The Getaway

While playing The Getaway, it is almost impossible not to compare this with Vice City. The real difference is how I perceived both games. In GTAVC, I was wondering just how they fit all the different elements, including 103 songs, 30 weapons, around 50 missions, and a massive city all in a disc. In The Getaway, I was wondering just what took up so much space that they could only include 5 weapons, 24 missions and hardly any secret elements or cheats. If the PS2 is capable of storing all the things put into GTAVC, what was all the work put into in The Getaway? The answer is probably the city itself and the large amount of very cool-looking cutscenes that are needed. The city is 40 sq. kilometers, and the cutscenes, all together, are apparently more than an hour long. Still, they could have made this game much more fun if they had added some side missions and made it less linear. Nonetheless, a fun game for the few days it takes to finish.

this game is very fun to play. the game is stylish. the story is good too. real cars are included like saab, BMW etc. First you play mark hammond whose's son is kidnapped by the jolsons after you have completed the game then you play the policeman frank carter who is also with in the story and you play with his point of view. when you have completed the game, you play play free roam where you can explore London but not whole. the game is not like other games that when you're wounded, you need to find a heart and you can carry many weapons as you like, in this game you can rest against a wall to recover yourself and you can have max two pistols and a two-hand weapon. but still the crew should have put abit more effort in it but overall: 8/10

"The Getaway" is not a video game version of the Sam Peckinpah heist flick or even of the Walter Hill remake. It's a British gangster movie in the vein of Guy Ritchie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Or is it a video game? It certainly seems like a movie, but it's not.

For years, game developers have been wanting to create a so-called "interactive movie". A product with the look and feel of a motion picture, but one where the viewer is totally in control of. For the most part, they've failed miserably, as is the case of the horrible FMV titles from the Sega CD days.

However, most recently, programmers have come close to such a thing, just play "Max Payne" and you'll realize how much game makers have evolved the concept. Still, I've never played one such as "The Getaway", a gritty, in-your-face gangster opus with characters that use the "F" word so many times that you would think Quentin Tarantino had something to with the script.

In fact, like Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction", the story of "The Getaway" is structured in a very nonlinear way. The two central characters, an ex-gangster who's been pulled back into the "life" and a rogue cop share the spotlight in telling the tale from their own different perspective.

It's us, the players, who could use some help controlling these characters in putting them to good use. As great as the "movie" is, it's the game's controls that need to be polished. Moving these two characters around is, for the most part, a chore. In the name of "realism", the makers have decided to get rid of the usual standard for video games.

There are no health bars (you look tired as you get shot), no maps of the city (London) you constantly drive in or even direction indicators (you have to rely on your turn signals). This is a bold move on part of the makers, because we gamers love games because of the very reason that they get us away from realism. We don't really care for realism in video games. At least the way it's played out in this product. It makes for a very frustrating game expierence.

The reason the "Grand Theft Auto" games are so fun and addicting is the way it constantly relys on a "virtual" world. "The Getaway" is the opposite, I know most players will look at this as a "Grand Theft Auto" ripoff, but it's far from the truth. "GTA" is a parody of recent American gangster pictures, "The Getaway" is a dark, unnerving action game that isn't comical in any way. Its a step in the right direction in bringing the "interactive movie" to life. In that way, it works, but there still is room for improvement.

I'd give it *** out of **** (Good)

Let's get one thing straight: You can steal cars, you perpetrate crimes and you shoot people. Lots of people. But aside from those similarities, this game bears little semblance to the GTA series. While the GTA games give you a arcade feeling, The Getaway is meant to be as real as possible. There's no screen junk like maps, health bars, ammo counter or anything. You are guided by the blinking indicators on your car and your health is gauged by the way you move and the blood on your suit. The controls are acceptable, but not as tight as they could be. Controlling the cars is much more enjoyable than GTA3 or GTA:VC. Unlike in GTA:VC and preceding games, you can only target hostile opponents, which saves ammo and frustration in a fire fight. The on foot engine has stealth. Hide against walls, pop out around corners, etc. You can take hostages and use them as a shield. Opponents may not fire if the hostage is important. Cops, however, will NEVER fire at a hostage. The weapon selection is limited, you can get pistols, a shotgun, an AK47 and MP5s. Be warned, this game definitely mature. Plenty of course language, stark violence and some other mature themes. Overall, it's a great game.

The Getaway, says Sony, is a perfect combination of both movie and game. You, the player, have to complete missions implemented in a storyline told by several cut-scenes. On-screen information like health bars, hints and directions simply don't exist: you have to rely on your car's turn signals to find your way through the faithfully remodeled city of London. Realism is the keyword here.

And it's the realism that makes this game hell to play. I am a big fan of the 'cartoon' approach that Rockstar uses in its brilliant GTA games. Unlike Grand Theft Auto, The Getaway wants to be taken seriously. Example: killing pedestrians in GTA is fun. You get money for doing so and if you wait a few seconds, an ambulance will arrive to undo the damage you've done. Whereas driving over pedestrians with your vehicle is ludicrous in GTA, it's a rather uncomfortable business in The Getaway. The sickening thud and the screaming of the person you just hit make this quite horrible. And you'll have to kill a few peds in this game, believe me. London folks appear to be suicidal, which means they'll regularly walk into your car. Same goes for the innocent people who get killed when they walk stupidly into your line of fire.

Telling the entire world that your game is ultra-realistic sheds expectations. People don't expect crappy animation, cheesy controls and abysmally behaving cars in a 'realistic' game, and neither did I. This game should have set a benchmark, and it did: The Getaway is the world's first ánd worst movie-game combo ever! A brilliant idea, good storyline and seedy atmosphere are worth nothing thanks to the ruddy gameplay. Games shouldn't be realistic, they should be fun. Ironically, The Getaway is neither realistic nor entertaining. A lousy 5.5/10 is even more than they actually deserve.