Driver: Parallel Lines PS2

The first half of Driver: Parallel Lines is set in a convincingly dingy 1970's New York City, as players take on the role of TK, a devil-may-care young man who, free from conscience and the willingness to follow rules, is the most sought after driver-for-hire in town. TK came to New York City from out west. Home was way too slow and too dull to contain him. He loves cars, girls, risks, music and speed. Folks who can't take a joke get short shrift. TK's fearless, optimistic, loyal, and rock-steady with a sense of humour that gets him into trouble and a cheeky grin that gets him out just as quickly. At 18 years of age, he chooses New York to make his fortune using the one undeniable skill he has - driving. The Parallel Lines experience begins with a pick-up outside a pharmacy, a drop-off of some drop-out in Harlem, and a period of time living above Ray's auto repair shop. Offers of work are not slow to come in: low-life snoops, peddlers, bail-bondsmen and villains on the up. All this activity takes TK across the City which, in the space of a few outings, becomes as familiar as the dashboard of the car he learned to drive in back home. As long as the money keeps rolling in, and there's no unnecessary violence, TK's happy. It's not too long before he gets his own apartment and his first hardcore driving gigs: Slink - archetypal 70's cool black dude...think Huggy Bear - gave him a few test drives and he did well enough to get the proper jobs. He's fun to be with, optimistic and packed full of ambition. Life's sweet. But that was 1978... Fast forward 28 years, and the boyish good looks and carefree manner are gone. TK's kept fit and has filled out with muscle. Despite being on the inside for all those years, he's still a damn fine driver and now he's an athlete too. The world has changed, and for TK, it takes a little getting used to: unfamiliar, new buildings, a cleaned-up city on the surface...but beneath that surface, things really haven't changed in the seedy underworld in which TK immersed himself.