Posted January 21, 2010
Before there was GTA 3 there was 'Driver'.
Driver 1 and 2 started the whole 3d sand-box driving genre. They were classics that GTA 3 borrowed heavily from, and yes, GTA 3 did do it better.
I have a love / hate relationship with the driver series. I never played 1 or 2 but i started with Driv3r (Driver 3). On first play it was a startling game. Fantastic graphics and ultra realistic handling. It looked beautiful and had a revolutionary replay mode that let you make your own movies from gameplay. I thought 'wow this is going to change games' and for a while i was hooked.
Much like the GTA series most of the fun was cruising the streets and having gunfights with cops before stealing a car and trying to escape. But then the cracks started to show. Bugs and glitches and halfway through the game it got insanely hard and unfair on the player. To be honest it frustrated me so much i snapped the disc so that the game wouldnt be able to frustrate some poor guy just like me. Trouble was the game was great until halfway through and it got impossible. Any little obstacle no matter how small would make you crash and automatically lose.
It was after this that 'Driver Parralles Lines' was released. Everything was different from the previous Driv3r. It turns out that i wasnt the only one the was frustrated by the previous game. Sure this version of Driver was less frustrating, but im not sure it was an improvement. As flawed as Driv3r was, its core gameplay was amazing. Driver-Parrallel lines now plays exactly like the GTA 3 series and felt dumbed down in comparason. All of the on-foot gunplay now used a lock-on auto target like GTA 3 and you could tell that the game engine was totally different.
That being said, the game is actually very good. the story is engaging and the driving control is done well. The Cars handle fine and the environments all look good ( of a Saints Row / GTA standard) The 1970's setting is a big draw here and the sound-track is fantastic. This game is going to suffer from comparisons with the GTA series. It's a GTA clone, but a good one. It's worth the $9 price tag and then some. Yes the GTA series is better but there is something about this game that is addictive. Compared to a game like GTA Vice City etc this game would rate maybe a three out of Five stars but i think that would be unfair. Without comparing it to the GTA series, Driver-Parrallel lines deserves a 4 out of 5 stars. Sure you'd probably find me in the GTA / Saints Row universe before going to Driver, but then why do i really want to play this game again?....it's worth more than 9 bucks you cheap bastard so give it a shot and decide for yourself.
Driver 1 and 2 started the whole 3d sand-box driving genre. They were classics that GTA 3 borrowed heavily from, and yes, GTA 3 did do it better.
I have a love / hate relationship with the driver series. I never played 1 or 2 but i started with Driv3r (Driver 3). On first play it was a startling game. Fantastic graphics and ultra realistic handling. It looked beautiful and had a revolutionary replay mode that let you make your own movies from gameplay. I thought 'wow this is going to change games' and for a while i was hooked.
Much like the GTA series most of the fun was cruising the streets and having gunfights with cops before stealing a car and trying to escape. But then the cracks started to show. Bugs and glitches and halfway through the game it got insanely hard and unfair on the player. To be honest it frustrated me so much i snapped the disc so that the game wouldnt be able to frustrate some poor guy just like me. Trouble was the game was great until halfway through and it got impossible. Any little obstacle no matter how small would make you crash and automatically lose.
It was after this that 'Driver Parralles Lines' was released. Everything was different from the previous Driv3r. It turns out that i wasnt the only one the was frustrated by the previous game. Sure this version of Driver was less frustrating, but im not sure it was an improvement. As flawed as Driv3r was, its core gameplay was amazing. Driver-Parrallel lines now plays exactly like the GTA 3 series and felt dumbed down in comparason. All of the on-foot gunplay now used a lock-on auto target like GTA 3 and you could tell that the game engine was totally different.
That being said, the game is actually very good. the story is engaging and the driving control is done well. The Cars handle fine and the environments all look good ( of a Saints Row / GTA standard) The 1970's setting is a big draw here and the sound-track is fantastic. This game is going to suffer from comparisons with the GTA series. It's a GTA clone, but a good one. It's worth the $9 price tag and then some. Yes the GTA series is better but there is something about this game that is addictive. Compared to a game like GTA Vice City etc this game would rate maybe a three out of Five stars but i think that would be unfair. Without comparing it to the GTA series, Driver-Parrallel lines deserves a 4 out of 5 stars. Sure you'd probably find me in the GTA / Saints Row universe before going to Driver, but then why do i really want to play this game again?....it's worth more than 9 bucks you cheap bastard so give it a shot and decide for yourself.
