Driver: San Francisco out this year

As you may have noticed when we posted a whopping hands-on preview of it last night, Ubisoft has officially unveiled Driver: San Francisco and said it will be out for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in Q4 of this year.

In a press release issued after the French publisher's E3 conference overnight, we were also told that a Wii version is being developed separately and will be unveiled in the "near future".

Developed by Ubisoft Reflections, Driver: San Francisco puts you back in the shoes of Detective John Tanner on a manhunt for a crime lord, and features loads of realistic city streets and licensed vehicles.

However, it also kicks things into a new direction with its "Shift" mechanic. The idea is that Tanner is actually in a coma and thanks to this he can leap between and take control of cars on the roads of San Francisco - so in theory, if you're falling behind a perp, you could launch yourself into a car further up the road to regain ground.

Ubisoft also revealed that the game will be launched with a special Collector's Edition for pre-orders. People who buy that will get a replica of the "hero car of the game" (a 1970 Dodge Challenger Hmi R/T Six Pack, measuring 18x9x9cm), a map of San Fran showing in-game locations, two exclusive in-game vehicles, and a "Mass Chase" challenge, where "a wrongfully accused driver attempts to escape the whole police force of San Francisco".

Check out our Driver: San Francisco hands-on preview and the launch trailer below.