New Driver takes off for factory

Atari's cross-era action racer pulls out of the developer's shop; game's soundtrack to feature tunes from 1970s and present day.

The Driver franchise, which has seen its share of highs and lows, is getting its fourth installment next week. Publisher Atari today announced that Driver: Parallel Lines has gone gold and will speed into stores on March 14 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game was developed by Reflections Interactive, the Atari internal studio that was behind the wheel of all games in the Driver franchise.

Parallel Lines will focus on driving, like the earlier games in the series. The game takes players in the way-back machine, all the way back to 1978. The lead character, TK, is an 18-year-old wheelman prodigy who gets the attention of all of New York City's criminal element. After many successful jobs, TK is eventually double-crossed and thrown in the slammer for 28 years. The game continues in 2006 when TK is back on the streets and seeking revenge on those who were responsible for his incarceration.

In addition to the multiple takes on NYC, its citizens, and cars over nearly 30 years, the game's soundtrack will feature songs from the present day and songs from the days of disco. New exclusive tracks from Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Paul Oakenfold will populate the airwaves, as will licensed tracks from Blondie, David Bowie, LCD Soundsystem, and TV on the Radio.

Driver: Parallel Lines is rated M for Mature and will retail for $39.99. Atari has also announced a PSP version of the game to be released in the future. For more on the console versions, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

44 Comments

  • yaez

    Posted Mar 10, 2006 9:53 am PT

    GTA`S GRAPHICS AREN`T THAT GOOD BUT IT`S NOT REALLY ABOUT THE GRAPHICS IT`S MORE ABOUT GAMEPLAY, STORYLINE AND, THE FREEDOM OF DOING WHAT U WANT IN THE GTA SERIES OF GAMES AND FROM THE DEMO THAT I HAVE THE GAMEPLAY IS THERE AND FROM WHAT I`VE SEEN OF THE STORY DEVELOPMENT DRIVER: PARALLEL LINE IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL GTA CLONE EVER AND I MEAN THAT FOREAL FOREAL !!!!

  • tescov_1999

    Posted Mar 10, 2006 6:20 am PT

    I am thinking this puppy is being pushed out...I hope not...I really liked the first 2 (although reflections really dropped the ball on releasing the second one, with out a computer version) and i hope im wrong, but im thinking Atari is going to try to get any money they can.

    As Janes Addiction would like to sing a`la 'Mountain song'..... "cash in now"

  • ndue

    Posted Mar 10, 2006 4:57 am PT

    Driver: PL or The Godfather?

  • dawooten

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 2:59 pm PT

    i love the series, cept 3; so far, this one sounds good

  • yanks26wsw

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 2:25 pm PT

    hope this is not another driv3r

  • makdady304

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 11:33 am PT

    ahhh...driver is awesome and it was the game that made Playstation popular! driver 2 had a really cool 2-player too

  • NinjaFoot

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 9:57 am PT

    I don't want to play another Driver OR GTA game personally. That whole thing has long since worn out it's welcome for me.

  • frankeyser

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 9:27 am PT

    i hope this one is good, i loved 1 and 2 and three was just a huge let down.

  • ROCKINGFOOL

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 9:02 am PT

    they still making games for xbox and ps2 cmon whers the new gen games :/

  • Feniks9174

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 9:00 am PT

    Driver 2 sucked in ways that any vaccuum would be jealous of. The physics we're ridiculously unrealistic, the cars were unresponsive and ill-handling, the police AI was worse than any game I've ever seen. Still, to date, the only game that's been frustrating enough to make me break a controller.

  • DrKill09

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 8:55 am PT

    :
    whats up with you guys, before gta, driver was the the bomb on ps1,


    Nobody here has any brains, huh? GTA 1 came out in 1997 on the pc. Driver didn't come out til 99. GTA still kicked Driver's ass back then, although the first Driver was good. Driv2r was the first nail in the coffin. Will Driv4r be the last?

  • Star2020

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 8:45 am PT

    this should be better than he last one.

  • skitzocyko

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 8:35 am PT

    oh boy here we go again!

  • jord121290

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 8:13 am PT

    Why is everyone saying that this is a rip-off of loads of other games. The Driver series was the first of its kind, if anything GTA and similar games are all rip-offs of driver.

  • Autolycus

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 8:01 am PT

    We have a demo @ gamestop and from the demo its a DEFINITE GTA rip off. In fact its IDENTICAL to it. So if you like/love GTA(which is boring imo) you'll love Driver: PL

    Personally I think these games are boring as hell, but its probably the best clone I have seen to date.

  • fsales

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 7:55 am PT

    I'm a big of the Driver series, and hopefuly this new title will be another great game

  • stovich

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 7:17 am PT

    I still have last years EGM mag (with FFVll on the cover) with the Driver: PL story in it. After reading it for the ump-teenth time, I can say I'm actually looking forward to this one. Only about 20% of the missions will be on foot. Other than that, it says that it will be "primarily a four wheeled affair". Lots of extras going on besides the main missions, as well as environmental distractions from the NPCs. Here's to hoping.

  • Ahiru-San

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 5:55 am PT

    enough with this drivers series...

  • oh_its_on

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 5:15 am PT

    hope its lik driver 2 that game was the ebst ever!! driver 3 stucked and it says its going back to its old ways so should be good

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 4:41 am PT

    if this game flops, atari will be near done for.

  • cypher50

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 3:38 am PT

    Why are so many here calling the Driver series a GTA clone? The original Driver was meant to recreate the feeling of being in old movie car chases...do you think a GTA clone would of produced a spinoff game like Stuntman? If this game has more of the "Stuntman" feel in it then trying to emulate GTA then it will be a winner.

  • Orasion_Seiz

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 3:24 am PT

    hmmm i have a feeling this game will not do good.

  • recvx_pagal

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 2:46 am PT

    Man this game had to be better than GTA. I love both GTA and Driver series so if atari manages to get Driver series back on the track like previous part that we would have more great games to play. Some one said that Driver is a clone of GTA but he is wrong. driver was released way before gta and gta started it's fuly 3D enviormnt view while driver had "Fit" ghrafics from the begining.

  • KiLLer_ba

    Posted Mar 9, 2006 12:37 am PT

    I hope its better than Driv3r

  • thekey

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 10:21 pm PT

    I don't know about this one.

  • Nintendo_Man

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 9:56 pm PT

    There are so many of these type of games, some much better than driver.
    By the looks of things, it is just trying to copy other games even more and isn't original enough.

  • dru26

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 9:49 pm PT

    Driver was out way before GTA.

  • Solarsonic7

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 9:19 pm PT

    If it's a game in which you can shoot people and drive cars, it's a GTA rip-off.

  • gdogg4210

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 8:26 pm PT

    whats up with you guys, before gta, driver was the the bomb on ps1, and in some aspects, especailly cinematic style, it still is, if this one keeps its promise and focuses on the driving unlike the third, i am sure it will be pretty damn good

  • DrKill09

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 8:10 pm PT

    Driv4r can kiss my ass, imho.

  • nemes1s3000

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 7:24 pm PT

    This is their last chance to turn around the Driver series, after the third installment.. millions of cute little bunnies died!

  • mariokart64fan

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 7:20 pm PT

    newguy its not over even if it flops which it wont the 3rd one sold pretty good and they got driver 5 already in development for next gen

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 7:04 pm PT

    the 3rd game sucked badly. this one will probably suck just as much and it will sell worse.

  • thefjk

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 6:49 pm PT

    I dont like driver.... I just wanna play more GTA!

  • kevin634

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 6:39 pm PT

    it looks better than driv3r but the graphics look kinda crap still judging from the screenshots

  • ulrikz

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 6:22 pm PT

    Hope this one is good, if it is, then Driver might be back on it's feet again!

  • Lt_Scorpius

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 6:08 pm PT

    better be a lot better than the 3rd

  • GtheMVP

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 6:05 pm PT

    Should have been 360 made too....tsk tsk...

  • ShaunWoo

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 5:48 pm PT

    I loved the first Driver game, somewhat enjoyed the 2nd game, and I really didn't mind the 3rd one too much. And if you read the info above, they are going back to the older style, which means it can only get better...I hope!

  • trogdorchief01

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 5:46 pm PT

    Meh, none of the other Driver games were that good.

  • benifit0fadoubt

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 5:38 pm PT

    Didn't we learn somthing about driver from the 3rd driver. That somthing being that all GTA clones are destined to suck. Especialy being that the last one sucked?

  • newguy957

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 5:33 pm PT

    If this one flops i gues its over.

  • darabonak

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 5:32 pm PT

    lol, I guess after Driver 3 most people have abandoned the series...

  • enemyvillain

    Posted Mar 8, 2006 5:32 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

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