E3 2011: Driver: San Francisco Updated Impressions - Comatose

Developer Ubisoft didn't have a lot to share regarding Driver: San Francisco during its E3 2011 press conference. The segment began with a look at what might have been had the game been released 25 years ago. The minimalist style and top-down perspective harked back to the classic Grand Theft Auto games (though it looked a lot nicer than any game at that time). A brief trailer then followed that showed off the game proper and highlighted many of the expensive cars and iconic locations in the game. Set against a mock traffic report, the trailer jumped around from one speeding car crash to the next.

We recently went hands-on with Driver: San Francisco and tore through the streets of the title city. The game will follow series protagonist Tanner on his road to recovery after a near-fatal car crash. This crash left Tanner's body in a coma and his mind trapped in a supernatural world. In this world Tanner has the ability to leave his body at will and soar above the San Francisco streets. From this bird's-eye-view perspective he can possess any driver he sees. Sometimes he does this for good, such as driving an ambulance to the hospital. Other times it's just to mess with people, such as setting up a head-on collision for a local news station.

Ubisoft has yet to reveal how Tanner's actions internally will affect his recovery and if his actions within will affect the real world. Another thing the developer has been tight-lipped on is multiplayer. However, after the trailer ended, they did mention that multiplayer will be available at their booth. We'll be sure to swing by and check out what they describe as an "ideal playground for car chase action." Driver: San Francisco will be released this August.