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March 17, 2006 | 12:03 AM PST
by: John Thomas Perkowski
There is no doubt that Driv3r was both a critical and commercial flop. The ludicrous plot combined with unrefined gameplay managed to ruin what could have been a solid contender for the Grand Theft Auto crown. Reflections, the company that made Driv3r, realized that they need to get the series back on track. This time, instead of focusing on creating a GTA-like experience, they decided to focus the series on its roots: the driving. The result is the good (but not great Driver: Parallel Lines. And while this game gets the Driver series back on the right track, the bar has been set so high by other games in this genre, that it fails to be the knockout punch Reflections was hoping for.
Features
Fully realized New York City
Two Distinct Eras: 1978 and 2006
An excellent soundtrack with distinct selections from both years.
A Good Beginning.
Driving in a game like Driver should be a fun experience and this game has it perfected. No matter what car you hop into, the driving controls are tight, responsive, and fluid. They are just realistic enough to make speeding down a wrong way street exciting and dangerous, and have just enough arcade-like play to be easy to use. The sense of speed and control runs far beyond anything that was in Driv3r and it’s nice to see the selling point of a game like this get back on track. As an added bonus, most of the cars you steal in the game are capable of being modded, provided you have the cash, and you can store any car you wish in your garage. We're not talking about Need For Speed style mods either. We are talking bulletproof glass, tires, engine tweaks, and some fuzzy dice for your mirror. The kind of hardcore stuff a real wheelman needs.
New York City is accurately modeled in both eras, and you should have no problem getting around... Especially if you played lesser games like True Crime: Streets of New York. Alleys that existed in one era may be changed, while new paths will be open that didn’t exist before. New York is vibrant and alive, though it doesn't have the civilian AI that any GTA has. It's also great to see Reflections placed the Twin Towers in 1978 New York, and placed a nice memorial in 2006 New York.
The story follows a young man named TK. Its 1978 and TK just recently arrived in the Big Apple from out west. He lives above a garage owned by a man named Ray, who showed him how to drive. Now TK is one of the best in the business, collecting money for mobsters and helping local thugs get away from liquor store robberies. One day Ray gets a job for TK, helping a local thug named Slink pull off a risky job. The plot dovetails nicely from there, and it's not a spoiler to say TK winds up in jail. Twenty-eight years later, its 2006 and TK gets out with only one thing on his mind.... Revenge. The latter half of the game follows TK on his quest for vengeance over everyone who wronged him.
Reflections has managed to create an awesome soundtrack. It is better than any heard on any game from the past year; the soundtrack manages to capture the feel of both eras with ease. This is one of the few times I can honestly say I will never use the custom soundtrack option because there isn't a really bad selection in the bunch, though there are a few skipable ones. You'll find yourself hunting down the tracks you don't own to put into your own personal collection when you are not playing the game. The excellent music draws you right into the game.
And the 180...
Unfortunately, for every right thing the game does, it misses the mark on a few others. In some missions you are, illogically, forced to use the same car through the whole mission. This gets tougher, as cars with noticeable damage and bullet holes are easier for cops to spot. You can't get out of the car and get a new one, as partner AI won’t follow you. Also, the cars stop rather abruptly when they smash into things. As much as I like the fact it’s harder to knock me off a motorcycle, a cop car cashing into me shouldn't come to a complete stop.
On foot controls were always difficult for the team at Reflections to get right, and this time it’s passable at best. Of course, the hero is missing two important things: The ability to sprint and jump are not included in TK's move set. This means something even waist high is an impassible wall to TK, and dodging cops on foot is much harder.
Thankfully, the lock on and targeting systems are great, and it's almost too easy to cut a swath through even the toughest of enemies... Provided you have the hardware.
Driver: Parallel Lines
Finally, as great as the driving in this game is, to be perfectly honest, it’s a few years overdue. This was the game Driver 2 should have been back in 2001, not what we wound up with. These days, games like this are held to a higher standard and it is on these standards that Driver: Parallel Lines fails to live up to its potential. Its gets the series back on track, but its lousy on-foot controls and AI restrictions really kill a lot of the major fun factor. As a whole the package is a promise of what future titles in the series may bring, but right now it’s a rental at best.probably not.
Features
A Good Beginning.
Driving in a game like Driver should be a fun experience and this game has it perfected. No matter what car you hop into, the driving controls are tight, responsive, and fluid. They are just realistic enough to make speeding down a wrong way street exciting and dangerous, and have just enough arcade-like play to be easy to use. The sense of speed and control runs far beyond anything that was in Driv3r and it’s nice to see the selling point of a game like this get back on track. As an added bonus, most of the cars you steal in the game are capable of being modded, provided you have the cash, and you can store any car you wish in your garage. We're not talking about Need For Speed style mods either. We are talking bulletproof glass, tires, engine tweaks, and some fuzzy dice for your mirror. The kind of hardcore stuff a real wheelman needs.
New York City is accurately modeled in both eras, and you should have no problem getting around... Especially if you played lesser games like True Crime: Streets of New York. Alleys that existed in one era may be changed, while new paths will be open that didn’t exist before. New York is vibrant and alive, though it doesn't have the civilian AI that any GTA has. It's also great to see Reflections placed the Twin Towers in 1978 New York, and placed a nice memorial in 2006 New York.
The story follows a young man named TK. Its 1978 and TK just recently arrived in the Big Apple from out west. He lives above a garage owned by a man named Ray, who showed him how to drive. Now TK is one of the best in the business, collecting money for mobsters and helping local thugs get away from liquor store robberies. One day Ray gets a job for TK, helping a local thug named Slink pull off a risky job. The plot dovetails nicely from there, and it's not a spoiler to say TK winds up in jail. Twenty-eight years later, its 2006 and TK gets out with only one thing on his mind.... Revenge. The latter half of the game follows TK on his quest for vengeance over everyone who wronged him.
Reflections has managed to create an awesome soundtrack. It is better than any heard on any game from the past year; the soundtrack manages to capture the feel of both eras with ease. This is one of the few times I can honestly say I will never use the custom soundtrack option because there isn't a really bad selection in the bunch, though there are a few skipable ones. You'll find yourself hunting down the tracks you don't own to put into your own personal collection when you are not playing the game. The excellent music draws you right into the game.
And the 180...
Unfortunately, for every right thing the game does, it misses the mark on a few others. In some missions you are, illogically, forced to use the same car through the whole mission. This gets tougher, as cars with noticeable damage and bullet holes are easier for cops to spot. You can't get out of the car and get a new one, as partner AI won’t follow you. Also, the cars stop rather abruptly when they smash into things. As much as I like the fact it’s harder to knock me off a motorcycle, a cop car cashing into me shouldn't come to a complete stop.
On foot controls were always difficult for the team at Reflections to get right, and this time it’s passable at best. Of course, the hero is missing two important things: The ability to sprint and jump are not included in TK's move set. This means something even waist high is an impassible wall to TK, and dodging cops on foot is much harder.
Thankfully, the lock on and targeting systems are great, and it's almost too easy to cut a swath through even the toughest of enemies... Provided you have the hardware.
Driver: Parallel Lines
Finally, as great as the driving in this game is, to be perfectly honest, it’s a few years overdue. This was the game Driver 2 should have been back in 2001, not what we wound up with. These days, games like this are held to a higher standard and it is on these standards that Driver: Parallel Lines fails to live up to its potential. Its gets the series back on track, but its lousy on-foot controls and AI restrictions really kill a lot of the major fun factor. As a whole the package is a promise of what future titles in the series may bring, but right now it’s a rental at best.probably not.
February 8, 2010
