The Getaway is a very unique crime game which should not be passed up.
The Getaway's location immediately attracted me to it. I am a huge fan of films such "Snatch", "Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrells" and "Sexy Beast", so finding out the game was set in London got me a bit excited. Something that the Getaway has that Grand Theft Auto neevr did is a fantastic way of storytelling and artistic style. The Getaway dives deep into the world of London crime and it does so with amazing acting talents, a 60's-type thriller score, and a storyline that covers every angle and leaves no sotne unturned.
The Getaway uses the famous "Pulp" storytelling, meaning multiple stories are invovled that all have to do with oen another. The Getaway follows both sides of the law, with Reformed con Mark Hammond and Detective Frank Cater. The storyline to The Getaway is as follows. Mark Hammond has been released from jail with his life entirely turned around. He is happy with his loving with, and young son Alex. The game opens with four mysterious figures of the Jolson gang sitting in a car waiting for Mark's wife. When she appears, a struggle breaks loose and it ends up with Hammond's wife beign shot and his son Alex taken hostage. Mark, immediately acting, rushes in his car to find the kidnappers. When their car stops at the Jolson hideout, Mark rushes in only to meet Charlie Jolson himself, who is one of the notrious crime lords of London. Mark is forced to do dirty work for Charlie, in order to get his son back.
Detective Frank Carter's story is quite vague, but still important to the story. He has for a long time been trailing the moves of The Jolson gang. Carter ends up getting invovled in the large scale gang war between the Jolsons, The Yardies and The Triads. His path also crosses with Mark Hammond and together, they try and not only elimiante Jolson, but get Alex back.
Much like Grand Theft Auto, The Getaway is free-roam style gameplay. Though you are always on a mission, you have the ability to roam the London streets as you please and steal cars. The driving system is very realistic in The Getaway. Instead of relying on the typical radar, you must follow your turn signals to find out where to go. Therefore, if you get into a scrap and one of your signlas is blown out, it's best to find another car as soon as possible. All of the vehicles in The Getaway are real models as well, none of them are made up. One of the most astounding features of The Getaway, as well as one of the msot troublesome, is the police officers. Even if you run a red light, the police will tail you, in which you must drive and lose them. The police however, can be very irritating, especially when you are on a tiem limit or you need yopru turn signals. Luckily they are easy to lose but it can still be very frustrating to watch your every move. Now let's get into the on foot gameplay. The Getaway relies on a very realistic type of shooting method. It only takes a few shots to shoot an enemy, but at the same time, it doesn't take much for them to kill you. When your health is in danger, you must rest upon a wall to restore health. I thought that was a very creative way of doing it and is very convenient when you are shooting Yardies in a parking garage and need somewhere to rest for health. The problem with the game though, is that it can be a bit repetitive. A lot of the missions seem to be either timed or just flat otu shooting spree. I would've liked to see a bit more creativity with the shoot-outs and the stealth misisons, which to me were a bit lazy. I understand that the game is trying to be very real, therefore variety missions may have made it very fake and untrue to it's purpsoe, but it would've been nice if the gameplay changed up a bit. It seemed to me it was just drive to this location and cap a Triad, or sneak into this mansion and kill this guy! Nonetheless, the game was still very enjoyable.
Also, when you beat the game, extra features would've been nice..like perhaps a cinematic collection mode or a mini game. All you get is a free roam mode which is very very dull. Why not do an 8-bit shooter where you are after Jolson? or perhaps a game where you beat up strippers super mario style? :lol: that would've risen the replay value a great deal,
The Getaway is a game with both outstandign qualities as well as dissapointing ones. Overall, I reccomend The Getaway to anyone who loves a good crime game. Don't expect revolutionary gameplay, but do expect a fulfilling experience :D