Driver: San Francisco Message Board older than one year ago

After the break, you can find the full list of 125 cars in the upcoming Driver: San Francisco, from the classic 1951 Hudson Hornet to the Pagani Zonda Cinque. Above, you can watch a few of those cars fling themselves around at speeds they probably shouldn't be going through a crowded city.

After the break, you can find the full list of 125 cars in the upcoming Driver: San Francisco, from the classic 1951 Hudson Hornet to the Pagani Zonda Cinque. Above, you can watch a few of those cars fling themselves around at speeds they probably shouldn't be going through a crowded city.

I’m quite looking forward to Driver: San Francisco – partly because I do like to see a fallen series redeem itself, and partly because it puts me in mind of an aggressive Test Drive Unlimited. All driving, no on-foot stuff, trying to re-carve its own niche rather than put an unconvincing GTA costume.

That said, I can’t entirely get on board with this scene-setting dev diary’s repeated claims that protagonist Tanner and antagonist Jericho are “iconic, historic characters.” Iconic how? Historic what-now? Surely they’re just more gruff men in videogames’ endless archive of gruff men? Can’t say they’re burned into my memory. Just give me the cars and the city and I’ll be a happy little motorised sociopath.(more…)

The latest developer diary for Driver: San Francisco discusses the role of protagonist John Tanner, absent from the series since Driver 3. In the video, he's described as an "historic, iconic" character. That may well be, but he's got nothing on the real San Francisco Tanners.

From the innovated Shift mode of single-player to Tag mode in multiplayer, get your fix on Driver details in this E3 2011 Interview with Creative Director Martin Edmondson!

There hasn’t been a decent Driver game since the original, twelve years ago. We know this. At this point a game breaking that curse would be like an oak tree sprouting from an active landfill, but maybe, MAYBE Driver: San Francisco will manage it anyway. Alec was pleasantly surprised during his hands on, and the new ‘Shift’ mechanic that lets you jump between cars like a ghost with ADD sounds excellently mad. Plus the E3 trailer below made me laugh more than any other trailer this week.(more…)

There's not nearly enough traffic for that to be SF.

Concept and mechanics details divulged as Geoff Keighley interviews Martin Edmonson as part of our E3 2011 All Access Live coverage!

It's been covered that Driver: San Francisco is ridiculous. I mean, the game is happening in the main character's head while he's in a coma and that gives him the ability to "shift" into other drivers' bodies and take over their rides. That's pretty out there for game that's usually based on cops an...

Driver kicks off E3 2011 with this trailer from the Ubisoft Press Conference!

Last week, I had bit of a play with Driver: San Francisco, the surprisingly weird comeback attempt for the veteran action-racing series. After a string of delays, it’s due out September 2 this year, but here are some impressions, pictures and videos for you to eyeball in the meantime.(more…)

Maintaining a gritty tone but taking a deliberate step toward levity for the story of Driver: San Francisco.

The last time I saw Driver: San Francisco was nearly a year ago, and I remember walking away thinking that this game was a really dumb idea. You're always playing from behind the wheel -- and I'm fine with that -- but the whole thing happens in the main character's head. He's in a coma and you have these body-swapping abilities; it's ridiculous...

#video Ubisoft Reflection's attempt to get the Driver series back on track will hit on August 30, according to a new trailer for the game that's coming to just about every platform imaginable. Want to see what Driver: San Francisco looks like now? Have a look. More »

No mention of that whole "coma" thing in here, but plenty of driving.

Get a sneak peek at the twists and turns of Driver: San Francisco's plot in this story trailer!

There were rumors Ubisoft had picked a new release date for Driver: San Francisco, and while the company has kept the news a little under the radar, we do have the new date: August 30.

Driver: San Francisco has been delayed several times, right alongside Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Whether the August 30 date will end up sticking, who knows? Driver: San Francisco was supposed to arrive sometime last fall, so the late summer timetable represents nearly a year of additional development.    

The biggest accomplishment in Driver: San Francisco appears to be the city itself, a huge expanse that not only covers the northern part of San Fran, but also Marin County, the East Bay and Treasure Island. Ubisoft Reflections creative director Martin Edmondson gave me a quick tour, showing me both a zoomed-out look at the entire gameworld and views from within the driver's seat in different districts, to give me a taste of the variety in locales. To see it all recreated and in such grand scope -- and running at a smooth framerate -- was quite impressive.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to drive around much on my own when I was at the controls. Instead, my playtime was relegated to roughly the first hour of the game and the northern section of the city, giving me a chance to see how protagonist Tanner gains the ability to possess other drivers -- what Edmondson calls "the shifting mechanic."

Ubisoft has announced that the next installment in the Driver series, Driver: San Francisco, will hit the mean streets of US retail on August 30. The game is currently slated to launch on PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Mac simultaneously. Separate titles bearing the same name are also planned for the Wii and 3DS.

Driver: San Francisco once again sees players stepping into the shoes of Tanner, who, after being involved in an accident, gains the unusual ability to shift into the bodies of other drivers in the game on-the-fly. Look for more details in our full preview of the game tomorrow.

Ubisoft's most recent release schedule for Europe puts the oft-delayed Driver: San Francisco somewhere in September, VG247 reports. Driver: Renegade on 3DS, which has itself been delayed out of its original spring 2011 date, is also slated for fall with a less specific "Q3" release window in Europe. James Noir's Hollywood Crimes, also for 3DS, is due the same time.

One thing that hasn't been delayed is Child of Eden on PS3. Ubisoft's schedule gives the PS3 version the same June 17 date as the Kinect-friendly Xbox 360 version. In North America, a June 14 date has been offered only for the Xbox release.

The usual Monday blues are even bluesier today at Ubisoft Reflections, as the UK-based studio has suffered job cuts. Develop reports that as many as 19 employees could be dismissed from the group that is currently developing (the recently delayed) Driver: San Francisco. Ubisoft Montreal will now fill the role of "associate studio" on the project and offer support going forward.

An undisclosed source told Develop that the layoffs were wide-reaching, affecting higher-ups as well as contract workers. Additionally, the source cited "delays with the project" as one of the reasons for the redundancies, suggesting that the studio's lack of experience with the current generation of consoles (this is its first current-gen game, after all) has become exceedingly costly. The source claimed Reflections has been "learning as we go along, developing our skills."

An Ubisoft representative characterized the cuts as part of a reorganization, insisting that "Reflections is crucial as a studio" and that there are no plans to shutter the operation entirely following Driver's expected launch early next year. The spokesperson assured that Reflections "will absolutely keep going after Driver."

Two big sequels will be out later than expected. Ghost Recon Future Soldier and Driver: San Francisco, both showcased this past E3, now won't be out until between March 2011 and April 2012, according to an update from publisher Ubisoft. More »

Rendering you speechless! Or not.

#driversanfrancisco Ubisoft and DC Comics' WildStorm Productions are teaming up to produce a comic set in the Driver video game series universe, with a preview comic to be given away at Comic-Con this week. More »