The search for a car continues. This morning I drove a 1996 Honda Civic DX Hatchback, and cemented the fact that I am now completely capable of wrangling the mythical “manual transmission.” It was really a fun drive, actually, in spite of its being one of the most basic cars I’ve ever been behind the wheel of. No power windows, no power locks. It didn’t have a tachometer and I don’t even think it had power steering. But the fact remains: I loved driving it. I just wish there was an EX version of the hatchback; as it stands now I’d have to look towards a coupe, sedan, or the coveted Del Sol.
Driver: Parallel Lines
I also picked up the new Driver game on Wednesday and finished playing through it today. It certainly makes up for the personality-free glitchfest that was Driv3r, but it feels different than the rest of the Driver series. I think it’s because this game has — can it be? — personality. I had plenty of criticism for the last installment, but I still stood behind the fact that of the sandbox-type games it really does have the best handling dynamics of all of them.
Parallel Lines continues with good in-car gameplay and supplements it with 1) good on-foot gameplay 2) fun missions and 3) a freaking good story for once. It’s a tale of revenge that starts in 1978 and concludes in 2006. It’s short but worth playing, and like the last Driver game the cars are varied and great-looking. New for this Driver is the modern time setting meaning we get to see some more imaginary modern cars.
Overall, where the last game was a hard sell even for people who liked the series, this is a game I don’t have a problem recommending. It’s reached the point where certain parts didn’t even feel like this series (in a good way). Give it a shot.