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New Driver officially in the shop

BBC reveals Ubisoft hard at work on PS3, 360 revamp of classic series.

As anyone on a sinking ship will say, anything that isn't 100 percent vital gets tossed overboard. And that's just what Atari did with its racing franchise Driver, which has seen four installments developed by UK-based Reflections Interactive since 1999. The happy recipient of that franchise was Ubisoft, which signaled its intent to get into the driving game by purchasing the Driver license--and Reflections--from Atari for €19 million (then $24 million, now $29 million) in 2006.

Since then, little has been heard from Ubisoft Reflections or its work on the next Driver. However, as part of a short vignette produced by the BBC, Ubisoft Reflections chief Gareth Edmondson gave the British news outlet a tour of the studio, revealing new details about the project.

The last installment in the Driver franchise, Driver: Parallel Lines, offered both retro and modern-day settings, and gameplay footage of the upcoming Driver shown during the interview indicates that Ubisoft Reflections will be taking a similar tack. The footage appears to show a muscle car from the 1960s or '70s racing through New York, and a computer-modeled vehicle shown later in the clip displays a modern-day hot rod.

Commenting on the vehicle design, Edmondson noted that cars will be highly articulated. According to the studio head, graphic artists are modeling both interior and exterior components, "so when the cars get smashed up, they look realistic and convincing in the game."

In 2005, Sony added the next installment of Driver to its list of the then-102 PlayStation 3 games that were in development. Judging by the various Xbox 360 controllers dispersed around the studio, the game seems set to drive onto Microsoft's console as well. Ubisoft had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.

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mariokart64fan 5 pts

why isnt there a wii listing , ,ign has it

SLRMC93 5 pts

driver has just been in a slump the past two games (according to the reviewers I love all of them and have all of them its the series that got me intrested in video games and had a cool recorder and editor!) but this will pull it out I hope it comes out sometime next year this game has been a topic for driver fans like myself for years man the game series is addicting now if they made an actual console release of vigilante 8 ignoring that remake on the 360 I would be reminded of the good old days (1997-2001) god they made good driving games back then!

SVR2006MASTER 5 pts

@Eat_My_Shorts35 thanks for saying that i didn't know

Kenbo325 5 pts

I'm very curious and excited about how Reflections will follow up from the original Driver games.

mariokart64fan 5 pts

ill be buying this day one hopfully they do one for the wii as well not the same one though i liked driver paralel lines on the wii xbox and ps2 and psp

Amster_G 5 pts

Even though I absolutely loved the original Driver, it was the third game, Driv3r, that I found truly amazing. It sure brings back a lot of memories! I'm excited to see what Ubisoft is going to do.

thesolidbeto 5 pts

Driver 1 is the best driving game ever,if they want to do a great driver game,they must keep the driver inside the car.But if ubisoft is involved,Will we have a highly repetitive game around?

thenephariouson 12 pts

I loved the original Driver, though i thought the following 2 were very poor, but now Ubi have their hands oon it, i have high hopes.

veflow 5 pts

aw this is awesome, it got me all excited, too bad it's probably gonna be released in like 2-3 years -.-

madassgorilla 5 pts

i wonder what itll b like..i bet it ll b crazy a bit like gta but better

Eat_My_Shorts35 5 pts

just a litlle fun fact, BUT A SPOILER!!!!! At the endof driv3r, tanner gets shot and ends up in the hospital,and you never find out if he lives or dies, but in driver parallel lines,ifyou go to your safe house in present time and look on one ofthe walls it says "TANNER LIVES!!!!",i was so relieved when i found out lol

patsy-cline 5 pts

Maybe this time with ubisoft making it, we won't have cars falling out of the sky like in Driv3r!

coolcon2000 5 pts

Anton, this continues Tanners Story, so its not Parrallel Lines, but a diffrent game story. If you liked all the drivers then I recommend getting Driver Parallel Lines anyway.

antonisbob 5 pts

awsome, it took me AGES to beat Driver 2, but it took me a little while to beat Driv3r and i always wanted Parralel lines, but it seems i won't ned to get it with it comeing out on PS3 W00t! :) :) :) :) :) :)

MateuszW90 5 pts

I'm really looking forward to this game :D

thpghalo3 5 pts

Honstly i think they should RE make DRIV3R with a new revamped story better graphics better car handeling and other stuff! DRIVER ROCKS!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Amir_Badshah 5 pts

HH3333333333LLLLL YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! I always knew that Driver wouldn't die. They're living and they're gonna smash everything that gets in thier ------- way!!!! :D :D :D :D

blaze_adeel 5 pts

I HaTed driv3r it seemed boring but i really realy liked parallel lines gameplay was gud n story wass even better !! but i cant say about this one

DJJLektro 5 pts

They should have more cities this time around like Chicago or Las Vegas Like Driver 2 Was...

DJJLektro 5 pts

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

La_Rhonda 5 pts

I agree with Creative. If they stop competing with R* then and go back to basics then they will please all the fans of Driver. I didn't mind the story from 3 but the gameplay was aweful.

Creative 5 pts

It should be a good game. I hope they stay away from GTA-style game this time and stick to what made this franchise popular. Crazy chases with realistic handling & at the same time accessible.

yatatabien 5 pts

Driver is not direct competition for GTA. Driver is pretty unique. But I hope the series would return to its roots in the fifth title

Razzi65 5 pts

gta vs driver vs saints row winner is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GTA

Don-Dougan11 5 pts

Another Driver why? the last two in the series were a huge let down the first two games were by far the best and unless they re-release them with better visuals and things to do I will not be happy.

smithy1185 5 pts

Looking forward to a new Driver. I love the Take a Ride mode especially.

Leo_Colt 5 pts

New York? I'm sure Rockstar have locked themselves away in their diamond towers, cowering in fear...

the-bat-child 5 pts

Some things are better left dead.

BigDaddy973 5 pts

I do not know about this, I mean those last driver games were so horrible! It tried so hard, but failed! GTA4, nothing can beat that!

otanikun 9 pts

Driver hasn't been any good since after the 2nd game for the PS1, I'm hoping this turns out to be something good and well thought out, instead of something like " Oh we've got the license lets make a lackluster game and sell it, those fools will buy anything."

DrKill09 38 pts

Only THREE thumbs down on my last comment? C'mon, you Driver fanboys can do better than that! :P You know I'm right. Driver's old hat.

gr8jedimaster 5 pts

Well they must be pretty confident that they've got a good product. I'd be scared as **** going up against GTA and Saints Row.

chevydriver1123 5 pts

Meh. After GTA 4, Driver would really have to impress me.

Eat_My_Shorts35 5 pts

ive loved all of the driver games except 76 and parallel lines. even though driv3r wasnt great, i liked that they got michelle rodriguez and michael madsen and mickey rourke to do voices.i htought the story in driv3r was good. if u ever played driv3r, then youll know at the end tanner is in the hospital and flatlines, but if u play parallel lines, if you go into your safehouse after you get out of jail, on one of the walls it says "tanner lives!!!". i was so happy!!!

prdroog 5 pts

yeah....Driver had it's day in the sun, GTA and other crime adventure/driver games have that on lock down. Just go back to sleep Driver, it's okay, it' okay....everything's gonna be fine.....just close your eyes.

necronaux 5 pts

I've only played Driv3r, and hated it. Scared me off of even trying Parallel.

cooldude03 5 pts

Give me a story I care about this time. After GTA IV the bar is set really high. I really loved Driver 1 and 2. Hopefully they focus more on the getaway driving instead of the sandbox gta ripoff the driver franchise turned into.

Hvac0120 16 pts

The first Driver on PS1 was amazing. It took me and my friends weeks to beat "The President's Run" at the end (happily I was the first one to beat it - W00T1). I have been disappointed in every sequel since. I think that the out-of-the-car parts were unnecessary since the first game was so good just as it was. The developers apparently feel otherwise since they included it in the last game too - and it was still terrible. I want the Driver series to go back to strict driving. Leave the out-of-the-car stuff to the cut-scenes and stick with the fast-paced driving sequences. This is the core of these games. I have hopes that the nostalgic feeling I get thinking about the original comes back to me when I get my hands on this next installment.

DFalcon999 5 pts

Hmm, questions abound- 1. Who is going to be the main character? Tanner survives according to mobile phone spin-offs but that doesn't mean he'll return to the main series. 2. Are they going to bother with on-foot sequences anymore? And if so, are they going to bother to make sure they WORK, let alone give them depth?

kb8618 5 pts

Driver 1 and 2 were good, then Driv3r just sucked, and the last driver is ok, and this news story just reminded me that i didn't finish it yet. 26 mill is overpriced after Atari almost destroyed the driver series. Hopefully ubisoft will fix it, and make it profitable.

YTP_1991 5 pts

the remakes and sequels of classics are coming back aint they driver SFIV what should be next?

TuomasMetal 5 pts

Great news! I've been waiting for this for a long time! But it should have taken place in Miami, not New York.

Ash2X 5 pts

If ubi gets involved in thedevelopment...maybe the can remove the shadow left by Driver 2 and Driv3r.

thug_angel123 5 pts

what about driver 76 ?? ubi did create that right ?

Colsworl 5 pts

I can't wait for this. The last Driver game "Parallel Lines" was stunning and it had to be after the crap called Driv3r. Just a few comments on this article. First off, the footage shown was not of the new version but rather of the latest Parallel Lines game which I will say was highly underrated by GS. They say it was a copy of GTA, but I see it as a genre and it's good to have competition in a genre especially after The Getaway got canned I believe. Secondly just because there are 360 controllers visible in the place doesn't mean they are making it for the 360. Take Haze for example, loads of 360's and 360 controllers visible in their studios but there is no 360 version of the game. Despite that I hope it does come out on the 360 as I feel these type of games are better suited to the 360 controller imo. Finally the BBC report was rubbish, he had no idea what he was talking about. We got pretty much no information on the game. Despite all that, I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on this game. I hope it's not a letdown like many current gen games have been.

DannyBoyVai 5 pts

Well, Driver took the GTA idea and made it fully 3D, and was brilliant fun. That was about the extent of it. All Driver games after it (maybe except 2) were kinda crap. They should spend a long time on this one and make sure it handles as good as the first as a fundamental rule. Then build a great game around that mechanic.

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