Pity poor Reflections software: After pretty much creating the "drive anywhere around town" genre back in less demanding times, where leaving a race track and maneuvering off onto grass was a major event, the developer got dizzied when GTA went 3D and was knocked the frick out after answering back with a frankly appalling third installment that gave the kids a "wandering around Istanbul doing nothing" simulator. The Driver series? It's SNK's Fatal Fury to Capcom's Street Fighter II. It's Alone in the Dark, not Resident Evil.

To its credit, Reflections regrouped, focused on one city and two time periods, ditched Hollywood acting talent, and tried to return to form. After dozens of hours at the wheel, I can happily report they've made massive improvements, and a few critical mistakes.

The "Parallel Lines" suffix refers to New York in two time periods: 1978 and present day. It seems Reflections brought in some metrosexual game-guidance counselors after Driv3r, as your avatar isn't a tough-talking Tanner, but a hippy androgynous waif with girl hips called TK. He sashays around New York, acting as a wheelman for a variety of low-lifes, including the stereotypical black afro-sporting hustler man and the pock-marked leather vest-wearing Latino man, before he's double-crossed, sent to prison for 28 years, and comes out meaner and keen on revenge.


The storyline is derivative, with tired and disjointed segues from cutscene to mission, script work you'd associate with an early '90s Steven Seagal movie (in other words, "awesome" if this game wasn't trying to take itself so seriously) and an ending you'll be puzzled over (although the final mission is wildly entertaining).

Big Apple: Big Improvements

The storyline is mostly bunkum, but there are a few other ways the game excels. If you're planning a vacation to a shrunken version of your favorite city, employ the Reflections team to construct it; this is the best representation of New York, in terms of space and the enormity of buildings, ever seen in a video game. Better than Liberty City. Better than The Godfather. Driving along the Hudson River side checking out the Manhattan skyline at sunset is incredibly impressive. The Reflections staff should feel justly proud of its achievements; the two eras (with new buildings erected over old ones) blend the city together seamlessly into a slightly-too-brown facsimile of the Big Apple.