Hands on with Driver on iPhone

Remakes usually run parallel to the original - throwing in refined graphics and new options the limit to which changes are introduced.

Driver, on the other hand, speeds away from its genesis with a near-total overhaul of the PlayStation original. Vastly improved graphics, a wealth of control options, and numerous tweaks to the gameplay could well restart this ageing title.

As Tanner, a former race car driver turned undercover police officer, you're assigned to a dangerous investigation of the powerful Castaldi family. With operations in four major American cities - Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York - you travel to each as you unravel the inner workings of their crime syndicate.

You do this entirely from behind the wheel of a souped up ride. Like a driving-only version of Gangstar: West Coast Hustle (which, of course, was inspired by heavyweight Grand Theft Auto), Driver has you cruising the streets for missions that range from delivering packages to outrunning a retinue of cops unaware of your undercover status.

There's a good number of missions to tackle, which reflects the massive layout of each city. Taken alone, each city is larger than the entirety of the map used in Gangstar: West Coast Hustle; in other words, the game is gigantic.

Getting around is handled using one of three control schemes: accelerometer, directional pad, or analogue stick.

The accelerometer option is set by default, which functioned admirably in the missions we tackled in Miami. It will definitely take time to adjust to the bouncy suspension and boat-like handling of Tanner's car, but such control is not so much a reflection of poor controls as it is the 1970s make of his vehicle.

Improvements have been made to the missions with regard to checkpoints and difficulty, though the script remains identical to the original 1999 release.

On iPhone and iPod touch, expect constant auto-saving during lengthy missions as a measure to avoid frustration in the case of a phone call or simple failure. Additionally, mission objectives are now highlighted as entire areas instead of difficult to pinpoint arrow markers.

A new easy level of difficulty has been introduced too, yet Driver looks to be on the challenging side nonetheless.

Unlike the free-for-all driving featured in Gangstar: West Coast Hustle, you're compelled to obey traffic laws at risk of infractions. Driving on the wrong side of the road, speeding, or hitting another vehicle arouses the attention of cops who will chase you down.

While this seriousness promises to keep the game challenging, enough changes appear to have been made to prevent Driver from being as frustratingly difficult as its debut.

Expect it to pull out of the Gameloft offices and drive onto the App Store sometime in December.