Wheelman spins out Feb. 16

A month ago, struggling publisher Midway revealed that it had parted ways with two of its licensing partners, and subsequently had canceled two unnamed games. Midway's silence on exactly which games had been shelved naturally led to ample speculation. And in swatting down a few of the games floated as potential victims, the publisher confirmed that Vin Diesel's The Wheelman was still on for an early 2009 release.

Today, Midway affixed a more specific date to The Wheelman, saying that the game would commence hot-rodding onto the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on February 16. The game, which had originally been slated for release in 2007, is a collaboration between Vin Diesel's Tigon Studios and Midway's internally owned Newcastle outfit.

Diesel himself served as coproducer on the game, and also lent his voice and likeness to the game's titular action hero. Playing out much like the Pitch Black star's celluloid exploits, The Wheelman sees a digital Diesel undertaking less-than-legal driving missions in the streets of Barcelona, Spain, as he pursues a crime syndicate as an undercover law-enforcement agent.

Paramount Pictures film Wheelman, also starring Diesel, was set to release in 2009 as a compliment the game. However, the project's production status is currently unclear. For more on The Wheelman, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.