The Driver franchise has seen its share of ups and downs. The first two games in the series were big successes in their time, and while Driv3r was poorly recieved, it went on to sell well. The last installment in the series, Driver: Parallel Lines, was not as fortunate, releasing to better reviews but not as much financial successs. Ubisoft no doubt hopes to change that with Driver: San Francisco.

In what is supposed to be a return to the series' roots, Driver: San Francisco will continue the story of John Tanner and his partner Tobias Jones, acting as a direct sequel to Driv3r. Charles Jericho also returns as what appears to be the main antagonist of this game.

A new Driver: San Francisco trailer shows a rather polished looking game that will excite Driver fans as it attempts to return to the series' roots. Ubisoft has been working away on the title for quite some time and it has already seen one delay.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhJo8jJEUZ0

Visually, the game is shaping up very nicely. With the introduction of 120 licensed cars, fans will have a lot of choice in what ride they're going to hop into, and hopping itself is being redefined as well. Players will have the ability to sort of astral project themselves into other vehicles on the road thanks to a new gameplay mechanic called Shift. Shifting is made possible thanks to the game's plot taking place as a part of a coma dream that Tanner is in during the course of the game. Yeap. We can't make this stuff up.

Our own Rob Keyes and Jason Weissman had a chance to play Driver: San Francisco at E3 last year and had fun with the shifting, which let them take control of any other vehicle around them in multiplayer, causing quite a few collisions.

Originally slated for release in the last quarter of 2010, Driver: San Francisco was delayed into 2011 along with Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Ubisoft announced a little over a week ago that Driver: San Francisco would see a September 2011 release.

Is this the comeback you were hoping for from the next entry in the Driver series, or do you still have a bad taste left in your mouth after Driv3r?

Driver: San Francisco will drive into a coma on September of this year for all of the platforms.