Driver 4: Parallel Lines
After a long time in the shop, a classic is reborn.
Tags: Driver 4: Parallel Lines Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Christopher on Apr 17th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver 4: Parallel Lines (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Driving | No | ||
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Driver was one of the defining games of the PlayStation generation. A rough look at crime as viewed by undercover cop Tanner, Drive gave gamers an awesome ride through a fully 3D city filled with high-speed chases. While the sequels Driver 2 and the abysmal Driv3r came close to destroying the franchise completely, Parallel Lines took the good parts from the previous games, gave them a new coat of paint, and produced a thoroughly enjoyable game.
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Set during the tail end of the 70’s in New York City, the story opens in style evoking an action flick out of the same decade. You’re treated to a well done CG intro where the main character TK is introduced as he explains his circumstances. He’s a wheelman, and a very good one at that. While he’s doing alright for himself, he’s offered a job working for some higher ups that promises big money. Eventually poor TK is set up, takes the fall, and spends 28 long years in prison. Upon his release, our hero has decided to get revenge on every single person that helped to set him up. The clothes, cars, and nearly everything else has changed, but TK still knows how to drive.
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You’ll be spending a lot of time in car here. With over 80 different rides to choose from with vehicles ranging from muscle cars to limos, tractors, and trucks, there’s plenty of variety to choose from when you need a new set of wheels. The controls are tight and responsive and work well with the cars. They have a ‘heavy’ feel to them, and it might take a little getting used to how they handle if you’ve never played a Driver game before. With a well timed press of the emergency brake, you’ll be able to whip around end for end for a quick 180, making evading the cops a snap, and darn fun to boot. Powerslides and other evasive maneuvers are easy to pull off, and in no time you’ll be able to whip around corners like a pro.
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When not in the car, the on foot sections add a little variety here and there. While not as prevalent as in a Grand Theft Auto game, you’ll need to run from one car to the next when the cops aren’t around to clear your crime rating. The shooting aspect is handled well, with a smart targeting system utilizing the shoulder triggers to ready a weapon and target. Players also can use the directional sticks to pop tires or heads with equal ease.
When not driving or out on a mission, you’ll spend your time at Ray’s Auto shop, a sort of base for the player. Here you can pay Ray to take care of any heat you have, invest the money you get from jobs into cars, or repair the ones you already own that have taken some major damage. While the ability to upgrade any rides you have is available, in most cases you won’t need it.
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Missions themselves aren’t going to win any awards for originality. Since we’ve seen a lot of games in the crime/sandbox genre since the first Driver, most of us are familiar with the standard mission types. You’ll go on fetch quests to get a person and bring them from one place to another under a time limit, evade cops for a set amount of time, drive from one glowing marker to another to pick up new cars and deliver them somewhere else. While there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the missions you’ll get, it’s just nothing you haven’t seen before.
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A good wheelman will need all the skills he can muster to evade the cops through all the traffic without ending up in a major wreck. Unless you happen to like destruction, that is. While not the focus of the game, Parallel Lines sports some impressive damage models for each car. Take enough hits, and you’ll see a wheel go spinning off leaving you in a useless car, or in the case of a really bad wreck, poor TK will be subject to a viscous explosion. Car crashes are also subject to a special camera view where players can see what happens from different angles while bits of metal fly outwards.
The environments you’ll drive through do a fair job of recreating the Big Apple circa ’78 and ’06 respectively. Things might seem a little bland though with the lower quality textures that fill the expansive area you’ll inhabit. Pop ups such as buildings or people are kept to a minimum, surprising considering how much can be happening on screen at once.
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While there may be a feeling of ‘been there, done that,’ the newest Driver does a fine job returning to the series’ roots. There’s plenty of fun to be had running the police on wild goose chases thru choked metropolitan areas only to duck down an alley and completely lose them. With a strong story and likeable characters, Parallel Lines will easily pull you in on TK’s quest for revenge. And in the end, revenge is very sweet indeed.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Responsive controls + Storyline + Above average graphics |
7.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - Lack of original missions | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Worth a purchase for fans of the original or great car chases. | |
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Tags: Driver 4: Parallel Lines
Posted by Christopher on Apr 17th, 2006 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
