The full name of the game in the original: Driver: Parallel Lines
Developer: Reflections Interactive
Publisher: Ubisoft
Number of discs in the original version: 1 DVD
Similar games: GTA series
Minimum requirements: Windows XP SP1, Pentium 4 2GHz, 256MB RAM, 64MB video
Recommended requirements: Windows XP SP1, Pentium 4 3.4 GHz, 512 MB memory, 256 MB video
Over the years, we have seen the degradation of the famous Driver game series. Brilliant first part, the peak of glory, and then a long fall into the abyss. In Driver 2, of course, there were already more features, but it lost the spirit of the game, the atmosphere of the original. Driv3r turned out to be so terrible that only the lazy did not kick Reflections for this mockery of gamers. In 2006, the fourth part called Driver: Parallel Lines was released on the last generation consoles, which unexpectedly reminded everyone of its famous parent with its atmosphere, but turned out to be full of annoying bugs. In June 2007, Ubisoft, which bought the rights to the series from Activision, released Driver: Parallel lines on PC as well.
Get rich or die trying
The plot of the game begins in 1978. A young provincial guy nicknamed Kid leaves his home and moves to New York with the dream of becoming someone significant, getting rich and gaining respect. But in order to achieve the cherished goal, Kid will have to strain his "fifth point" well, because he came to the "Big Apple" with empty pockets: no money, no connections, nothing that could cling to and rise in society. It should be noted that our guy is also not a bastard: he is an excellent driver, easily approaches the underworld and, despite his 18 years, is able to benefit from absolutely any event. Kid is not a squeamish person and without hesitation takes on the dirtiest work - nothing will stand in his way to a good life.
Two New Yorks
As I said, the game begins in the late 70s - during the active dawn of organized crime. Heroin, rock and roll, unique style (long hair, wide pants and big sunglasses) - everything is in place. Reflections showed the New York of the 70s in all its unique and attractive beauty.
But after a series of events, the action of the game is transferred to another time, on the calendar of the 2006th year - and modern New York appears before us. I must say that the “city that never sleeps” of the 2006 model was also a success for the developers to the fullest - an almost perfect transfer of the atmosphere of a city crowded with people: crowds of darting pedestrians, traffic jams, a huge amount of dirt and debris, the total predominance of boring gray.
The city is divided into three islands: Manhattan, Queens and New Jersey - and is available for exploration from the very beginning. Go where you want, do what you want. Except story missions, Kid can look for money "on the side": work as a taxi driver or take part in races. Hacks above the roof, but one problem - most of the non-plot missions are not displayed on the global map. To search for them, you will have to personally climb all the gateways and dead ends, which is sheer absurdity.
Cars
The main business card of the series is the excellent study of vehicles. In the fourth part, unlike Driv3r, this is in order. The fleet is represented by more than eighty models, including cars from two eras (70s and today), including motorcycles, various kinds of garbage trucks and cranes. There are no waterfowl vehicles, which is a pity - I would very much like to ride a boat on the Hudson. Driving wheelbarrows does not require special skills - everything is simple and unpretentious. The damage system looks a bit ambiguous - of course, it is well developed, but sometimes it turns very strange tricks, like square dents.
All cars for more attractiveness and enhance their specifications are subject to immediate tuning (if the necessary amount is available), which, by the way, is implemented here much better than in GTA: San Andreas(at least in some ways Reflections bypassed Rockstar). Your "wheels" can be upgraded technically (new engine, nitrous oxide, etc.) and visually. And you can add something "exotic" - for example, armored tires and a body. Yes, and do not be afraid for the money invested in a wheelbarrow - if you break the car or lose it, for a small fee it will be found, towed to the garage and repaired.
First steps and first falls
It's not the first time when porting a game from a previous generation of consoles, the developers are transferring terrible graphics to the PC ... but so what?! In Driver: Parallel Lines, everything except vehicles looks extremely bad: very low resolution textures, some kind of cardboard boxes instead of houses, a general lack of polygons, "wooden" character animation. A strange move by Ubisoft - to release this squalor in mid-2007 without finalizing it properly. Next on the blacklist of "original platform problems" is the stupid "checkpoint" save system. It is worth making a mistake once - and half an hour of the game will go down the drain. I would like to especially note the total stupidity of the local artificial intelligence - both ordinary citizens and police officers. For example, instead of chasing you, the brave patrolmen will hammer the fence next to them with a manic fury.
Although not everything is as bad as it seems - playing Driver: Parallel lines, you will most likely go through it to the end. You will endure with courage all the "vybryki" of the game, just to find out how Kid's story ends. Interesting story, excellent directing of local videos and their excellent voice acting create the impression of watching a real Hollywood movie "AAA" class. The closest associations are "Gone in 60 seconds" and " Mad Dogs"And also the music - it's just magical. Incendiary compositions of the 70s and the present - everything is chosen solidly and tastefully.
Joy
Well directed videos
Cars
Atmosphere of the first part
awesome music
nasty things
Terrible graphics
Dumb AI
Stupid save system
Strange damage system
Rating: 5.5
Conclusion:
A completely ambiguous project that is simply boring to play. Reflections again, instead of the good old Driver, gave us another half-thought-out GTA clone, which in all respects does not reach the brainchild of Rockstar.
The American dream: a mansion, a swimming pool, a cigar and a blonde with a round ass. In pursuit of such dreams, the eighteen-year-old blockhead TK (TK) came to New York. And ... I did not find anything better than to get a driver for local bandits. After all, if you get involved in the drug business in time, all your dreams will certainly come true! But the young man was cruelly mistaken: his accomplices set him up, putting him behind bars for a good twenty-eight years. After serving "from call to call", Ty was released as an embittered man with a clear plan of revenge... 
Having used up the entire margin of safety, the cars do not explode, as in a cheap action movie, but remain lying as a motionless heap of metal. The windows of the car beautifully reflect the sunlight, but the boring boxes of buildings spoil the whole picture.
For all time
After long ordeals and torments, Reflections finally caught up Grand Theft Auto! True, the developers still failed to get around Rockstar with its imperishable. From Driver: Parallel Lines a first-class clone came out, but no more. But in one project, the studio fit two episodes at once Grand Theft Auto: the original third and vice city.
We meet T.K. in 1978, in the era of hippies and English rock, and we continue our exploits today. A sharp change of styles is one of the main advantages of the game. First, old-fashioned sedans and antediluvian motorcycles flicker on the bright streets, and after a colorful screensaver, we are greeted by a dull gray modern New York with a luxurious fleet of chrome-plated beauties.
Perhaps, with despondency, the designers even went too far. Textures, especially on PS2, left much to be desired even in the seventies, and with the onset of the 21st century, they finally slipped into unprepossessing nondescriptness.
Censorship!
politically correct Driv3r flooded the streets with pedestrians, but established an inviolable ban on the murder of citizens: the loitering public deftly jumped out from under the wheels in any situation. Now you can crush the darlings, but you still won’t see blood and corpses. Immortal mannequins rise from the asphalt and wander on. 
"Hey babe, how about a cup of coffee?" yes, Reflections is scrupulous in matters of morality.
Wherever I want, I go there!
To the credit of the developers, the gameplay is good enough to distract from painful thoughts. Reflections has finally stopped splitting the game into "free" and "story" modes, crumbling both into one plate. The Big Apple is represented by three districts separated by bridges. We are free to move in any direction, brazenly mess around and bring the local "DEP" to the handle. Having rolled enough, you can, without leaving the menu, pay tribute to the scenario - you just need to roll up to the employer. According to a good tradition established by you-know-what-game, mandatory tasks are diluted with part-time jobs on the side, which, however, do not differ in variety (ordinary races prevail). Yes, and there is little sense in them: side missions allow you to fill your pockets with cash, but there is simply nowhere to spend this money. The main expense item is car tuning. Now remember, how often have you indulged in the modernization of a steel friend in GTA: San Andreas? A game in which the protagonist changes "wheels" like gloves does not at all instill love (and even more affection!) For cars. What's the point of spending money on a new engine if you're going to crash the car in the first chase anyway?
Cops at gunpoint 
The local police are tough. If in the notorious GTA III speeding and running a red light got away with reckless racers, then in Driver: Parallel Lines for such antics will have to answer. The cops start the chase for any of these violations, although it is not difficult to break away from them. Firstly, police cars are marked on the mini-map, you always know where to expect trouble. Secondly, the carriers from the law enforcement officers are terrible. Banal slalom between the pillars puts the "cops" to a standstill. However, even on a straight highway, dunces stupidly ram their prey "in the tail", instead of competently pressing it to the side of the road. 
ok but late
The plot is interesting insofar as. Of course, the very idea of punishing offenders in twenty-eight years is romantic in its own way, but the embodiment, by modern quality standards, is still limping. Chasing gangsters along the asphalt arteries of New York quickly gets boring, useless physics adds fuel to the fire. Chasing villains on foot is boring because of the crooked controls: shooting at a moving target turns into a difficult attraction. Sensible mini-games were not delivered, aviation too. By content Driver: Parallel Lines closer to original Grand Theft Auto III, which debuted back in 2001! Reflections did some serious work on the bugs, but was hopelessly late with the change. Holidays in the yard.
Don't glow!
New driver contains as many as two "crime indicators". The first is filled when you run amok at the wheel. It is enough to break away from the pursuers and change the "wheels" to knock the chase off the trail. The second notes “pedestrian” offenses, and here you can’t hide in another car, you have to sit at home. 
Publication date: 31.10.2013 11:10:29
A huge number of crime-themed games come out every year, but one moment is missed in all of them, no matter how well the crime is thought out, in the end, the success or failure of the whole thing depends on only one person - the driver. It is the role of this most important element that invites us to experience for ourselves, throughout our existence.
Waste Banner
Awesome toy! Passed it three times, two of which were in a row. Cars, with individual sound and control! Considering that year, it's just amazing! The plot itself is also interesting and quite logical. play, pass, enjoy!
gaming guru
game mind
Post edited by user 03.11.2013 22:25:27
Yes, the game was good at the time
Especially some retro style and a long-haired hippie with a pump-action overweight, cool + Driver. Passed without regret. Hood review
PS By the way, I found cool art)
and a cool sound, of course, I remembered from the game)
Are you a big fan of the Driver series? Do you think that after the 3rd part the project slipped into UG? Refused to shed tears over Driver: Parallel Lines? Correctly. Because there will be no more tears to shed. It's a new Driver with a twist on GTA and mass consumption!
New generation:
I am a big fan of this series of games. My acquaintance with the Driver began with the 2nd part, which I replayed 3 times, and how much my sister and I drove in the cop / bandit mode on the split screen, I will never count. A storm of emotions, admiration, a good story and races made us worry about the fate of the hero in modern times. After that, a small file came out on PS2, and stagnation began. It continued until a glimmer of hope loomed on the horizon in the form of the next game in the series, with all the qualities and features that tried to look like GTA (another racing, ala gangster, series).
Having got rid of the number in the title (good projects do not need them, since they will still be successfully sold), we got a game that the language does not dare to call Driver in the usual sense. The game turned out to be much more interesting and technologically more advanced than its predecessor. Candy in the studio!
Storyline:
Let's start with the fact that most of even the most zealous fans were rather cautious about new game. Grain by grain, the people gathering information were fed with gameplay, screenshots and art. The story is much later...
We find ourselves in the largest city in the world, New York. Our character's name is The Kid, or TK for short. Outside in 1978. We are 18 years old. Wild youth, impudence, love for fast cars, money and drugs - our middle name. Such an interesting protagonist, with an equally interesting neighbor Ray.
The path we have chosen is thorny and slippery. Our guy takes any job offered to make ends meet. Communication with dangerous people in such a naive adolescence is unlikely to lead to anything positive, so it is not surprising that we end up behind bars, and behind fairly thick walls.
Years go by, the city grows, new cars are produced, life changes. But the grid is so thick that we leave it only in 2006. We are not far from our half-century anniversary, and we have spent most of our lives on bunk beds (no girls, no wheelbarrows, no fresh air). Only one desire has survived over the years in us. The desire to take revenge on the one who framed us. The plot is interesting, but whether it will lead us to the exit or even more problems, we do not know.
Ideal formula:
The gameplay in the game is diverse and does not focus on just one thing. The game lets you explore the city and take on a variety of jobs (jobs, if you please) throughout New York and even a small part of New Jersey. The game doesn't restrict you to completing objective missions like you did in Driver 2. Instead, you can take your iron horse wherever you want in a completely open world.
Actually, the story progresses just by completing the main missions. There are more than 80 cars to choose from, some of which are secret and will not be opened without additional conditions. The complete set of cars is also different, from pumped sports beauties to racing motorcycles and ambulances.
The main ways to get cars: search and steal. The game covers a large period of time, so that we can see any representative of the freeway that we come across between 1978-2006 on the street. Cars change, the speedometer changes, which can not be said about other arcade races.
You can upgrade the cars by changing their filling to the best one or fasten a new engine cooling system in Ray's shop, which over the years has become adept at plumbing. In principle, you can even install bulletproof glass or repaint the body, nitro acceleration is also in the saddle. True, for all the necessary money.
Your earnings:
Money is earned with sweat and blood ... somewhere, but not here. In Driver 4 (well, after all, this is the 4th part of the game), you can earn pocket money with additional missions. They come in every taste and color, from working as a taxi driver to missions to kill customers. Well, where to spend the cash, you already know. There are also several races in which you can take part without driving far from the garages. The first one is pure racing. The second is a track where you can demonstrate different driving styles. Finally, the most surprising and memorable, the third is an off-road race with jumps and jumps among the hills. Want to feel real speed? Then go here.
Lone shooter:
Shooting is an important part of Driver: Parallel Lines gameplay. Our hero has access to various farts, which he will not lack. A cool trick is connected with firing from a car - the character sticks out a weapon from the window and shoots in the direction of the car. Well, how can you not remember about Rockstar Games and its brainchild GTA (with which I personally have terrible impressions, since Vice City was terribly slow and buggy).
Let's name at least a few trunks. They will please us: in the last century a 44-caliber revolver and an ultrasound (not the apparatus that is in the city hospital), in the current century - TMR, an assault rifle and even a rocket launcher. Hmm, an arsenal what you need. Most missions are completed without using it, but when the game is worth the candle, aiming at enemies is very convenient (the process of aiming the sight is carried out by lightly pressing the left trigger, after which the target becomes captured). Who are you going to shoot? Well, these are ordinary school teachers, postal workers and city wall newspapers ... no, I still messed something up. So, you will have to leave holes in bodyguards, mafiosi, drug lords and policemen. I note that the game does not encourage violence, so it is better to make every effort to complete missions with little bloodshed.
Graphic arts:
The plot component of the game is served in dimensional portions in the form of well-made and rendered cut scenes. Not as spectacular as in the latest NFS, but also nothing. Adult and real characters with difficult destinies, whose life is happening right before our eyes. The development team managed to recreate the "Big Apple" (as they call New York) with a high degree of detail. If we meet grassy areas in the central park, then they bend down from the breaths of the wind, the oncoming traffic is dense and varied. The only thing that can be depressing is the low resolution of the textures, well, at least they are loaded without brakes, otherwise it would be a specific file. Still, the game came out on PS2, so what the console could do, it pulled.
The character models are interesting and with character. By appearance and gestures can tell what actions are characteristic of him or what a particular person is up to. People on the streets crackle like magpies, never stopping for a minute. A lot of them. The police and the First Medical are rushing to the calls, and all this is happening around you. In general, the sun is shining, the birds are flying, the plot is developing, and this is accompanied by a high-quality picture. I like.
Music:
Like many other things in this game, the music is also selected in the context of 2 centuries. Old tracks from the 70s and new modern compositions are heard from your speakers. Sound accompaniment also did not disappoint - powerful engine motors roar so that you start to get scared by the thought of what kind of stuffing is inside them. The bangs from the firing sound plausible, the bullets ricochet off artificial surfaces just like that.
Feel the car
We will control the game not only by vehicles, but also by the usual movement of the character through the locations. In principle, no one forbids you to run back and forth on foot, but sooner or later you will get tired of this activity. Any car, be it a truck, a passenger car, a truck or a motorcycle, adequately responds to the players pressing the buttons. Of course, characteristics such as acceleration, top speed and nitro acceleration are different for each mechanism. First of all, the weight of the car affects this, and then everything else. The fact that the cars are so different from each other in terms of characteristics adds credibility and realism to the game. By the way, some tricks are only available for certain categories of cars. If it’s easy enough to make a 180-degree turn on fast and racing brands, then the truck, due to its maneuverability, is not worth such an attempt. Conversely, the ramming capabilities of a large vehicle and even an ambulance are more significant than those of their younger counterparts.
Does everyone remember how difficult it was to move on foot in Driver 2? Back then, our undercover cop barely moved his feet, and there was no question of doing anything other than walking. Times change, customs change. The protagonist of this game is fast enough, aiming and shooting is no more difficult than biting off a slice of a banana. The jump button was a bit of a letdown, as the character doesn't always do what you want them to do.
The opportunity to swim is gone, as well as we will not be allowed to steer a yacht. However, if the hero manages to end up in the water, he will simply resurrect off the coast, tarnishing his reputation a little. I remember my "water" trips in Driver 2 in a tropical town, I think the area was called "Havana" (^.^).
Let's play one more time:
As soon as we finish the main storyline, we will be able to switch between the eras of the game, find the remaining stars that are being collected in the process, and complete the latest work.
Conclusion:
Let's not forget that the series had a negative period. Let's put it all down to the fact that the game came out too early, when the PS2 had just appeared, and its capabilities were not really explored. The new Driver retains a unique atmosphere that captivates the player with the plot and gameplay, while it incorporates good features from other projects, such as GTA.
game, on this moment, is already quite old and can hardly compete graphically with similar games, but there are not so many like it. The weight of every element of the game elevates it to some kind of abstract category, so until the new Rockstar Games project comes out, check it out. Should appeal to all PSX Driver lovers and thoughtful gamers.
The former hero of the series - Tanner, who did not find even a third of the popularity of Tommy Verchetti, went on a well-deserved rest. Instead, a certain T.K. appeared on the stage - a New York hooligan with a pretty crazy brain. The young man is fluent in obscene slang, loves alcohol and women, and earns a living by driving criminal elements, and therefore regularly gets into the thick of gangster showdowns. In a word, a real macho.
New York yesterday, today, tomorrow
Outside the window, meanwhile, 1979. From the writers main character goes to jail, winds up the term and is released only in 2006, in order to immediately embark on the path of revenge, continuing to drive fast and shoot a lot in the already transformed New York. List bad habits"Reclined" T.K. is led by firing on the move. If in GTA we scribbled at pedestrians from the window, now, without hesitation, we lean out of the car with a machine gun in our hands and an expression of genuine happiness on our faces. Say it's unbelievable? In Driver: Parallel Lines you should not look for realism at all. The behavior of the machines from the first part has not changed one iota - the rattlers glide and fly like fluffs (well, at least they beat spectacularly). And the dull New York of 2006 hangs over this bacchanalia with gloomy skyscrapers - the melancholy takes such that you don’t even want to travel.
Stop Reflections on these innovations, we would have already carried the box with the game to the landfill. But, fortunately, the developers did not forget to eliminate the main scourge of all previous series - the stupid splitting of the game into modes. Any part of Grand Theft Auto captivates with the illusion of freedom: if you want to get a task, go to the customer, if you just want to relax, all the streets and courtyards of a hypothetical metropolis are at your disposal. By the same analogy, all types of activities of "Carrier" were combined.
Bulls in caps
Now we're roaming the city, completing missions, participating in optional competitions, or just unnerving the cops. The behavioral algorithm of the latter still copies the habits of breeding bulls: the player is a red rag that must be "gored" at any cost. In principle, they do not know how to take the offender "in a box" or press him to the side of the road; driving like crazy into a criminal is their only tactic. In this scenario, even a one-year-old child can escape from the chase.
A little later, when the New York gopnik gets a heaped "motor", the police fleet is also expanding with new cars. True, it is better to drive while they do not start - maneuvering remains a problem of local "intelligence" until the very end. Departure into the oncoming lane, a dashing turn on slippery grass, slalom between poles - all this confuses the pursuers. You, with a little practice, will perform such tricks while yawning. Troubles in your life will be added only by tasks of criminal cones, severely limited in time. T.K., like his predecessor Tanner, does not know how to plan a day at all, starting work at the very last minute.
A special "thank you" deserves perfect shooting. If you feel like a fish out of water with a gamepad in your hands, feel free to aim manually. For everyone else, it's best to let the alter ego handle the scope on its own right away. However, you should not overdo it with the street execution of passers-by in both cases - the policemen who have run down to shoot will immediately force you to change your occupation. If at the same time your inner executioner remains unsatisfied, it is enough to break away from the pursuers and change the vehicle, continuing the execution in the neighboring microdistrict. Considering how often you have to leave damaged or "highlighted" cars, it's completely unclear why Reflections added "steel horses" upgrades to Parallel Lines.
Come yesterday
Equally unobvious is the answer to the question of whether it is worth spending time on this when there is GTA: San Andreas. For example, in the Rockstar project there is no such wonderful music that T.K. enjoys - the compositions of David Bowie, Marvin Gaye and other American pop legends sound from the speakers everywhere. But the unfortunate gangster will never take to the skies on a plane, will not run into a "coffee with a continuation" to a girlfriend, and even more so will not jump with a parachute. Despite the obvious changes for the better, Reflections is hopelessly late. Driver: Parallel Lines is undoubtedly the best project of the series, but it is still too early for him to compete with the masterpieces of California brawlers.
