Driver: Parallel Lines - Review
Added April 6th, 2006 by Sallizar
Introduction:
I played the first Driver on my PC quite a while ago. I remember it being an interesting diversion at the time, but I lost track of the series. When I heard about Driv3r, the third game in the series, I was intrigued for a while but never tried it due to the abysmal reviews it received. The latest in the series Driver: Parallel Lines has been billed as the game to make up for the mistakes of Driv3r. Just the fact that they decided not to use numbers to spell the title gets it off to a good start in my book. I was able to take the latest non-leet spelled Driver game for a spin. Keep reading to see how well it handles.
Gameplay:
Driver: Parallel Lines puts the player into the shoes of a young man named TK. The action starts off in New York City circa 1978. Fresh from his backwoods town TK is recruited as a wheelman by some unscrupulous characters that have plenty of crime that needs doing. For the first half of the game the storyline follows TK as he carries out various assignments for his underworld bosses. Then it switches gears. TK gets framed and thrown in the slammer for twenty eight years. Fast forward to 2006 and New York is a much different place and so is TK. The storyline switches from the cookie cutter organized crime story to a revenge cliché as TK hunts down the scum that framed him.
I played the first Driver on my PC quite a while ago. I remember it being an interesting diversion at the time, but I lost track of the series. When I heard about Driv3r, the third game in the series, I was intrigued for a while but never tried it due to the abysmal reviews it received. The latest in the series Driver: Parallel Lines has been billed as the game to make up for the mistakes of Driv3r. Just the fact that they decided not to use numbers to spell the title gets it off to a good start in my book. I was able to take the latest non-leet spelled Driver game for a spin. Keep reading to see how well it handles.
Gameplay:
Driver: Parallel Lines puts the player into the shoes of a young man named TK. The action starts off in New York City circa 1978. Fresh from his backwoods town TK is recruited as a wheelman by some unscrupulous characters that have plenty of crime that needs doing. For the first half of the game the storyline follows TK as he carries out various assignments for his underworld bosses. Then it switches gears. TK gets framed and thrown in the slammer for twenty eight years. Fast forward to 2006 and New York is a much different place and so is TK. The storyline switches from the cookie cutter organized crime story to a revenge cliché as TK hunts down the scum that framed him.
The emphasis of the game is squarely on driving as the title suggests. Lots and lots and lots of pointless driving that is. While the development team at ? has put together a massive virtual recreation of NYC, they somehow forgot that rush hour traffic isn’t fun. There is way too much traffic in Driver: Parallel Lines. I expect to have to dodge vehicles on a regular basis when I’m running from the cops, but when every time I turn a corner I’m confronted with two lanes full of impassable bumper to bumper traffic it’s just not fun. The traffic is annoying even when you’re not on the run because the mission objects are scattered to far apart. I averaged ten to fifteen minutes driving from one mission start point to another simply because I had to stay in line with the slow moving traffic patterns to avoid detection.
My friends and I have often laughed at the cop that doesn’t bother to give chase when you run a red light in other games. Now I know why they don’t. It’s not fun having to drive realistically through traffic. The police will start tailing your car for the most minor offenses including running red lights and speeding. It gets very annoying when all you want to do is hit the next mission.
Now that you’ve finally made it to the mission the game should get better right? Not really. The random side missions are your basic drive somewhere, blow something up, come back style missions along with races. I don’t understand why games like Driver: Parallel Lines feature circuit races. The last thing I’m going to do with my stolen get away car is take it to a race track. Luckily, The story missions are better because they include quite a few scripted events that spice up the standard formula a bit. Missions run about five to ten minutes max and then you’re back to your twenty minute drive to the next mission.
Now that I have that out of my system, the game does have some strong points. For starters there are almost no load times. You can drive from one side of town all the way to the other in one smooth, albeit very slow due to traffic, run. The gunplay I fairly straightforward in and out of the car and reminds me of Advent Rising’s “flick” targeting system. The storyline, while generic, is also a unique twist by including two distinct time periods instead of the usual one.
Another feature I like is the dual wanted system. Say I go and cause a whole bunch of havoc in a black sports car. The car and TK both pick up a wanted rating. If I can ditch the car without the cops seeing me I can jump into a blue pickup and as long as the cops don’t look too closely I’ll get away scot-free. It makes for an interesting dynamic that allows you to avoid detection without running to a garage every time you get in over your head.
Graphics:
The scenery on a long road trip can make all the difference in how exciting the trip is. The scenery in Driver is only so-so and the trip can be a bit dull. Car models are fairly well done, but are generic knock-offs instead of licensed vehicles. After boosting a car and storing it in the garage, you’ll open an array of body style and paint jobs that add a small touch of flair to the game. New York itself looks great, though the building textures are a bit muddy and tend to repeat a bit often. Character models are well designed but the animations, especially when running seem a touch cartoon-like. The best thing going for driver is the cut scenes that feature some impressive rendering combined with what appears to be real world footage.
My friends and I have often laughed at the cop that doesn’t bother to give chase when you run a red light in other games. Now I know why they don’t. It’s not fun having to drive realistically through traffic. The police will start tailing your car for the most minor offenses including running red lights and speeding. It gets very annoying when all you want to do is hit the next mission.
Now that you’ve finally made it to the mission the game should get better right? Not really. The random side missions are your basic drive somewhere, blow something up, come back style missions along with races. I don’t understand why games like Driver: Parallel Lines feature circuit races. The last thing I’m going to do with my stolen get away car is take it to a race track. Luckily, The story missions are better because they include quite a few scripted events that spice up the standard formula a bit. Missions run about five to ten minutes max and then you’re back to your twenty minute drive to the next mission.
Now that I have that out of my system, the game does have some strong points. For starters there are almost no load times. You can drive from one side of town all the way to the other in one smooth, albeit very slow due to traffic, run. The gunplay I fairly straightforward in and out of the car and reminds me of Advent Rising’s “flick” targeting system. The storyline, while generic, is also a unique twist by including two distinct time periods instead of the usual one.
Another feature I like is the dual wanted system. Say I go and cause a whole bunch of havoc in a black sports car. The car and TK both pick up a wanted rating. If I can ditch the car without the cops seeing me I can jump into a blue pickup and as long as the cops don’t look too closely I’ll get away scot-free. It makes for an interesting dynamic that allows you to avoid detection without running to a garage every time you get in over your head.
Graphics:
The scenery on a long road trip can make all the difference in how exciting the trip is. The scenery in Driver is only so-so and the trip can be a bit dull. Car models are fairly well done, but are generic knock-offs instead of licensed vehicles. After boosting a car and storing it in the garage, you’ll open an array of body style and paint jobs that add a small touch of flair to the game. New York itself looks great, though the building textures are a bit muddy and tend to repeat a bit often. Character models are well designed but the animations, especially when running seem a touch cartoon-like. The best thing going for driver is the cut scenes that feature some impressive rendering combined with what appears to be real world footage.
Audio:
Switch back and forth between a classic hits station and a modern rock radio station a few times and you’ll hear just about all the tunes on Driver: Parallel Lines soundtrack. Don’t get me wrong it’s a good soundtrack but it’s the same kind of stuff you’ve heard in just about every game for the past few years. Voice acting on the other hand is top notch. All of the characters sound believable and fit their on screen personas quite well. There is also plenty of ambient noise in the city. The pedestrians will make you chuckle a few times before they start repeating themselves over and over.
Controls:
I’d like to pass a new video game related law. Any game that features third person shooter game play MUST allow the player to selectively invert the controls on BOTH the X and Y axis. I have a specific preference on how I control the X axis when moving characters in third person games. Driver: Parallel Lines doesn’t allow the player to change this control at all. While some folks might not find it irritating, I was killed multiple times because I zigged instead of zagging.
Other than the lack of camera customization Driver’s controls are fairly standard when in a vehicle. Triggers control gas and brake, while X lets you lock on with a weapon and then hit A to fire. On foot, left trigger allows the player to draw and lock on a weapon. While holding down the left trigger the right analog stick can be used to quickly select between the various targets in range. Line up your shot and then squeeze, don’t pull, the right trigger to take your shot.
Replay:
So you just beat Driver: Parallel Lines and you’re wondering what to do now? I’d recommend the paltry fifteen dollar trade in, but if you must play it again there are a few things you can do. Anytime you bring a car back to the garage you can store it and customize it. The second time you play there is one extra cars you can add to your collection. Along with the ONE extra car you also are given the ability to time travel and instantly change the era after finishing the game. Now there’s a good gimmick for the next Driver game. Maybe it will have a Delorean on the cover.
Switch back and forth between a classic hits station and a modern rock radio station a few times and you’ll hear just about all the tunes on Driver: Parallel Lines soundtrack. Don’t get me wrong it’s a good soundtrack but it’s the same kind of stuff you’ve heard in just about every game for the past few years. Voice acting on the other hand is top notch. All of the characters sound believable and fit their on screen personas quite well. There is also plenty of ambient noise in the city. The pedestrians will make you chuckle a few times before they start repeating themselves over and over.
Controls:
I’d like to pass a new video game related law. Any game that features third person shooter game play MUST allow the player to selectively invert the controls on BOTH the X and Y axis. I have a specific preference on how I control the X axis when moving characters in third person games. Driver: Parallel Lines doesn’t allow the player to change this control at all. While some folks might not find it irritating, I was killed multiple times because I zigged instead of zagging.
Other than the lack of camera customization Driver’s controls are fairly standard when in a vehicle. Triggers control gas and brake, while X lets you lock on with a weapon and then hit A to fire. On foot, left trigger allows the player to draw and lock on a weapon. While holding down the left trigger the right analog stick can be used to quickly select between the various targets in range. Line up your shot and then squeeze, don’t pull, the right trigger to take your shot.
Replay:
So you just beat Driver: Parallel Lines and you’re wondering what to do now? I’d recommend the paltry fifteen dollar trade in, but if you must play it again there are a few things you can do. Anytime you bring a car back to the garage you can store it and customize it. The second time you play there is one extra cars you can add to your collection. Along with the ONE extra car you also are given the ability to time travel and instantly change the era after finishing the game. Now there’s a good gimmick for the next Driver game. Maybe it will have a Delorean on the cover.
Summary:
If you’re a die hard fan of the series still reeling from the Driv3r let down then Driver: Parallel Lines may appeal to you. The story is interesting to some degree and the main missions are intriguing, but the rest of the game is a let down. Try renting it first to see if you can put up with virtual commuting after coming home from your real life commute.
If you’re a die hard fan of the series still reeling from the Driv3r let down then Driver: Parallel Lines may appeal to you. The story is interesting to some degree and the main missions are intriguing, but the rest of the game is a let down. Try renting it first to see if you can put up with virtual commuting after coming home from your real life commute.
