Vin Diesel. Two words that strike fear into the heart of all film-lovers. But when it comes to videogames, the Diesel-meister has a much better rep - a serious gamer, Vinnie (as we like to call him) was heavily involved in the development of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, and the result was one of the best games on Xbox. The lisping muscle man’s latest project is The Wheelman, and while the movie is bound to be complete crap, the 360 spin-off could well be another winner.

A cross between Driver and The Fast And The Furious, the game is set in Barcelona and stars Diesel Boy as a getaway driver with a shady past (typically, he’s wanted by the Mafia). The mission-based structure includes plenty of on-foot action but you’ll mainly be racing round the Catalan capital playing rival gangs off against each other to stir up trouble, subsequently drawing attention away from the real reason for your Barcelona vacation - a daring, big money heist.

Initially, you need to build your reputation by taking on challenges to get your name known in all the right criminal circles. Any vehicle in the city can be carjacked, and as well as being able to drive and shoot simultaneously, you can also use your car as a weapon to take out enemies. Once it’s trashed, you can simply jack another one.

So far all that’s been released on the game is a trailer that sees Vin burning away from the scene of a crime, weaving through traffic and pulling off all kinds of outlandish moves while shooting at the villains-on-motorbikes in hot pursuit. Scheduled to arrive before the end of the year, we’ll have more on this cinematic speed freak soon.

March 8, 2007