Driver: San Francisco online pass now free

It's not unusual for cars left sitting for too long to experience some problems when they're finally started back up. Ubisoft is experiencing that firsthand today, as the return of the Driver franchise with Driver: San Francisco has been marred by a logistical problem.

After problems with some of the onetime codes included in new copies of Driver to unlock the game's multiplayer modes, Ubisoft today announced that it will do away with the codes for the game entirely and allow all players to unlock the extra content for free.

"Due to a printing error on the insert of some copies of Driver: San Francisco in North America, Ubisoft has elected to provide the Driver Uplay Passport content for free," Ubisoft said in a statement. "Although this problem does not affect players outside of North America, we have decided to mirror this offer worldwide in order to be fair to all our players."

Players will still need to download an unlock key to get at the content. To do so, they can select "Start my 2-day free trial" or "Purchase Uplay passport" from the game's Uplay passport menu. Either choice will permanently unlock the game's 11 multiplayer modes and film director feature on consoles.

Driver: San Francisco is a throwback to previous installments in the franchise, featuring a matchup between original protagonist John Tanner and Driver 2 antagonist Charles Jericho. In terms of plot, Tanner, a hard-boiled detective behind the wheel of a 1970s-era Shelby GT500, is on the hunt for Jericho, and the two engage in vehicular duels on the streets of the titular hilly California city.

The game includes more than 100 licensed vehicles, all of which are subject to damage. It also features a supernatural element as Tanner is pursuing his mark from the confines of a coma. Tanner's medical condition impacts gameplay, as players are able to pause time to hop to a new vehicle on the fly, as well as get a bird's-eye view of the city to jump to various locations.

The console versions of Driver shipped today, with a PC version set for release on September 27. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's review of Driver: San Francisco.