Product Description
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Engage in ruthless story as it unfolds from three perspectives,
one strugggles to keep London from the clenches of organized
crime, one becomes an unforgiving vigilante over-night and the
other is looking for the big payout. A brutal devious gangster
forces their paths to violently intertwine.
From the Manufacturer
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If Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino collaborated on a crime
film, only to realize that they hated each other's guts halfway
through filming and wanted nothing more than to sabotage the
project, a cinematic failure along the lines of The Getaway:
Black Monday would likely be the result. Amid hardhearted action
sequences and vulgar cockney dialogue, the plot unfolds through
flashbacks, flashforwards, blurring time periods, and maybe even
some wormhole-related anomalies. I applaud Team Soho's grand
and attempt to bring ambitious storytelling to the video
game front. With beautifully animated and well-acted sequences
fueling every second of the story, it definitely feels like an
interactive motion picture. Sadly, it's also a bit hard to
follow, and not nearly as gripping as Charlie Jolson's twisted
mind games from the original entry in the series.
Additionally, you never really get the impression that the three
playable characters are connected to the events at hand. In the
original title, you really got the sense that you knew who Mark
Hammond was, and would go to any length to help him exact revenge
on Jolson. In this entry, Sergeant Ben Mitchell's personality is
paper thin, Eddie comes across as a cheap attempt to diversify
the action with hand-to-hand combat, and Sam's hard-edged ways
just gnaw at your nerves. It is nice that you can alter the
events at hand to bring about multiple endings, but as you can
imagine, my disinterest with the plot to begin with didn't
necessarily transition into the desire to see different outcomes.
Without a truly engaging story to fall back on, it was up to
Team Soho to create a thrilling gameplay experience. Sadly, the
game is still firing blanks and driving on four flat tires. Team
Soho did little to improve upon this series' shoddy gameplay.
Targeting is still incredibly frustrating, your character
movements are very mechanical, the vehicle physics are painfully
inaccurate, and although improved, the enemy AI is still prone to
blindly running right into the barrel of your smoking . The
changes or new additions that Team Soho has implemented are
minimal at best. The game now boasts a pause screen system,
you can fire a while driving, and motorcycles can be jacked.
The game does have moments of brilliance, and I was impressed
with the diversity of missions, but in an age where Grand Theft
Auto continues to improve with each passing release, a mediocre
Getaway sequel gets beat down in a bad, bad way.
Concept:
A hard-boiled British crime caper that will make you scratch your
head in confusion over the plot twists, and shake your fist over
the shoddy gameplay
Graphics:
London's gorgeous details are diminished by the bumbling
animations of its occupants
Sound:
The only area of the game that doesn't have faults. The
voice-acting and score are perfect
Playability:
Bollocks!
Entertainment:
Very ambitious, but also very disappointing
Replay:
Moderate
Rated: 7 out of 10
Editor: Andrew Reiner
Issue: February 2005
2nd Opinion:
As always, the English are living in the past. In keeping its
bad targeting and camera, as well as the awkward movement of its
characters, this game has all the grace of the Queen of England
getting drunk and stripping for pounds just like the first
Getaway. The simple and repetitive action is sharply contrasted
by the explicit care put into everything from the stellar
voice-acting to the cinematic cutscenes. Although I like the
philosophy behind the HUD-less interface, I often wanted a little
more direction during missions to complement the impressive
wide-open environments. Rue Britannia!
Rated: 7 out of 10
Editor: Matthew Kato
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- About this item Three playable characters, each with their own agenda, strengths, and resources -- for a variety of gameplay options in one continuous game experience Exciting driving missions as you burn up the city streets in the fastest cars in Europe Dive into the world of organized crime in London, piecing together the whole story from different perspectives Play out all kinds of wild driving missions as you explore a virtual London, filled with shady characters and deadly challenges Multiple endings and outcomes depending on which missions and players you choose.