Parallel Lines takes a step foward from Driv3r, but still seems to fall short of the other games in the genre.
I liked some of the new ideas that they incorporated into this game. For one thing, I think that the police chases have been greatly imrpoved. It is actually very hard to escape a pursuit most of the time. I also liked the side missions, because they give players a chance to get away from the story missions. There are several side missions to complete, such as checkpoint races and track races. You can earn money by winning the races, which you can spend on customizing your rides. And, now that Driver is free roam, it feels much better, and you don't have to go to "Take A Ride Mode" just to have some fun.
The new character is ok, but I still wish they would have put Tanner in. Maybe he was just getting old, and maybe it was time for a change. I liked how they improved the on foot controls, and the aiming system is much better. This makes the game a lot more fun, and I'm glad that they really worked to fix some of the games main problems. Glitches still exist in this game, but not nearly on the same scale as Driv3r. Sometimes, glitches can be fun, but in Driv3r they were just annoying at times.
The missions in this game are more fun too, and they weren't as repetitive as in the other Driver games. I think that they made Parallel Lines more like the traditional Driver games, and that's what brought some new entertainment back into this game. There are several missions that involve shooting up local baddies, chasing down armored trucks, and stealing cars. There are also some on foot missions, which are not quite as fun as the driving-based ones.
One thing that this game does lack is originality. You will see that it has many qualities that are similar to GTA, from the practically indentical map interface, to the car customization garages. The storyline, although it does have some entertaining plot points, is nothing out of the ordinary. Hey, at least its better than a cop and his buddies risking their lives to stop a car smuggline ring like in the previous games. Although these features were technically clones of GTA, they still added some new feeling to the game. I had a lot of fun customizing the construction vehicles.
Atari has done a pretty good job, and although this game doesn't compare to GTA, I think that Driver has moved one step closer to being a good match for GTA. I know that a lot of people wont buy this game because they didn't like Driv3r, but I think that this game is so much better than the last one, and that we should forget about the mistakes they made in the past with this game. I really did like Driv3r, but I think that the new cars, graphics, and features of this game gave it some more replay value. It makes me proud that Driver has returned to its natural entertainment.