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Driver is a franchise that started out as ambitious and impressive but took a nosedive with the release of Driver 3. The first two games laid some of the groundwork for what the 3D urban open world sandbox genre has become. They’re not just impressive for their time but also fun to play. Driver 3, on the other hand, feels like it’s stuck in the past and is not very fun to play. Everything about it has been done and done better in other games and it feels rushed. From what I understand, the developers were aware of the mistakes made with Driver 3 and aimed to deliver a better and more polished experience in the sequel, Driver: Parallel Lines.
Developed by Reflections Interactive and published by Atari, Driver: Parallel Lines was released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in March, 2006. After Atari sold Reflections Interactive to Ubisoft, they released the game for PC in June, 2007 and that’s the version I played for this review. I did consult the game’s PCGamingWiki page before playing and I’m glad I did because it made me aware of some known issues and provided fixes. I did install the MegaFix which fixes numerous bugs and issues, restores some songs that are missing from the PC port, and extends the draw distance.
Unlike the previous games, the plot of Parallel Lines takes place in one setting, New York City, and the protagonist is a getaway driver simply known as The Kid (TK). The first half of the story is set in 1978 and follows TK as he makes connections and works with a small group of criminals led by a corrupt detective. The group eventually betrays TK and as a result, he is sent to prison. The second half of the story is set in 2006 when he gets out and centers on his quest for revenge.
The first half of the story is arguably the better half in my opinion. One reason is the time period. It’s cool playing around in a 1970s New York City. From the way people dress and talk to the vehicles, I think it successfully captures the atmosphere and culture of the time, but not to an extremely realistic degree. The way some NPCs move, behave, and talk and some of the dialogue is often stereotypical and humorous, resulting in a kind of cartoon-y portrayal of sorts. The cut scene presentation looks excellent, conveying a cinematic quality, and that combined with the dialogue and interactions help make the story feel like something in the crime drama realm.
I do think the story is a bit on the short side. You can get through it pretty quickly if you just stick to the story missions. The second half of the game set in 2006 seems to up the pacing and lacks some of the humor from the first half. In general, the writing doesn’t dig too deep into the characters or relationships but most of the characters are fleshed out just enough to keep things interesting. In the end, it’s a simple tale and I only wish there was more to it.
As for the gameplay, Parallel Lines feels like a nice refresh for the series, especially after the abysmal Driver 3. The big standout feature here is the two separate eras, 1978 and 2006. After you beat the campaign, you can switch between them freely. Unfortunately, the Quick Replay and Film Director features were removed which I think is a bummer because it eliminates some of the cinematic aspects of the gameplay. Other than that, I feel everything about Parallel Lines is a step in the right direction.
The gameplay feels like your typical urban open world experience. You’re free to drive around New York City and do as you please whenever you please or you can progress through the story. One nice feature is the ability to relocate or, in other words, fast travel to any blip on the map at the press of a button. Story missions obviously progress the story and side jobs are repeatable jobs you can complete for cash. You can participate in races, a destruction derby, act as a hitman, taxi driver, and loan shark, you can repo cars, and even smash Donut Stands to piss off the cops, among some other stuff. One thing I think is odd is that some side jobs appear on the map and others you have to find in the city. I’m not really sure what the point of making the player find them is, other than to encourage exploration I guess, nor do I understand why they don’t appear on the map after you find them.
Another thing I think is a little weird is that story missions don’t pay. Well most of them, anyway. I think you receive money as a reward for completing one mission but after that, you must complete side jobs to earn cash. Money can be spent at garages to customize your vehicles, repair them, clear your heat and acquire ammo for your weapons. Parallel Lines does see the return of on-foot action and it does feel a lot better than that of the previous game. You can steal any vehicles you come across and take them to a garage and store them so you can basically collect all the cars and then retrieve them at any time. What’s cool is the vehicles you have stored and modified in 1978 can be retrieved in 2006 and vice versa because that’s how that works.
As you progress through the story, you’ll eventually unlock a safehouse which is where you can retrieve weapons and hide from the cops. You’ll also unlock vehicles and by meeting certain requirements, you can unlock in-game cheats. Parallel Lines does seem to feature a lot of racing. Many of the side jobs are races. These include street races, checkpoint races, and circuit races all of which seem to pay well. Circuit races come with multiple difficulty levels and the higher the difficulty, the more money you earn for winning and winning circuit races will reward you with some of the fastest vehicles in the game.
Aside from switching between eras, I can’t say there’s anything here that we haven’t see before in other games in the genre. However, Parallel Lines does do everything competently, making for a fun experience overall and I think it’s impressive how the different eras convey different atmospheres and tones while also remaining somewhat immersive. The vehicles are different, the way people dress are different, the weapons are different, and you’ll earn more money you for completing side jobs in 2006 but everything is also more expensive. Once you unlock the ability to switch eras, you can store a car in 2006 and modify it in 1978 at a cheaper price which I found to be humorous.
Compared to Driver 3, Parallel Lines does seem to tone down the on-foot stuff. Don’t get me wrong, there are missions that will require you to run around and shoot people but most of the gameplay revolves around driving. I do think there’s a lot of cool missions in the game and most put you in some exciting situations. You’ll have to break someone out of prison, steal vehicles, escort and protect and NPC, destroy porn shops, and there’s even some on-rail sequences. You’ll often be chased by gangsters, police, and you’ll sometimes have to engage helicopters. That’s not to say there’s no missions that suck like the one where you have to ensure certain cars win races but for the most part, I found most missions and the overall action in the game to be highly enjoyable.
The on foot mechanics have been revamped for the better in my opinion. Not perfect, of course, but running around and shooting feels a hell of a lot better than that of Driver 3. The gunplay feels good primarily due to the loud weapons fire. Some of the enemies can be spongey and if you’re outnumbered, you can lose health pretty quickly but health packs seem to be placed around every corner, at least during mission firefights. You can lock on when shooting or free aim and even lock on when driving and shoot out the window. NPCs can do the same thing so chases can be very action packed, intense and exciting. The felony system which is now referred to as Heat has been changed. You attract two separate kinds of heat, one for driving offenses and another for on-foot crimes.
Parallel Lines is set in New York City and a part of New Jersey. It is a condensed version of the real world locations but other than that, I would say it’s a pretty accurate reflection. There’s not as many indestructable objects this time around and with vehicle density maxed out, there’s quite a bit of vehicles on the road which I found to be impressive. In fact, there can sometimes be so many that driving around can be a pain in the ass. There’s a lot of recognizable buildings and landmarks, plenty of pedestrians on the sidewalks, plenty of alleyways, and tons of garbage and debris on the streets that will fly up into the air as vehicles blaze through.
Visually, the presentation is colorful, vehicle models look good, and the world is detailed. I actually love some the animations in this game, specifically some of the NPC animations in 1978. Just the way they walk and move can be funny. The soundtrack is full of licensed tunes and the music is actually part of the reason why the game successfully conveys the atmosphere of the eras, especially in 1978. On the technical side, the game ran smooth but I did encounter some issues. Whenever I would try to go back to the main menu from the pause menu, the game would crash to the desktop. It would do the same thing when I tried to switch eras and that was a bigger problem. I did find a solution on the game’s Steam forums but it resulted in my controller not working. However, after removing the DLL file, not only did my controller start working again but I was also able to switch between eras without the game crashing.
I had a lot of fun with Parallel Lines. It’s not the greatest game in the genre I’ve played but it’s a fun little open world romp. I think my biggest issue is that the whole game feels like it could have been better. The story is short, I wish there was more to do, and it’s not really innovative. The 1978 setting and switching between eras are the two things that really make this stand out. Some side jobs are more enjoyable than others, collecting vehicles and customizing them is fun, the driving and car chases are fun, and the game basically rectifies all the issues I had with Driver 3. Parallel Lines doesn’t feel rushed or lackluster but it doesn’t try to push the envelope, either. From a gameplay perspective, there’s not a lot here we haven’t seen before. But compared to its predecessors, there’s a lot of improvements and great additions here and I would even argue it’s the best game in the series up to this point.
I would absolutely recommend Driver: Parallel Lines. It may not be the greatest urban open world sandbox game of its time but it is a fun one. Playing around in a 1978 and 2006 New York City is the big draw here but even without the era gimmick, it’s a competent game and solid entry in the genre. The story, while short and simple, is well told, the gameplay is fun, and there’s enough here to keep players coming back. Definitely check it out.