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Video Games : Driver: Parallel Lines (Xbox)
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Rating: 
- Driver 4: Better than Driv3r?
When i read the review I had a vision of a game that was infinitely better and improved over its predocesser...
The truth is it is not.
Although it improves in some areas, such as the heat only being given to your car and Driver going back to its routes it still suffers some very simple problems.
AI and the police have been improved to be able to follow better through traffic, however they will get you for the simplest things! sometime, you stop at an intersection (to avoid being chased) and a police car hits you from behind chasing someone else and then promtply chases you because you went through a red light?
They will also get you for pulling a gun out whilst driving which is easily done when pulling a hand brake turn and accidentally hitting the X button. The problem is you cannot pull the gun away but rather wait 6/7 seconds for your character to do it himself.
The camera and locking system is improved but still suffer simple problems. although cycling through targets is easier you still sometimes target the wrong people and the person shooting at you kills you whilst you shoot an innocent passer by.
Modding cars? every car comes with a preset 5 other possible bodyworks. this is incredibly limited and does not improve the game for me. If it wanted to mod cars properly there should be some say in colour scheme or decals like Forza but in driver4 there is very little choice.
I was immensely dissapointed with this game and i would suggest you rent or borrow it first before buying.
Rating: - More like hard work
Driver 3, or 'Driv3r' as Reflections bizarrely titled it, was met with a chorus of catcalls when it launched several years ago. Much like 'Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness' it was the long-awaited debut of a beloved franchise on the new generation of consoles, and also like that ill-fated Tomb Raider game, it appeared to have been rushed out and was absolutely riddled with bugs. The problems made it an often frustrating experience to play; however, it did have its good points: the style and art direction were good, the spectacular crashes and exaggerated physics made for some exciting chases and the Director mode was a stroke of genius.
Cut to 2006, and coincidentally both Tomb Raider and Driver are trying to win back the fans they lost last time round. The bad news for Atari is that - unlike the successful return of Lara Croft - the new Driver game, despite being less "buggy" than its immediate predecessor, is arguably WORSE than the last game.
The setting is New York in two time periods, 1978 and 2006 - a nice idea, and the city is certainly huge and decently rendered. Unfotunately the size of the play area is one of the biggest problems. Missions are spread out all over, and it can take over ten minutes of real time to reach your next destination. Not only that, but there is so much traffic on the roads and the police are so sharp and ruthless, that you'll end up driving at about 20 miles an hour and stopping at every red light just to avoid the hassle of a police pursuit. Is this meant to be fun? If that's what I wanted to do in my spare time, I'd just drive into London and join a traffic jam.
The game's story has little connection to the previous games (at least, that's the way it appears at first) and is fairly uninvolving, especially as the big plot twist is known to just about everyone by now. The graphics are decent but unspectacular, and some of the missions are hair-tearingly frustrating (although that's been a fault of all the Driver games). It's a great shame to see a one-time genre leader reduced to the status of an also-ran, but if the Driver franchise is to survive for a fifth installment, it needs some serious work.
Rating:
- Great game or not!!!
This game is far better than driv3r, with the best story line and car modifications which are awesome, the missions are great (taking out prison vans and braking into jail and more. Although they should have put loads more missions into it, the game is abit scrappy in places. They have just rushed the making of this game meaning its not as good as it should be.
I still recommend you buy this game as itis alot of fun.I find the last mission (trying to shoot the heli down) impossible.
Rating: - Driver is back!
XBOX version reviewed.
Reflections' Driver series of realistic crime-sims first came to fame on the original Play Station and soon went on to grace nearly every format, but sadly soon fell from grace with the advent of the highly-acclaimed and popular Grand Theft Auto series. Despite attempting to beat GTA at its own game with the over-hyped and rushed out Driver 3, the game series looked like it was dead and buried.
Now with a new lick of paint and plenty of thought and restructuring & inspiration from the success of the GTA games, Reflections have revealed what is probably the finest Driver to date. A strongly story-based, atmospheric game set in a stunningly realised New York of 1978 (and later New York of 2006), this carefully designed game makes up for much that was wrong with the Driver series till now. Missions are less of a chore with the quick re-try option, its easier to avoid the law with the ability to swap cars to lower your wanted level, the map is a joy to navigate, thanks to a San Andreas inspired marker option so you can pin-point your destination - and you can even warp to different locations instantly from the Safe House or the Auto Garages dotted around the city.
On a technical stand point, this is a very nice looking game, with impressive draw distance and little pop up. The cars (and bikes) handle realistically and are a joy to use, and all the characters and pedestrians are detailed and real looking. Add to this some classy tunes on the in-car stereo (though sadly no DJs) and on XBOX at least, the ability to customise your soundtrack with your favourite tunes. This is a package that really knows how to impress.
Of course the game has the same flaws all these free-roaming city-based games do, with tricky missions made even harder by over-zealous Police and tons of annoying-get-in-your-way traffic, but with quality lock-on aiming, the ability to shoot whilst driving (and not just with drive-by UZI's as in GTA), whatever this game does wrong - it does pretty much everything else right.
Note: this game is presented in wide-screen on both XBOX and PS2 although no option to change this setting to full screen is available on either platform. On the PS2 the game can run in Progressive Scan, and although this option is missing from the XBOX version, I hear it supports 480p Hi-Def if you have the right cabling and TV to benefit.
Verdict: 4 /5
Rating: - The Backbone Of Driver - The Chases - Is G.O.N.E!!!!
The thrill of the chase is gone....
Now youre just driving from A to B just for the hell of it...
So dont waste your money buying... just rent!
Quite clearly Reflections are dellusionally disoriented...
They sacrifice the very thing that uphold the fans interests..
- the ALMIGHTY chases...the chases??!?! thats unforgiveable
- powerslidding round bends
- the movie director
- did i say the very flavor of driver - the chases - is gone?!
- the speedy chases - the speed
And decided to do a GTA clone!!!
They sold their souls to the devil.... for money
I hope they blooooody see this review in uk to see how they phukked! up really badly and let the fans down!!!
there were better designed chases in driv3r but still not enough
a star for the 70s tunes and a star for upgradeable cars
- Driver 4: Better than Driv3r?When i read the review I had a vision of a game that was infinitely better and improved over its predocesser...
The truth is it is not.
Although it improves in some areas, such as the heat only being given to your car and Driver going back to its routes it still suffers some very simple problems.
AI and the police have been improved to be able to follow better through traffic, however they will get you for the simplest things! sometime, you stop at an intersection (to avoid being chased) and a police car hits you from behind chasing someone else and then promtply chases you because you went through a red light?
They will also get you for pulling a gun out whilst driving which is easily done when pulling a hand brake turn and accidentally hitting the X button. The problem is you cannot pull the gun away but rather wait 6/7 seconds for your character to do it himself.
The camera and locking system is improved but still suffer simple problems. although cycling through targets is easier you still sometimes target the wrong people and the person shooting at you kills you whilst you shoot an innocent passer by.
Modding cars? every car comes with a preset 5 other possible bodyworks. this is incredibly limited and does not improve the game for me. If it wanted to mod cars properly there should be some say in colour scheme or decals like Forza but in driver4 there is very little choice.
I was immensely dissapointed with this game and i would suggest you rent or borrow it first before buying.
Rating:
- More like hard workDriver 3, or 'Driv3r' as Reflections bizarrely titled it, was met with a chorus of catcalls when it launched several years ago. Much like 'Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness' it was the long-awaited debut of a beloved franchise on the new generation of consoles, and also like that ill-fated Tomb Raider game, it appeared to have been rushed out and was absolutely riddled with bugs. The problems made it an often frustrating experience to play; however, it did have its good points: the style and art direction were good, the spectacular crashes and exaggerated physics made for some exciting chases and the Director mode was a stroke of genius.
Cut to 2006, and coincidentally both Tomb Raider and Driver are trying to win back the fans they lost last time round. The bad news for Atari is that - unlike the successful return of Lara Croft - the new Driver game, despite being less "buggy" than its immediate predecessor, is arguably WORSE than the last game.
The setting is New York in two time periods, 1978 and 2006 - a nice idea, and the city is certainly huge and decently rendered. Unfotunately the size of the play area is one of the biggest problems. Missions are spread out all over, and it can take over ten minutes of real time to reach your next destination. Not only that, but there is so much traffic on the roads and the police are so sharp and ruthless, that you'll end up driving at about 20 miles an hour and stopping at every red light just to avoid the hassle of a police pursuit. Is this meant to be fun? If that's what I wanted to do in my spare time, I'd just drive into London and join a traffic jam.
The game's story has little connection to the previous games (at least, that's the way it appears at first) and is fairly uninvolving, especially as the big plot twist is known to just about everyone by now. The graphics are decent but unspectacular, and some of the missions are hair-tearingly frustrating (although that's been a fault of all the Driver games). It's a great shame to see a one-time genre leader reduced to the status of an also-ran, but if the Driver franchise is to survive for a fifth installment, it needs some serious work.
Rating:
- Great game or not!!!This game is far better than driv3r, with the best story line and car modifications which are awesome, the missions are great (taking out prison vans and braking into jail and more. Although they should have put loads more missions into it, the game is abit scrappy in places. They have just rushed the making of this game meaning its not as good as it should be.
I still recommend you buy this game as itis alot of fun.I find the last mission (trying to shoot the heli down) impossible.
Rating:
- Driver is back!XBOX version reviewed.
Reflections' Driver series of realistic crime-sims first came to fame on the original Play Station and soon went on to grace nearly every format, but sadly soon fell from grace with the advent of the highly-acclaimed and popular Grand Theft Auto series. Despite attempting to beat GTA at its own game with the over-hyped and rushed out Driver 3, the game series looked like it was dead and buried.
Now with a new lick of paint and plenty of thought and restructuring & inspiration from the success of the GTA games, Reflections have revealed what is probably the finest Driver to date. A strongly story-based, atmospheric game set in a stunningly realised New York of 1978 (and later New York of 2006), this carefully designed game makes up for much that was wrong with the Driver series till now. Missions are less of a chore with the quick re-try option, its easier to avoid the law with the ability to swap cars to lower your wanted level, the map is a joy to navigate, thanks to a San Andreas inspired marker option so you can pin-point your destination - and you can even warp to different locations instantly from the Safe House or the Auto Garages dotted around the city.
On a technical stand point, this is a very nice looking game, with impressive draw distance and little pop up. The cars (and bikes) handle realistically and are a joy to use, and all the characters and pedestrians are detailed and real looking. Add to this some classy tunes on the in-car stereo (though sadly no DJs) and on XBOX at least, the ability to customise your soundtrack with your favourite tunes. This is a package that really knows how to impress.
Of course the game has the same flaws all these free-roaming city-based games do, with tricky missions made even harder by over-zealous Police and tons of annoying-get-in-your-way traffic, but with quality lock-on aiming, the ability to shoot whilst driving (and not just with drive-by UZI's as in GTA), whatever this game does wrong - it does pretty much everything else right.
Note: this game is presented in wide-screen on both XBOX and PS2 although no option to change this setting to full screen is available on either platform. On the PS2 the game can run in Progressive Scan, and although this option is missing from the XBOX version, I hear it supports 480p Hi-Def if you have the right cabling and TV to benefit.
Verdict: 4 /5
Rating:
- The Backbone Of Driver - The Chases - Is G.O.N.E!!!!The thrill of the chase is gone....
Now youre just driving from A to B just for the hell of it...
So dont waste your money buying... just rent!
Quite clearly Reflections are dellusionally disoriented...
They sacrifice the very thing that uphold the fans interests..
- the ALMIGHTY chases...the chases??!?! thats unforgiveable
- powerslidding round bends
- the movie director
- did i say the very flavor of driver - the chases - is gone?!
- the speedy chases - the speed
And decided to do a GTA clone!!!
They sold their souls to the devil.... for money
I hope they blooooody see this review in uk to see how they phukked! up really badly and let the fans down!!!
there were better designed chases in driv3r but still not enough
a star for the 70s tunes and a star for upgradeable cars