The interpretation of New York City in Parallel Lines is not GPS street-accurate like True Crime: New York City's Manhattan. Instead, the game presents a smaller but more stylistic version of the city that includes all the boroughs except Staten Island and parts of the New Jersey shore. The game's Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and New Jersey consists of 222.5 miles (358.1 km) of roadway, larger than the combined total of all three cities (Miami, Nice, and Istanbul) from Driv3r. The game's New York City is also more "life-like" compared to previous games in the series: vendors sell donuts, NPC pedestrians talk rather than simply grunting and screaming, and numerous side jobs (such as taxi driving and car towing) are available. Several things have changed in the game from real-life New York, for example, New York Police Department has simply been dubbed into "City Police". However, the game completely lacks any kind of weather. The only atmospheric changes are the day-to-night cycle.
In 1978, the World Trade Center complex is present, along with New York City's many other landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Times Square, Central Park and the Flatiron Building, in both 1978 and 2006. Furthermore, despite not being built until the 1980s, the World Financial Center is present in both eras opposite the World Trade Center.
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Grand Theft Auto IV
A mod ("World Trade Center Mod") for GTA IV puts the World Trade Center back in New York City (or "Liberty City," as it's called in the game). As of October, 2011, the third version had been completed; here's what it looks like (in a word: breathtaking):
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Streets of Rage (Sega Genesis)
Streets of Rage (1991)
The last two stages are fought in World Trade Center 3, against the backdrop of the twin towers!
- Thanks to Adrian Keenan!
The cover of the Japanese Megadrive version (Streets of Rage is called "Bareknuckle" in Japan) depicts the twin towers in the cover art (front and back). They may not look much like the WTC, but the same art on original Japanese player's manual makes it a lot clearer that these are indeed the twin towers (complete with antenna). Both are below. Thanks to Bobby for the scans!
- JR
SOR SEGA GENESIS
BAREKNUCKLE COVER ART
BAREKNUCKLE MANUAL
SOR2 SEGA GENESIS
Streets of Rage 2 (1993)
I'm told the WTC is visible within the game - does anyone know where (or have screenshots)? - JR
SOR3 SEGA GENESIS (U.K.)
SOR3 SEGA GENESIS (U.S.)
Streets of Rage 3 (1994)
The cover art for the U.K./European MegaDrive version (right) clearly shows the towers.
- JR
The ending of Streets of Rage 3 shows the characters looking up at the NYC skyline, with the twin towers intact.
