We're careening at breakneck speed through downtown San Francisco, and things are getting a bit hairy. At the moment, we're in the driv...

Shift mechanic is amazing; Tons of mission variety; Loads of real-world cars

Cars get magically repaired; Some storylines dont resolve; Have to unlock online modes

Si vous n'avez croisé la franchise Driver que par l'épisode Parallel Lines alors vous ne connaissez pas la qualité première de cette licence. Sympathique jeu de course, Driver a connu un faux pas avec son dernier volet en date qui lui a valu de disparaître quelque temps.

Le nombre des missions; Un multijoueurs solide; Des sensations de vitesse; Une IA honnête; La diversité des véhicules; Le système de shift bien pens

La redondance des missions; Quelques soucis de crédibilit; Les voix off

Back when I was getting back into gaming after a long hiatus, I couldn't make up my mind whether to stay faithful to Sega (having previously owned a Megadrive) and pick up a Sega Saturn, or go for this brash new upstart, the Playstation, from Sony.

When I first heard the premise of Driver: San Francisco about six months ago I petitioned that Ubisoft Reflections submit to a drug test as the guys over there had obviously been smoking crack.

Each of the main missions has a story attached to it. Sometimes they relate back to the main narrative, while others involve ordinary citizens who've gotten themselves into a spot of trouble, such as parents whose child has been kidnapped or irresponsible teens who have entered street races.

Shift keeps the action fast paced and exciting; Huge open-world city to explore; Masses of content to play through; Fun online modes

Ridiculous storyline; Frame rate issues with split-screen; Missions get repetitive toward the end

Chasing down crooks in high-speed chases, performing death-defying feats of driving, or bringing down entire criminal organisations might be a bit much for your average cop, but Driver: San Francisco's John Tanner takes it in his stride.

Shift keeps the action fast paced and exciting; Huge open-world city to explore; Masses of content to play through; Fun online modes

Ridiculous storyline; Frame rate issues with split-screen; Missions get repetitive toward the end

Games are full of excuses, whether they're telling you that a terrorist strike has closed off half the city you're exploring or that swimming is a bad idea when you have electricity coursing through your veins. As excuses go though, Driver: San Francisco throws up one of the more outrageous.

In a medium where developers seem increasingly obsessed with recreating gloomy reality, Driver: San Francisco (PS3 , Xbox 360 , PC , Wii) is a breath of fresh air. Breaking away from the franchise previously super-serious world, the game outlandish plot sees petrol-head detective John Tanner plunged...

The driving itself, however, can be somewhat mixed. Handling is extremely weighty and drift-heavy. Back ends whip out at the gentlest coaxing, tyres squealing as white smoke flutters from the rubber and asphalt.

Jump behind the wheel and put the pedal to the metal in Driver: San Francisco, and you won't regret it. If you can forget trying to find method behind the Shift madness, you'll have a blast in both single and multiplayer, coming back for more when you want to burn rubber in style.