Driver 76 announced for PSP

Ubisoft has just informed us it plans to launch the next edition of the popular (if uneven) Driver action driving series on PSP before Easter. Driver 76 features entirely new content spread across 27 missions, apparently designed with handheld gaming sensibilities in mind.

The game thrusts you into the heart of the '70s (for those that care about these things, the action takes place two years before that of console game Driver Parallel Lines), with the stages divided amongst six main plots.

Aside from getting involved in high-speed car races (and crashes) through the open environments of an authentically recreated 1970s New York (from Jersey to Coney Island, no less), drivers are also able to take side jobs in order to earn cash to modify their rides – not a practice particularly popular back then, perhaps, but one that every modern gamer expects, eh kidz?

More realistic is the soundtrack containing classics from the funky decade.

Naturally, multiplayer modes are promised: a host of mini-games ranging from street races and 'pink slip' racing to all-out carnage in a destruction derby type mode and something termed a 'Swap Meet', in fact. In addition, downloading new paintjobs with which to cover the vehicles in your virtual garage is also encouraged.

While the Driver franchise hasn't exactly had the most illustrious of histories, it's encouraging to learn that this version is currently being worked on by Sumo Digital, which to date has established itself as something of a specialist when it comes to racing games on PSP, having created the glorious Outrun: Coast to Coast.

Here's hoping Driver 76 will further cement that reputation.