Grand Theft Auto vs. Driver: Handheld Wars | Punching Weight [SSFF]

[@budal15]

Dude... Chinatown wars was released in 2009 while Liberty stories and Vice Stories were in 2005 and 2006 resepectively. So, GTA series did embrace 3D on a handheld just a year after Driv3r but not on Nintendo

[@Xegethra]

Driver also got a game on the PSP too, called Driver 76, picking up after Parallel Lines.

[@gtPacheko]

@@Xegethra and 76 is hella good

[@hprvideos1846]

Liberty City Stories wouldn't EVENTUALLY bring the modern GTA style to handhelds. That game came out 4 years before Chinatown Wars.

[@Protoman85]

Chinatown Wars wasn't really playing it safe in the regard that by that point regular 3D open world games were so the norm that going back to top down/overhead was in fact a risky move.

[@Thepopcornator]

I had the game. The visuals were impressive, but it wasn't a terribly fun game.

[@blank6477]

For DS, that's a slightly different story

[@MellowGaming]

Man, if I had seen Cop: The Recruit I probably would have ignored it. It looks, from the cover art, like one of them bargain bin wannabe games. But that is real impressive. Can't really think of much on the DS that managed 3D visuals like that.

[@StopSkeletonsFromFighting]

yes that cover and that name do it no favor's really. i don't i think i would've ever checked out that game if we hadn't been researching velez and debail's catalog

[@topsdaily_productions]

You are so wrong

[@LakoIsFun]

You forgot the PSP games. Driver 76...

[@Xegethra]

Yeah, they could have put it up against both PSP GTA games.

[@slickryder]

Dodd bobard Driver 76

[@richardreiter9789]

and liberty City Stories

[@TheMiniMaestroMan]

GTA Vice City stories would've CRUSHED Driver 76.

[@apollojustice5338]

Driver......76? OH GOD NO! NO! NOOOO! The number 76 is now cursed for me! *has flashbacks of Fallout 76*

[@Caparzoshow]

The title is wrong, this should be, GTA vs Driver on NINTENDO handhelds, if this was a true handheld battle, Vice city stories would win everything, that game is amazing..., not to mention that ubisoft also release a precuel to parallel lines exclusive for the psp called Driver 76, where is that battle? Still, i like the video, it made me wanna try out COPS Just the tittle is wrong

[@StopSkeletonsFromFighting]

the "city stories" games are basically just DLC. nothing wrong with that, but they're hardly original games. and outside of those, the only other non-nintendo games to cover would be driver '76. specifying "nintendo handheld" wouldn't have been that much more descriptive.

[@apollojustice5338]

So that means the stories games don't count. Well,they were only spinoffs after all.

[@ivanjinxgg7008]

@@StopSkeletonsFromFighting What? They have many differences

[@innoclarke7435]

@@StopSkeletonsFromFighting Uh... MAYBE that could be said about LCS, but VCS is the second most expansive GTA game from the PS2 era behind only San Andreas. It's more of a fully-fledged game than Vice City ever was. You're telling me that you didn't do a Dirver 76 and Vice City Stories comparison (the most apt comparison, considering 76 came out several months after VCS and both take place in the past) because you were too inept to play enough of VCS to know how big a fucking game it is? Embarrassing.

[@TyuErt]

"Basically just dlc" christ.

[@glitchedoom]

I would imagine Rockstar realized they could make a deeper, more focused game by staying well within a handhelds limits rather than pushing what they could do.

[@DontKnowNoSnakes]

Punching Weight is my new favorite SSFF series!

[@StopSkeletonsFromFighting]

hey, snakes!!

[@GatorRay]

I agree. Also Derek Kudos for adding more variety by launching two new series at the start of this year.

[@mattwolf7698]

Cop: The Recruit looks crazy good for a DS game. It almost looks like a Dreamcast game. It's even comparable to GTA: III.

[@davidsomoza]

Gba was a beast in capable developer hands. Doom, duke nukem, the iridion games... hek, just search in youtube "Quake - GameBoy Advance Tech Demo". Or even the resident evil 2 tech demo thats out there...

[@steamboshow606]

I love the obscure videos you're working on. It truly takes a lot of love to put as much time and effort into stuff like this as you do. Plus, 4:16 was amazing.

[@TheIzzyNobreShow]

Holy crap, love your channel. Insta sub.

[@diogenes26]

Não esperava encontrar um comentário seu aqui, "gameboy junkie"

[@GreatKoopa]

Pinball of the dead for GBA is one of my favorites and never talked about. Great video!

[@StopSkeletonsFromFighting]

hahaha, i'm not sure if it would really fit as a "punching weight" but it would be fun to look at pinball spin-offs. metroid, mario, house of the dead??? weird stuff but right up our alley!

[@wdcain1]

I loved this video! I can't believe I never heard of COP on DS, amazing what two dedicated programmers can pull off! For a future video, how about comparing portable fighters? They usually aren't that good (except for the ones on the NeoGeo Pocket) due to the lack of buttons but I absolutely love _Battle Arena Toshinden_ on GameBoy. It's an amazing game.

[@rkbrillant5265]

Man, you really deserve more subs. I love both of the series. My childhood! lol.

[@Gojiro7]

alot of this came off as really biased.

[@Level3BBC]

ikr driver with a clean slide and how he barley tried with gta it wasnt fair judgement

[@AdvancePlays]

Seems he cared about graphics over how the game actually plays

[@Xegethra]

That's the point though, its not about the fun factor, but what they managed to pack in. As somebody else commented "punching weight series is about technical ambition. Not actual game quality" David Restrepo

[@Rountree1985]

You obviously don’t see the point of these videos.

[@Fire-in-the-sky]

Are you stupid? You realise this isnt about which game is better right?

[@mightBeAtomic]

Really lovin' these these new Punching weight eps! I'm amazed the GBA can do half of what Velez and Dubail accomplished! As for a suggestion, what about a "I Can't Believe It's Not SNES" episode? Stunt Race FX and Faceball immediately come to mind for something like that, alongside some of the other Wacky Super FX & mode 7 heavy games.

[@AnonymousFrogNG]

Being the two legends they are, I placed overpriced bounties on their heads. Got a 50% discount!

[@sylentknyte]

Pete Dorr just brought up the point that Bubsy 3D isn't actually a bad game on his channel. I'd love to see an episode of "is it really that bad" on Bubsy 3D.

[@TechnoBacon]

sylentknyte Hey I used to watch your videos!

[@GameplayandTalk]

Those GBA Driver games definitely visually look impressive. It's not that seeing visual styles like that was uncommon on the system, but to get everything running so smoothly? That was rare.

[@dexthegamer3234]

if only you knew how badly these driver games suck

[@KawaiiFaceman]

good video, i always love to see these ambitious handheld ports

[@creddahornis]

Love your SSFF presentation (followed since the way early HVGN days), keep the good work up!

[@captainnintendo]

I would like to make an honorable mention of "Payback" on the GBA

[@MirroredFulfillment]

Having grown up with the likes of Driver 2 on the GBA while never having given Driv3r a shot on the same platform, seeing both games talked about at length here (as well as just seeing the latter in motion) was an honest treat! Learning about the highly skilled duo behind the production of D3 (among other titles) was also very enjoyable. Excellent video!

[@geniusofhate]

Just discovered your channel. Everytime I think I have exhausted youtube's supply of thoughtful, insight driven game analysis/history that does not feature a constantly screaming man-child I stumble upon another. Thanks!

[@PikaLink91]

I am really not a big fan of drivinggames, but I cannot deny the technical wonder of these titles!

[@CasaiAgicap]

I'm just marveling how Driv3r for the GBA is better in every possible way to the console version Like, this version actually looks playable

[@KevinTheTimeGeek86]

Even though I'm not really a super fan of the GTA or Driver games, this video was pretty informative and I liked it. Speaking of ambitious console to handheld ports, would you cover the Game Boy Color port of Donkey Kong Country sometime? I'm surprised not many people have even heard of it. Hell, as a bonus episode for my Let's Play of the GBA port of DKC, I decided to show of a level they created exclusively for the GBC port which hasn't even been seen in the aforementioned GBA port. I got a few comments from people saying they weren't even aware of the GBC version's existence til I posted the video. Keep up the great work, Derek!

[@joeyvlo]

Big fan of the Driver series on PS and its very interesting to know they got the upper hand in the console market. Love this vid lots even though it's old and I'm just catching it now. Keep it up my man!

[@joeyvlo]

Also for the record, just after posting this comment I saw the Asterix on GBA footage and my mind no longer exists because it exploded. Very cool. Can you link the video for that? Thanks in "advance"! ;)

[@arn_ice]

Driver, a game that truly awoke a fondness for American muscle cars. Respect to the Driver guys, I never knew Driver was actually this great on the handhelds. I experienced the horror of the first GTA for GameBoy. Never Forget. I love these episodes. Got me introduced to Warlocked and so many others.

[@mulvi747]

Great episode. I find it pretty impressive how they found a way to port the entire original Driver to GBC. I played Driver for the first time last year and it felt like a pretty big game to me even then. Nice.

[@MadmanEpic]

Some of the stuff that GBA devs pulled off still amaze me.

[@gammaphonic]

Chinatown wars is probably my favourite GTA. But cop? Man, it's a technical miracle! It's stunning how smooth it runs.

[@jasonblalock4429]

I'm kinda surprised you guys didn't cover "Payback" on GBA in this, which was a very technically-ambitious Eurpean 3D top-down GTA clone. The maniacs who coded it even gave it Amiga-style digital music, because *of course* it has a soundtrack like a 90s demoscene release.

[@mindprison88]

I fucking love these videos, so damn entertaining and informative, keep them coming!

[@metal_bird]

your videos on GB/A obscurity are top notch, thanks a bunch and keep it up!

[@Cwiiis]

Has anyone mentioned Payback yet? Full 3D top-down, like Chinatown Wars, but on the GBA. Great game, I think originally on the Amiga? V-Rally 3 on the GBA was also really impressive - 3D with sprite cars, but no gameplay compromise - really excellent handling and a truly fun game. Both of those were my favourite 3D GBA games (though I haven't had the pleasure of playing Asterix & Obelix).

[@timmytatoe4248]

Portscenter made a video of it.. Thats how i learned about it.

[@keiyakins]

Honestly, I think Rockstar was just making a different tradeoff than you'd prefer. I mean, we can very much agree that *something* had to give on the handhelds. Even ignoring graphics power, they didn't have analog sticks, which is kind of a big deal for 3d driving games. In the end, they decided that it was more important to play well than to be just like the home console games, and I honestly odn't think they were wrong - I've probably actually played more Chinatown Wars than GTA4.

[@REALransoman]

Nice video. Love the Punching weight series. You have earned a subscriber :)

[@SmokeBreakGaming]

Any chance we can get an episode on ecks Vs sever?

[@virgyvirgil]

i love when people try to push the consoles they are developing for to the absolute limit, this was very cool to watch

[@TekMoliGy]

I think this just goes to show how much more important gameplay is than graphics to most people. I mean sure the driver games are amazing graphically that they could be put on the handhelds like that but in the end the gta games are just more fun.

[@Clay3613]

Top down GTA is fucking boring in my opinion.

[@THENAMEISQUICKMAN]

GTA 1 and 2-style GTA games just aren't fun to me.

[@eval_is_evil]

Back then when the bar was set lower ,yes it was awesome. Today ? Not really. Heck even back then people would praise NES gfx. So gfx always were important. My opinion ? Why not have both: gfx and kickass gameplay.

[@Michirin9801]

Loving this series! I'm not a big fan of sandbox games though, but those Driver games on GBA sure are impressive! But if you wanna know what's the best sandbox game on GBA try out Pay Back, yeah it's top-down kinda like the old GTA games, but it's a GBA sandbox that works damn well and you can cause a lot of mayhem in it!

[@RFTL]

GBC Driver wins because game play is more important than technological impressiveness. All other Driver games win because technological impressiveness is more important than game play? I really can understand that if you don't like a game play style (everone has style of game they don't care for). But when one Franchise is 100% based around that style you should really not do a comparison video with ratings. I really would thinks two separate videos that chronic the evolution the the Franchises on the Handheld would have been better.

[@TyDiEx]

I was thinking the same thing it made no sense

[@sabbathjackal]

unless gameplay is the same. or not noticably different

[@PikaLink91]

That's kinda like with WatchMojo's Mario vs Golden Eye, where Mario won 3 times in a row due to its multiplayer aspect.

[@StopSkeletonsFromFighting]

gta 1 was almost unplayable. the ambition was there, and we appreciate that, but would recommend gta 2 over it in a heartbeat.

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

By the third comparison, even I was wondering what was up with that. I get it, the tech on those last two games were impressive, but the GBA and DS GTA's look like better *games.* And when you can immediately get brick-walled in the second mission of a sandbox game, I'm utterly SHOCKED you can still have fun marvelling at the technology when it's trying its hardest not to let you actually enjoy it.

[@The90sGamingGuy]

I remember when GTA 3 came out on the PS2. I loved the game played it beat it then caused mayhem in the city which is what ive always done with GTA games and Saints Row games. Driver on the Play Station is a great game. I have many fond memories playing both games. All the conosle ports of the games you compare in this video are classics in my opinion and I'll never get tired of playing. Great comparison video i love this series. Great job!

[@spiderjerusalem100]

I've probably said this before but since the name change this channel is producing some awesome stuff.

[@granvillimus]

Awesome video as usual! You've exhausted the most advanced GBA games, 3D anyways. Only one left I can think of is V-Rally 3, same guys who made Asterix and Driver on GBA. There are still some impressive 2D GBA games like Gunstar Super Heroes. I'd also look at the two Iridion games. Golden Sun 1&2's battle scenes and effects are insane too. If you're open to console games- look at Rendering Ranger R2 and Super Turrican 2. RR pushes absurd amounts of sprites and effects with no slowdown. The last couple of levels in Super Turrican 2 are also crazy. Neither have extra chips in their carts to improve SNES' native capabilities either (like games such as Doom or Yoshi's Island). While you already reviewed it, SNES Sparkster warrants praise for its visuals as well. Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean are probably the most impressive RPG's on the SNES (both have full translation patches). Star Ocean's DID have an extra chip inside the cart, but it was only used for data compression and it can be hacked to run without the chip.

[@TenshiCat]

It's super funny to see GTA fanboys getting angry in these comments - especially considering that for most of these games, Derek said that the GTA one is better to actually play, and he's choosing the winner based on technical prowess because that's what Punching Weight is all about

[@Bubba__Sawyer]

Yeah, the GTA fanboys are out in full force in the comments section crying about bias 😅

[@Ralkila]

I love when i find gamers with actual knowledge, im starting right now to see everything in your channel , EVERYTHING.

[@AnonymousFrogNG]

69% Why not cover the GTA Stories and Driver 76 games? 30% Regular comments. 1% VD Dev is DED. F, RIP. In the grave.

[@topsdaily_productions]

One of the brothers died

[@mightythistle]

Good video. Loved driv3r and parralel lines too

[@shubshub11]

I didn't even know there were GTA Games on Nintendo Systems other than the DS I thought Chinatown Wars was the only one in all honesty, I'm loving this series!

[@foxx64]

Cop the recruit looks incredible! Why have I never heard of this?!

[@gammaphonic]

Maybe I’m being really picky, but it irks me when people refer to open world games as ‘sandboxes’. I always think of sandbox games as being a sort of god mode in games like Sim City or Theme Hospital.

[@babybuussj4]

So Velez and Dubail are going to be a recurring theme in Punching Weight? Alright, I can dig it.

[@StopSkeletonsFromFighting]

the next episode will cover velez and dubail's career and we will discuss *most* of their games in that video. so actually, we'll probably be taking a break from VD Dev

[@babybuussj4]

+Stop Skeletons From Fighting Cool. Also; my phone only displayed the first part of this message, so I thought you said we'd be covering their "car" instead of their "career". :^p

[@Busterdrag]

Holy fucking hell, COP looks fucking amazing! D: And thats just on the DS? The fuck kinda sorcery is this!?!?

[@vmbo]

2:00 'I've never really been a fan of the classic birds eye view style GTA games' **goddamn millenials**

[@TheIsolatedGamerz]

Good to see you my man! :)

[@RCIXM24]

Awesome Video!

[@StopSkeletonsFromFighting]

Thanks!

[@GuyOnAChair]

+Stop Skeletons From Fighting 4:17 was awesome!

[@GuyOnAChair]

+Stop Skeletons From Fighting There are portable 3D third person camera GTA games on the PSP.

[@DaRkLoRdZoRc]

11:51 So I, a SKELETON, helped come up with a concept for PUNCHING Weight? Well, then, Derek, let this be a lesson to you: You shouldn't try to *stop skeletons from fighting.*

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

SAAAAAAAAAAAANS.

[@Grimmations]

Sans what are you even doing here??? Get back to work on more comic dubs!!

[@coloryournight]

UltimaKeyMaster Sora.

[@doctorhino8736]

Gta2 was in 2D and great. I guess you had to be a teenager in 1998 to fully appreciate it

[@3DSage]

Very nice comparison! :)

[@JohnGabrielUk]

I know you typically focus on the end result, but I'd be very interested to see a video on what were "the tricks" for visual effects at any given time. One example that springs to mind is how SNES had its Mode 7, while the Genesis could do more with parallax scrolling; or why the PS1 had 'jittery' polygons while the N64's architecture meant it could only use very low-resolution textures, or... *sigh* I'm about to lose several hours on Wikipedia, aren't I.

[@roodstachlea]

fun fact there was driver game on the psp called dirver 76 and was just the 70's portion of driver 4 but with different names of the characters it was fun the driving physics felt like an actual arcade racing game but still driver is more like a video game version of bullitt in an open world and gta is like a video game version of any crime movie that they where based on and then became a social commentary which is also open world

[@AustinCapitalofGaming]

Derek this series is awesome you've introduced me to a handful of interesting GBA games

[@Sidescroller64]

Darek, you're seriously the man. Keep it up, love the show.

[@Blurgleflargle]

Frankly, I never found the Driver Advance games very impressive, not even the third one. 3D graphics or not, they play like absolute shite, and playability always factors into how much a game really manages to impress me. I take GTA's top-down gameplay over that anyday.

[@Highwaysonyfan87]

Except this punching weight series is about technical ambition. Not actual game quality

[@topsdaily_productions]

You realise Drivr 3 gba was made by 2 brothers not a studio

[@Bubba__Sawyer]

You're missing the point of these videos. Try to pay attention next time 👍

[@cladysmith9505]

This video Awesome. Appreciate the love for the hand helds. Favorite systems here

[@kurati]

Awesome episode, it's incredible how they fit 3d sandbox at gba

[@GuyOnAChair]

7:08 Was that a dig at the driver series in San Andreas? :P

[@StopSkeletonsFromFighting]

+GuyOnAChair; yup! he calls them "refractions" instead of "reflections" but directly calls out tanner!

[@GuyOnAChair]

That's pretty funny considering how broken DRIV3R was. I never knew that. Thanks Derrick!

[@Don_Ramiro]

They did that before. There was a mission in GTA 3, called "Two faced Tanner" where you have to kill a undercover cop which is (and i quote) "more or less useless out of his car" (a pun for Driver 2). Reflections replied to that in Driv3r, with Timmy Vermicelli (a parody of Tommy Vercetti from GTA Vice City)

[@Sinn0100]

The first Driver on the PSX was extremely detailed and pre-dated GTA 3 (obviously). The roads were actually not flat, I distinctly remember being chased over a bridge and purpisely getting the cops to chase me there. You see, I could get the cops to wreck 9 times of of 10 there as they were idiots. They wpuld always gun the gas in an attempt to ram me while having little to no situational awareness causing them to wreck spectacularly.

[@Magitek1112]

Retro City Rampage is basically a 2D GTA game without the license, and it's pretty great.

[@na4311]

You just made me buy cop the recruit i beat it in a week BUT the supercars at the end once you beat it was a smart move i play it all the time! Thank you

[@scribblewell]

Punching weight is my favorite video game show on KZbin

[@Mat23]

Another great episode Big Goops!

[@Ziggy7800Pro]

Great Video!! I can't wait tell Volume 3 of HVGN comes out on DVD or Blue ray..

[@tphx1213]

Driver was awesome for a 3D handheld driving game back in the day.

[@CeceliPS3]

Chinatown Wars looks amazing. And it seems to be THE ONLY GTA that you can knock off a wanted star by wrecking a police car and taking it out of the persuit. DAMN!!!!!!!

[@zackaronie.b.2709]

Driver on the GBC was one of the first games I had experience with as a really little kid. I’ve been trying for ages to remember what it was called because I haven’t had the game in over in like 15 years because my dad ended up trading it in (it was his game) with a bunch of his other game stuff to buy my GBA SP (bless him). Seeing it on this video brought back all the memories of being frustrated not being able to figure the game out

[@doomdoomerson6524]

GREAT VIDEO. KZbin'S BEEN A BETTER PLACE SINCE I SUBSCRIBED

[@RedFlameFox]

Who is the winner (sorted by generations) in my opinion. GBC era: GTA GBA era: Driver PSP/DS era: GTA (Cop is outstanding for NDS anyway)

[@oo0speed0oo]

You guys are great keep up the great work

[@kyatos77]

nice video! interesting comparisons and enjoyable montage. good work! i like your channel ! cheers from Italy ! ;)

[@Pimpeaux]

You should really take a look at Lagrange Point. It's like a full blown Genesis RPG, but on the Famicom!

[@Rurounik99]

I love this kind of videos. Keep it coming. How about games like Resident Evil Alpha(The original, not that crap FPS one) and Alone in the Dark in GBC?

[@DankBoyy00]

I feel like the catch phrase should be "the weird, ambitious and the weirdly ambitious"

[@PosthumanHeresy]

Handheld DS open world game? You should cover the tie-ins for Transformers. There was two, one for each faction.

[@trevorwiant8838]

Sorry Uncle Derek, I"m about 5 years too late on this, but you have to check out Payback for GBA. It's a full 3D top-down GTA clone that did Chinatown Wars style graphics on the GBA long before Rockstar did it on the DS. It's iffy to be sure, but it's really an impressive feat.

[@HikariOblivion]

I do know of one other (well technically two other) open city game on the DS, that being the tie-in to the 2007 Transformers movie. Admittedly it makes a partial commitment and doesn't have too much content in its open world, but it does try, and offers various activities as well as the ability to explore to find different vehicles to change into, with ground vehicles and helicopters available. Vicarious Visions did some interesting things on the DS between this game and their Tony Hawk entries which brought some fairly unique online connectivity and user creation/sharing to the DS.

[@Rihcterwilker]

"Rio de Jenero"

[@calum5975]

Richter WLK Thats a way people pronounce it.

[@bondedomao]

No Calum, you pronounce it with all the short vowels. So, watch this kzbin.info/www/bejne/bICsiqqgnNWdgJY

[@Ostnizdasht206]

4:16 lol wtf? Also, GTA usually has physics and lots of things going on so I'm sure they were like, "F that."

[@BanditRev0lver]

Great video, you never cease to impress. As far as suggestions go, why not cover the fighting games on GBA. There is a surprisingly good port of Guilty Gear X on GBA.

[@ianlove4031]

Yo Derek, do you think you'll ever talk about handheld fighting games? Stuff like Tekken Advance, the GBA Street Fighter games, Mortal Kombat on Game Boy, etc. Super cool video btw, GBA was my childhood.

[@bondedomao]

I really love the bird eye visual on GTA. I like classic GTAs and Chinataown way more then any modern GTA.

[@makere]

I haven't played the Gameboy GTA's, but at least the PS1 GTA had a paper map, no ingame map in that neither.

[@TheePhroggy]

this comes off as very bias but I can see why, the driver handheld games look very well made and looks like they were handled with a lot of care.

[@TheUnsraWbe]

awsome that you guy could talk with the makers of the driver gba titels makes me wonder if you guys could talk to from soft why they newer released the 2 and 3 armored core game on the ps1

[@salokin3087]

Damn, I'm really enjoying Punching weight!

[@spiderjerusalem100]

Suggestions - Shadow of the colossus, Okami and Yakuza 1 and 2 really pushed the PS2 to it's limits. In my opinion SOTC is actually more impressive than a lot of the games on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

[@sexycavetroll2788]

driver on the psx was such a huge game in my youth. me and my friends played the hell out of it. such a realistic and fun driving game. we would make challenges for eachother outside the game tasks. we did that a lot on the play station. before we got metl gear solid we had the demo and played it for hours. gave eachother challenges and made our own missions. I miss the good old days when my imagination wasn't so drained

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

I loved chinatown wars, it was such a nice surprise, it felt like a return to form for original style gta games.