DRIV3R

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Atari
  • Release Date: Jun 21, 2004
  • Also On: PC
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 127 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 127
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 127
  3. Negative: 46 out of 127
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  1. DennoCoil
    Jul 30, 2016
    3
    If you see ANYONE giving this game a 10 out of 10 or other high score, they're most likely paid shills. Just know that this game was a buggy broken mess upon release (it still is) and Atari was involved in a scandal. Driver 3 was very hyped up before being released and Atari actually paid for high review scores! It was obvious upon release that Driver 3 is a very buggy and broken GTA-3If you see ANYONE giving this game a 10 out of 10 or other high score, they're most likely paid shills. Just know that this game was a buggy broken mess upon release (it still is) and Atari was involved in a scandal. Driver 3 was very hyped up before being released and Atari actually paid for high review scores! It was obvious upon release that Driver 3 is a very buggy and broken GTA-3 clone that came out several years too early. There was no social media when this game was released so the controversy was buried. Atari even hired a PR group to (poorly) astroturf any negativity this game received on forums. (It would have started its own GamerGate-style fallout if social media was a thing in 2004.) Don't let this controversy be buried or let the positive scores fool you. Look up some Driver 3 footage and say to yourself how could this game get a remotely high score, even for a game from 2004?… Expand
  2. NT92
    Sep 3, 2011
    4
    Great driving. Good cutscenes. Good music. Everything else is dreadful. And it's very difficult.
  3. TheNewSpielberg
    Apr 29, 2011
    3
    This game is possibly the single glitchiest, buggiest, most boring and pointless GTA rip off ever released. It is so unbelievably mediocre that I actually took to switching the PS2 off after the first mission. The graphics look lame, the cutscenes look like rejected scenes from a Pixar movie and the voice acting is terrible. The one good reason to play this game though is the excellentThis game is possibly the single glitchiest, buggiest, most boring and pointless GTA rip off ever released. It is so unbelievably mediocre that I actually took to switching the PS2 off after the first mission. The graphics look lame, the cutscenes look like rejected scenes from a Pixar movie and the voice acting is terrible. The one good reason to play this game though is the excellent driving mechanics and car chases. There is a wide range of vehicles to drive including sedans, sports cars, convertibles, vans, trucks, police cars and even a go kart! But apart from that, its a terrible game. Seriously, just a waste of time and money.… Expand
  4. VroonJ.
    Apr 15, 2007
    4
    There are many things I would like to say about this game. First, when I began playing I realized that I handed over my hard earned two weeks of work in exchange for a box of chickens posing as turkeys. Have you ever heard a cat bark or a dog meow? Its how I feel about this HUGE GTA WANNABE! The game was put together so horribly that it's as if the makers really want you to think There are many things I would like to say about this game. First, when I began playing I realized that I handed over my hard earned two weeks of work in exchange for a box of chickens posing as turkeys. Have you ever heard a cat bark or a dog meow? Its how I feel about this HUGE GTA WANNABE! The game was put together so horribly that it's as if the makers really want you to think that they played a GTA title and then they said," Dude let's make a copy of this!" After my comments you might want to think why I rated it 4. The game does have its moments but the story most makes me speechless. I'm talking BORING! So anyhow, a nice feature is that you can record videos of you playing and play them back.… Expand
  5. MarkT.
    Jun 29, 2004
    1
    I have to agree that this game stinks, it graphically only looks a little better than the Playstation original. The on foot sections are truly appalling with useless AI and dodgy aiming controls, to compare it to GTA 3 or Vice City is just ridiculous as it just isn't in the same league. You have to pay £5 more for this game in the UK and I'm sure it's just to pay I have to agree that this game stinks, it graphically only looks a little better than the Playstation original. The on foot sections are truly appalling with useless AI and dodgy aiming controls, to compare it to GTA 3 or Vice City is just ridiculous as it just isn't in the same league. You have to pay £5 more for this game in the UK and I'm sure it's just to pay Michael Madsen and Ving Rhames who did the voices. It certainlt isn't for good game play or graphics. Stay clear of this mess!… Expand
  6. Craig
    Sep 5, 2004
    1
    This game is so disappointing, i played some missions and it was extremly boring, i thought i was playing playstation 1 going on the standard of the graphics. The way tanner runs is laughable and the whole game just feels jerky and unfinised. i do NOT recomend this song at all.
  7. DavidR.
    Sep 6, 2004
    2
    This game sucks u cant even run through a light post when ur driving. the graphics are good tho.
  8. AverageGuy
    Jun 22, 2004
    0
    This was going to be a killer-game, or a publisher-killer.
    I think it could be the latter.
    After so many delays, and pumping so much money into this, Atari *had* to release it in order to try and recoup their losses.
    You can only polish a turd so much. This is an expensive turd - adios Atari.
  9. Thuko
    Jun 28, 2004
    2
    It's NOT GOOD. It's NOT worth half the money. You can't be serious if you rate this a 10.. it sucks big time. It's a major dissapointment, an huge anticlimax after all the waiting. No brilliant detailed graphics at all (everything looks terribly pixelated), the controls are terrible and the camera's rigid. All the cars drive the same (they all have the same saggy It's NOT GOOD. It's NOT worth half the money. You can't be serious if you rate this a 10.. it sucks big time. It's a major dissapointment, an huge anticlimax after all the waiting. No brilliant detailed graphics at all (everything looks terribly pixelated), the controls are terrible and the camera's rigid. All the cars drive the same (they all have the same saggy suspension that's fine with american cars, but not in place with smaller european vehicles) so the driving bit feels terribly dated. In fact *everything* feels dated. It feels like Driver 1 and it looks like driver 1. I guess they never intended it to look good on PS2. It feels and looks like a very bad PC-port. They should have spent more of the huge advertising budget on PS2 optimalization and learned from Rockstar. Shame on you, Reflections and Atari! … Expand
  10. K.H.
    Jul 12, 2004
    4
    As the commercial says: "Best looking game in the genre." This is true, but it's also the worst playing game in the genre. There's nothing fun to do in the cars or on foot. The cops are complete idiots. The director mode was about the only decent thing in the game, and even that could have been much better. Let's put it this way, I could make a better game.... and I As the commercial says: "Best looking game in the genre." This is true, but it's also the worst playing game in the genre. There's nothing fun to do in the cars or on foot. The cops are complete idiots. The director mode was about the only decent thing in the game, and even that could have been much better. Let's put it this way, I could make a better game.... and I don't know what a gigabyte is. Enough said.… Expand
  11. GameBreaker
    Jul 26, 2004
    0
    I have 4 words for all you PS2 owners that have given this game a bad review, YOU ASKED FOR IT! Anyone who has been backing Sony for the last 4 years deserves a piece of crap like this game. If this game, along with the GTA franchise and all others on the PS2 would have been made only on XBOX where they belong, none of you would have anything to bitch about. So as long as you keep I have 4 words for all you PS2 owners that have given this game a bad review, YOU ASKED FOR IT! Anyone who has been backing Sony for the last 4 years deserves a piece of crap like this game. If this game, along with the GTA franchise and all others on the PS2 would have been made only on XBOX where they belong, none of you would have anything to bitch about. So as long as you keep spending money on your PS1.2's and back Sony in the largest scam in the last 100 years, you'll keep getting graphically inferior games just like the PS3 will churn out. Sony's hayday has been over since Microsoft took over the videogame industry and it will stay that way for a long time. But, they will still pay off all the big name companies to get you Sony Only's all the games you want so that no one could see how they would really do on top-shelf hardware. Now, I know all of you are going to piss and moan over my comments so go ahead. While you are bitching I will be playing better games on better hardware and backing a company that will make it's next system an actual next generation system, not an upgrade of a turd that never was! Losers.… Expand
  12. FinalFantasy
    Aug 13, 2004
    0
    Game Breaker should really shut up. as if there are no bad games on the Xbox. Anyways, DRIV3R really is a piece of garbage, that i will agree wit Game Breaker. I hated he series from the beginning, my friend rented it recently and i played it for five minutes and thought WHOA what a piece of crap such garbage. However, Game Breaker, Sony is well in the lead of Microsoft in the gaming Game Breaker should really shut up. as if there are no bad games on the Xbox. Anyways, DRIV3R really is a piece of garbage, that i will agree wit Game Breaker. I hated he series from the beginning, my friend rented it recently and i played it for five minutes and thought WHOA what a piece of crap such garbage. However, Game Breaker, Sony is well in the lead of Microsoft in the gaming companies, sorry to say but check the stocks lately.… Expand
  13. BrianB.
    Jul 19, 2005
    1
    On your first play of this absolute disaster, smash the semi into a sapling or a park bench. This will dismiss the notion of any type of realism in this game. Then start playing: Chase a guy, run from the cops, and you've pretty much seen almost everything this game has to offer. And the difficulty??!? Someone at Atari/Reflections should be repeatedly punched in the face for making a On your first play of this absolute disaster, smash the semi into a sapling or a park bench. This will dismiss the notion of any type of realism in this game. Then start playing: Chase a guy, run from the cops, and you've pretty much seen almost everything this game has to offer. And the difficulty??!? Someone at Atari/Reflections should be repeatedly punched in the face for making a game so repetitive, and yet nearly impossible to finish! These people have the audacity to think that they're in competition with the GTA series? Laughable!… Expand
  14. KlausF.
    May 10, 2006
    0
    This game downright sucked. It is suuuuuch a GTA wanabee! The only thing wich is original is the ability to record yourself playing and make a movie... I still think it sucks.
  15. GreenSkullRider
    Jan 30, 2017
    4
    La saga driver fue una gran propuesta en su tiempo y luego de la segunda entrega estaban en su apogeo, pero inmediatamente pasa la comparación con Grand Theft Auto, lamentablemente al querer competir con la saga de rockstar cometieron errores imperdonables, el juego esta lleno de bugs, tiene un sistema horrible de disparo, los mapas son enormes pero sin vida, los vehículos están bienLa saga driver fue una gran propuesta en su tiempo y luego de la segunda entrega estaban en su apogeo, pero inmediatamente pasa la comparación con Grand Theft Auto, lamentablemente al querer competir con la saga de rockstar cometieron errores imperdonables, el juego esta lleno de bugs, tiene un sistema horrible de disparo, los mapas son enormes pero sin vida, los vehículos están bien detallados pero conducirlos es nefasto. es un juego de paso, nada memorable… Expand
  16. The_D4RknesS
    Jun 13, 2022
    0
    this game was a ready joke. everything is bad from car gameplay to walking movement
  17. VLG
    Aug 22, 2023
    4
    Boring, frustrating, unfinished, complete lack of personality. I tried to beat it as a teen and I'm pretty sure i gave up at some point.

Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2004
14
#14 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 51 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 51
  3. Negative: 11 out of 51
  1. VideoGamesLife
    51
    Ultimately, despite being the solid and enjoyable game that Driv3r once promised to be, it’s buried far too deep under all the shite to rescue the game from being anything more than just a gaming folly.
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  2. GMR Magazine
    50
    Unlike "GTA's" open-ended gameplay, DRIV3R is both linear and confined. [Sept 2004, p.83]
  3. PSX Extreme
    48
    A buggy, unfinished and uninspired game.
    Read full review
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