there was just so much to do in the map, secret locations, vehicles, enemies. Me and my mates used to put this game on & take it in turns causing havoc & finding all the secrets and stuff. Sure, it was pretty buggy and incomplete but that was all part of its charm :)

[@suntannedduck2388]

Good review. Never played a Driver game (heard of them) but always interested to see what you upload regardless. Looking forward to the Stuntman review. Only ever played Stuntman Ignition but even still what a concept to use vehicles and a fun game.

[@Dr.Choice]

I don't even care about half the games you review, you just make them worthwhile and I always learn something watching these videos.

[@fritztm9261]

I’m just seeing this video hasn’t even started yet but from the US thank you for reviewing a game so integral to my childhood. This being rated T allowed my parents to buy it for me. I already know it’s going to get roasted because it sucks, I learned that much later in life, but man that vehicle damage at the time was the best looking thing my little 4th grade mind ever saw. I would just crash cars in the stunt cam. I want to replay it as an adult but man really thank you thank you so much.

[@ACESN1]

Yes rough and probably didn’t complete it but loved this game as a kid and others like The Getaway games, True crime & GTA’s

[@WhiteJarrah]

As a fan of the _Driver_ series, I was always shocked about the _Driv3rGate_ scandal and glitch videos. Mine was purchased in Australia in 2004. Although occasionally my car would run into an invisible wall and the on-foot levels could have used some polish and refinement, my copy of the game was nowhere near as glitchy as some KZbin videos made it out to be. I know the Australian release came later, not sure if they had time to fix the bugs in our version, but seeing the number of glitch videos posted for the longest time I thought the _Driv3rGate_ scandal was a hoax.

[@marcusjohnson7441]

The intro sound from OG Driver hit a special place I can only show you on a little teddy bear.

[@RedMo46]

Wondered where you went... youtube unsubbed me. No idea why... glad to see youre still around makin sick reviews ✌️

[@TheLukesterGaming]

Admittedly I never really did playthrough the main Story of Driv3r D: 😅 instead I mainly just played around in Free Drive/Ride mode, having fun driving all sorts of cars around, getting into high speed pursuits/shootouts and just generally exploring the maps too, especially given the neat 'Easter Eggs'/references to things you could find and secret areas/modes that could be unlocked too from completing stuff!🤯 most especially that 'Infinite Mass Mode' in Istanbul, you could literally hit a bus head on with a Motor Scooter and watch the bus go flying away down the road!😂 It was also great playing around with the Replay camera editing and making cinematic crash montages, like throwing cars off the big ramp in Nice and seeing how far they would roll/tumble down to the beach!😂 But yeah that aside, I had no idea about that whole 'Driv3r Gate Scandal' or such regarding it's early unfinished release and coverup aftermath😮 though maybe I've heard about it somewhere before...🤔 but either way, this still made for a great overall video of a game that was a childhood classic!😎👍👏

[@jeffreywhaley6462]

Bro, your stuff is so high quality, I wish I could contribute to your patreon. Keep going! Do your best!

[@WebstersYouTube]

I've been watching your reviews for a while but haven't commented before. As a Brit, it's interesting seeing an Australian take on things. You get the same PAL versions of games (bar some extra censorship now and then) but in a slightly different context. It gives your videos a familiar yet different feeling, it's really bizarre. Case in point, the Drivergate scandal sounds similar to what I remember experiencing, but I think the magazines involved might have been different. At any rate, keep up the good work.

[@budaroddy]

The music! What a blast from the past Remember the Dodge Island theme? Or the one in Impress Lomaz

[@holladaycubed]

I fondly remember swimming up the stairs and you could just continue swimming thru the city because the game was so broken but I loved it when I was a kid lol

[@S93H794]

Driver 1 and 2 will always be in m heart it's what lot of us 90s kids grow up with, i will never forget the siren sound and hitting the light poles behind me 😄

[@beatingstuff88]

Im so glad you did this game after suggesting it on patreon :D but this was one of my childhood games, i dont know if you played it on pc or an emulator, but i dont recall it looking like that on my native ps2

[@lesclaypoolonbass9431]

I remember liking this game back in the day. Knew it wasn't as good as GTA but it was pretty cool

[@SuperGeronimo999]

Well, at the very least it had better graphics and better driving physics (and damage models) than GTA.

[@lesclaypoolonbass9431]

@@SuperGeronimo999 ya it did

[@dominator-tc8ik]

Oh hell yeah, Stuntman was brutal but stupidly fun. Can't wait for that review.

[@nobel11]

I bought this when it came out, but barely remember playing it. I do remember having fun with director mode, spending hours making cool car chases and whatnot. I also remember trying to watch one later, loading it up and discovering that all the city traffic was randomly generated each time, so my car was driving into cars that weren't there when I recorded the gameplay, totally ruining my little movie I spent all that time one. Oh, Atari....

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

That's strange, I never had that issue myself, made several movies and the traffic was always the same each time. In fact, the only issues I ran into were the director mode only recording the first ~5 minutes of gameplay (and not telling you), and having to make sure you turn on any cheats you had on when you recorded it. For a long time I thought my epic masterpiece chase was glitched out and ruined, but it seems the cars still loose health in replays and I had infinate health on when I first filmed it.

[@olegcrysis1]

I loved Driv3r because Tanner was voiced by Michael Madsen. The guy has a great voice (Daud from Dishonored, Toni from GTA 3)

[@BiIlDipperIy]

I LOVED driver parallel lines. Can't wait for that one to come up. Totally forgot until I saw the comment mentioning it.

[@1598hi]

This game had a MASSIVE impact on me as a kid. I even remember as an adult in 2016, going to Miami and walking along the ocean in the golden sunset and hearing C'Mon Try A Little Bit by Mellowdrone playing in my head. Definitely extremely rough in form but wow they really nailed it with the vibe and cinematics. I always felt that this were to be made into a movie, it would have been a blockbuster success. Hollywood is dead and really the gaming industry is now as well, but I can still dream. I still play this game on occasion.

[@d-d-i]

Been playing this again after more than a decade, and all I have to say is that when you max it out on PC and do additional tweaks to it, the nights on every city are spectaculary good looking for 2004 game. Alongside the driving physics, music, voice acting and cutscenes, the work on the maps is truly stunning.

[@melthegiraffe]

I'm 26 and I remember this game for the original Xbox....I absolutely loved this game and spend alot of time playing it. My favorite thing was hitting the white button on the Xbox controller and it made your car drive in slow mo and cinematic camera angles when you crashed/jumped....I miss this game. Still haven't seen a game utilize the option for the PLAYER to choose when to slow mo.

[@floydframpton]

Loved Driver 3 but then I played Parallel lines and that game is the hidden gem that always gets forgotten about! Such a cool concept for a story to be told!

[@r-2-the-y.a.n100]

I remember playing this wayyy back in '08 and loving the graphics, it was so good. Playing it on the weekends with my older brother, searching for those special vehicles was just the best. I'd love to see all the titles remastered one day by Ubisoft 💙

[@fawncashew]

I think Driver 3 and Parallel lines were my most played games, since i was never allowed to have any GTA game (although i was allowed to play them, mostly Vice city, at my cousins house when we visited once or twice a year), and honestly i wish i could get some of the imagination i had when i played these ones back. I don't think i ever completed a single mission in Driver 3, despite playing in free roam for a few years, and i mostly only free roamed in Parallel lines, although i do remember doing some of the missions

[@zombie-2358]

I also played GTA games but i actually enjoyed Driver games more. They had better story and soundtrack which meant a lot for me.

[@SunLevi]

Played this alot when I was a kid, loved the menu theme too.

[@HookupCultureCommunity]

This game has the greatest soundtrack of all time. Of all time.

[@Space_Reptile]

man i love Driv3r, dont care if it has bugs, it was fun

[@haroonabassi1821]

I cant help but notice how much Tanner sounds and looks in certain scenes like Vic Mackey from The Shield but with hair. They must have been going for that vibe.

[@rsb363]

This was one of my favourite games growing up. The settings were amazing flying up ramps in a lambo replica in nice was a highlight

[@mattfloyd3347]

I absolutely loved this game growing up. But it did not age well at all. Same with the stuntman game. That one has aged a little better but such such a good game. I would highly recommend playing the sequel, stuntman ignition on Xbox 360z well worth a play even today

[@TranscendentalAirwaves]

Personally I was 14 when this came out and I'd bought and played both of the previous games (my mother wouldn't let me buy a GTA game because of it's reputation with suggestive content. lol) and man I absolutely loved it, the glitches made it funny as fuck. My father, and my sister would also take goes in the free drive mode just launching vehicles in Istanbul. There's a sunken park that is just perfect and you can get some absurd air. lol We would just laugh our asses off. It's a shame Ubisoft will likely never remake this one because it definitely had that movie vibe down, a lot of the cutscenes and characters are just iconic not to mention as you stated they were voiced by actual famous voices.

[@jk-474]

My first M-Rated game that I played back in 2004-05 (I would’ve been 5-6 at that time), my older cousin brought it over and I used to LOVE this game! Parallel Lines took every failure with this and fixed it for the most part, but this was MY GTA before I was allowed to have it. As a 22, nearly 23 year old adult now who’s been playing the 3D trilogy and IV since 2008, I NOW see why this game was being bashed so badly around the time that I saw it as flawless, with San Andreas dropping the same year that was IMPOSSIBLE competition, I definitely play Vice City and San Andreas, even 3 more than I play Driv3r. It has its problems, but to me, even against an unbeatable triforce of fun with the 3D GTAs, I’ll never forget this one and it’ll always have a special place in my mind and heart. Play it if you haven’t already, it’s decent enough especially for the right price, but do NOT expect GTA unless you’re playing Parallel Lines🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@DA2THFA1RY]

I remember when my best mate brought this over to my house when we were young and we played this because I didn't own GTA at the time. It's one of those nostalgic guilty pleasure games for me, good times were had

[@CraigyGInDaHut1993]

I absolutely loved this game when it game out. I remember playing it from morning to night with no real gaps. I had really bloodshot eyes afterwards but still loved it

[@dave93x]

I loved this game growing up. Back at the age when any issues a game has are pretty much invisible to you. I loved walking around his house in Miami and the damage models. I loved the Tommy Vercetti 18 wheeler Easter egg and the actual driving physics. Would love to play the trilogy again at some point (I have 1&2 and my PS1 still but it's hooking it all up again). Never played San Francisco. Avoided that because of the disembodied approach they took to it. Did not look like a Driver game to me. Also to your question about the graphics, the original Xbox version was not that jagged and was honestly pretty good looking.

[@Robdoesguitar]

I never knew the voice actors on this were A list? Loved this game tbh

[@holyboy1]

From what I understood at the time is they spent too much time polishing the graphics, the end result was it had an overall sheen to it. I remember when it looked more rough, and I actually preferred that to what we got. You can find images online of what it used to look like. Tanner was also originally dressed in a black suit/ tuxedo like he was in Driver 2. They made him look more casual. For all its wrong doings, it was quite a special game for me at the time. Even to this day it's still a fun game to play, as are the other Driver games in the series, thanks to the car handling and car physics.

[@NikateeN]

Driv3r was one of my favorite games during the PS2 era.

[@AMANAPLANACANALPANTS]

the game really had a lot of modern gameplay conventions that were ahead of its time. 3rd person console control scheme, open-world, great environmental physics. it really looks quite impressive for being nearly 20 years old. god i’m old

[@AstralFrost]

Excellent review. I was heartbroken with this game. I remember pre-ordering it from Blockbuster after having followed its development closely. Sadly, it was unplayable for me. It seemed to have major framerate issues. I ended up returning it for that reason. There were other issues with the game, which you outlined here. I have to say that they should have added at least one more perspective to the car camera. I say the original Driver is the best of them.

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

I love Driv3r, sure it is a broken glitchy mess, but it's a broken glitchy mess _with a replay editor!_ I could crash cars in this game all day, spent hours just exploring the city and trying to find different things to try and barrel roll a dump truck off of.

[@henrik1743]

I played the crap out of this game as a 10 year old, I switched it with a friend for my Midnight Club 3 Dub edition on PS2 because I didn't like that game so much and it was difficult compared to NFS Most wanted. I wasn't allowed GTA San Andreas until I was 12. So I treated this game like it was GTA and drove around. I loved shooting out the headlights and feeling like someone that was sneaking around with my headlights turned off. The soundtrack for the first miami edition during the sunrise is a classic that I listen to sometimes durring the summer when the sun rises so early. Shamed the whole driv3rgate thing and that this game was so rushed and...bad... but it still had its moments. You can't play it on the Phat 60GB version, I can't get past the first mission because the cops keep crashing everywhere.

[@ev4n5eli0n01]

Played this game a lot in period, was a huge fan of the first and second games and loved this game despite its shortcomings and despite sinking many hours into the GTA games. This game just had a totally different vibe to it and I loved just wheeling around the maps.

[@HazyJ28]

This game DEFINED my childhood. I will never forget the wonder I felt while I held it in my hands Christmas morning, something like 2004-2005. I waited for my brother to be done with the PS2 bc he got his own game. I imagined what the game would be like while I read the manual. My dad wouldn't let me play GTA. I guess he wanted to be the only source of violence in the house.

[@JCourts2k23]

I remember playing this series and loving them all

[@AJ6spd]

The theme song of driv3r was so good

[@reziko53]

I actually remember too, Driv3r ads on bus stops in Berlin. 🤯

[@explorinjenkins349]

The vehicle physics in this game were top notch for its time. I remember trying to smash the cars enough to were they were still drivable yet unrecognizable. Then I hit a wall too hard and a tire fell off. Boy, that summer break was full of car carnage. The story wasn't bad either, it was nice to see Tanner and Jones back. I thought Jericho was the coolest bad guy for the longest time, he had the trench coat and two sawed offs, pretty frigging cool.

[@xMikeDezzyx421]

Mannnn, I will NEVER forget the first time I played driver on ps1. "X"was regular drive and "O" was the burnout button

[@jimmyrolls37]

Finishing this game was a proud moment of my teenage years. The game had the foundation for something great, and I think Reflections could have hit that mark if not for Atari's bs. This is a game I can't help but love going back to, and it always drives me crazy thinking about how great it could have turned out

[@zerointv6304]

I love ur content man! Takes me back to these glorious games. Please make a Socom US Navy Seals review! That be awesome.

[@mercy1441]

This game was and still is incredible Replayed it over n over in my early teens tbh wouldn’t mind trying it again..