Wheelman stalled until 2009

For a game about a getaway driver, The Wheelman sure has been taking its time to reach the finish line. A collaborative effort of Vin Diesel's Tigon Studios, Midway Games, MTV Films, and Paramount Pictures, Wheelman has suffered a string of flat tires since it was first announced in 2006. At that time, Midway anticipated that the game would arrive during the holiday 2007 season, but it was subsequently delayed last August to a broad 2008 window.

Now, The Wheelman has been bounced out of the driver's seat yet again. Midway has confirmed for GameSpot that the crime racer is now slated to leave the garage sometime during the first part of 2009.

"Midway is committed to developing and publishing high-quality games," the publisher said in a statement. "It is important for us to support the development team with the resources and time needed to make Wheelman a great game experience. Wheelman is now scheduled to ship for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC in the first quarter of 2009."

As detailed in GameSpot's recent hands-on experience from this year's E3 2008, Wheelman is an open-world driving game in which players zip through the winding streets of Barcelona, Spain, in an effort to lose the cops and make off with a cache of freshly plundered booty. Featuring the digitized likeness of Vin Diesel (Pitch Black, The Pacifier), the game acts as a forerunner to a film of the same name, which is also due out next year.