Driver: Parallel Lines

 Xbox
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
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  1. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    86
    A genuine and triumphant return to form for the Driver series, and even shows the mighty Grand Theft Auto franchise a few cool new tricks along the way. [April 2006, p.65]
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  2. Game Chronicles
    83
    A significant step in the right direction and almost enough to make me forget about the wasted hours I spend on "Driver 3."
  3. Game Over Online
    82
    The story isn't much, but the game itself is always fun to play - providing a strong, but fair challenge as you progress, while delivering the most thrilling car chases in gaming.
  5. MS Xbox World
    80
    Sure there aren't as many options as in "GTA: SA" but then again Parallel Lines offers more depth to the actual driving and escaping cops.
  6. Pelit (Finland)
    78
    A game that tries to be every major street driving game you can imagine. At the end of the day, Driver: Parallel Lines feels a bit dated and jaded. Some fun car chases and over-the-roof-top racing, though. And yes, good music. [Apr 2006]
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  7. TeamXbox
    77
    Something this title achieves that other "sandbox" style games tend to put on the backburner is a great story, which actually had us caring about characters and seeing their plights played out on screen.
  8. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    77
    But it can't match San Andreas' scope, and as good as the game is, I found myself treading between boredom and frustration more than I'd like.
  9. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    The game is actually better to listen to than play, but the point still is: Don't come a knockin' if this game is rockin'.
  10. Xbox World Australia
    74
    It just doesn't have that unique style or irreverent humour of GTA. It's a driving game, first and foremost, which has stepped somewhat tentatively into a much larger gaming pool.
  11. Kombo
    74
    It gets the series back on track, but its lousy on-foot controls and AI restrictions really kill a lot of the major fun factor.
  12. Jolt Online Gaming UK
    73
    Parallel Lines at least shows that the studio is on the right track.
  13. IGN
    72
    The improved out-of-car experience, better gun handling, added driving-and-shooting mechanic, and the slew of changes all culminate in this being a much better outing that "Driver 3."
  14. Cheat Code Central
    72
    It could piss off fans of both Driver and GTA due to the unoriginal gameplay and shift in direction but there's no reason the average gamer can't have a ball with this game.
  15. Games Radar
    70
    While Parallel Lines is a decent offering, it feels very much like a watered-down Grand Theft Auto, with a more linear storyline and fewer random fun things to do outside of missions.
  16. Edge Magazine
    70
    Driver has escaped near-death with a captivating and colourful return, and one where everything from systems to cinematics is of a quality build. As surprises go, it's a juggernaut. [Apr 2006, p.84]
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  17. Pro-G
    70
    The good driving mechanic and excellent presentation found in Parallel Lines are only let down by some rather mundane missions.
  18. Official Xbox Magazine
    70
    Parallel Lines is an impressive overhaul and creative recovery for a series that had hit its nadir. [May 2006, p.77]
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  19. Yahoo!
    70
    With a dash of humor and inspiration -- the two things Parallel Lines desperately needs -- this might have been a minor classic. Instead, it merely shows that attention to detail is nothing without a flash of life to drive the effort.
  20. GamerFeed
    70
    Taking place in two entirely different eras, the 1970s and 2006, Parallel Lines bleeds style, but the most important aspect, the gameplay, is actually fun.
  21. Game Informer
    68
    Aside from the obvious problems, the real problem is that nearly every part of the now-aged Driver formula has been done better elsewhere. [May 2006, p.98]
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  22. Talk Xbox
    68
    The story is interesting to some degree and the main missions are intriguing, but the rest of the game is a let down.
  23. GameSpot
    65
    Driver: Parallel Lines is a mostly competent GTA clone, but the dull storyline and remedial gameplay prevent it from being recommendable.
  24. Gaming Target
    65
    Sure, the driving is fun but the twitchy handling, tough repetitive missions (especially the poor shooting sequences), generic sidequests and flaky police AI all conspire to reduce the fun level.
  25. games(TM)
    60
    Parallel Lines is a stylish game; everything from the cut-scenes and dialogue to the excellent soundtrack has been constructed meticulously to produce an almost Tarantino simulacrum of 1970s Americana. [Apr 2006, p.108]
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  26. DarkStation
    60
    The once celebrated Driver series seeks to return to glory with a fantastic recreation of the 70's Big Apple, but is marred by the severally limited on-foot missions.
  27. 1UP
    60
    The difference between Parallel Lines and "DRIV3R" is that while the previous game was a pretty half-assed "GTA" clone, Parallel Lines is more like a three-quarters-assed "GTA" clone. Maybe even four-fifths-assed.
  28. G4 TV
    60
    How badly do you want to play another GTA rip-off? Driver: Parallel Lines is better than most, but it still can't hold a candle to Rockstar's flagship series.
  29. GameSpy
    60
    Where "GTA" used humor, masses of distractions, OTT violence, and a giant game world with a real sense of space and depth to mask the unimpressive visuals, Driver is the opposite, using an impressive physics engine and city to hide repetitive and languid gameplay that's becoming increasingly difficult to enthuse about.
  30. Computer Games Magazine
    60
    Parallel Lines proves that effective story-telling sometimes makes up for mediocre gameplay. [July 2006, p.87]
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  31. The Sydney Morning Herald
    60
    Pity the game lacks GTA's mischievous sense of humour and fun distractions.
  32. Gaming Age
    50
    I get the impression that far too much effort was put into locking up a great soundtrack.

Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Best Xbox Game of 2006
25
#25 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2006
25
#25 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2006

User Reviews

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User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 24
  3. Negative: 11 out of 24
  1. davidcartoons
    Jan 14, 2016
    10
    eh bueno, dis is ameising men, this is niger dan yur culou, is veri gud. is amazing man this is **** than your culo, is very good. i lobed. ieh bueno, dis is ameising men, this is niger dan yur culou, is veri gud. is amazing man this is **** than your culo, is very good. i lobed. i loved. PENE.… Full Review »
  2. uoKAOS
    Oct 21, 2022
    9
    A great and classic Driver game!! Graphics, musics, story, everything about this game is awesome!!
  3. Revage141
    Oct 6, 2021
    4
    I have played the game several times and completely passed repeatedly.

    2007 - 2015 - 2021 year. I changed and looked at the game    I have played the game several times and completely passed repeatedly.

    2007 - 2015 - 2021 year. I changed and looked at the game differently each time, but it's time to draw a line and draw a conclusion.

    "yUbi **** is a taste that is inherent in new games from Yubisoft. It was 2006 in the yard, GTA 4 was released a year later, the information about which was already there, Yubisoft wanted to strangle a competitor, but strangled herself!

    Bright disadvantages:

    1) textures and models are just terrible even for 2006. I understand that this is an opportunity to play on weak computers, but the models of the characters do not even match those models that are used in rendered videos. The quality of these game models is terrible.
    You can drive across the bridge by car and crash into the edge of the texture on this bridge, because the person making these models did not pay attention to the fact that the bridge model is crooked.

    2) bugs with the spawn of transport, are found near the house "Ti Key". If you drive to the right of your shelter, then there will be a place formed by a traffic jam at the turn and cars will spawn in cars there. Do you think this is a trifle? No. In one of the tasks where you need to catch and kill the future mayor of the city who betrayed us, you can accidentally discover that the limo you want to get into will be in "trouble". I had a case that before getting into the limo, I killed the driver, after which a car got stuck in the limo, which prevented me from passing the game and had to go through the task.

    3) the first launch of the game after installation - 100% will be unsuccessful, the mouse and keyboard will not work. Need a reboot!

    4) animations are made very currico-curiously. It is clear that they wanted to give animals to the NPCs, but it looks like a parody, which is why it will not be possible to perceive them normally.

    5) The main character does not look like himself in the videos.

    6) There is nothing to do in the city! Small tasks are available to you. but they are not interesting and are not needed. Because you always have weapons at home, and there is no need to spend money on upgrading the car! The car you upgrade may be destroyed and will not appear in the garage, making the need for an upgrade 0%

    7) A short story. The plot is as short as in GTA5. The characters are not revealed, there is little interaction with the world, the background of the main character is not told. The game even in the selection of missions (available after the game) consists of 10 items, and all these items can be divided into 3 acts, which is very small. The developer could reveal and take advantage of the uniqueness of the game, which goes in two eras.

    8) too arcade controls. Surprisingly, the car driving simulation has disappeared from the Driver! That is, the cars are all the same, there is no uniqueness, gravity, there is nothing that the Driver 1 and 2.1 loved for.

    9) auto-aiming is too "crooked". It is inconvenient to aim during shooting, which is why you are the first to receive damage during shooting, and not the enemy.

    10) police officers sometimes behave strangely. You can drive safely at a red light if you drive in the parking lane.

    11) there are only two radios in the game and they are not signed, although there are more in the same GTA, and the ability to upload your tracks.

    12) you can't jump

    Pros: The game has a lot to praise

    1) two unique epochs. The designers really tried and conveyed this in the game.

    2) The characters of the two eras are drawn very well. They are outraged out loud and do it the same way and in their own way, which by itself makes fun of one era or another, showing us that: the era, fashion - change, and people - do not change!

    3) Musical sporovodenie really deserves praise. The era of the 70s is represented by good music. As for 2006, things are mediocre there, but not critical if the songs are good

    Conclusion: the name of a good idea, yubisoft could not fully implement it. Problems in the plot, in technical terms, and just out of boredom in the city makes the game very mediocre. If the game allowed you to do interesting things, reveal the characters, and had more opportunities, the absence of bugs and design flaws, then the game could really become a cult, but alas!

    Unfortunately, Yubisoft could not make a good restart. All the same problems that I described above are present now. This is a reason to think!    … Full Review »
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