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If you liked GTA, you need this

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Read the title and really thats all you need to know. This is like GTA but A LOT more realistic and cinematic. The getaway is a brilliant game and team soho have spent millions making this game. Also, they're intentions were to make the best game ever. Did they realise their dream? Well they sure do come close. The getaway breaks the line between film and game. At least an hour of your gaming time is spent watching magnificent cutscenes and watching the plot evolve and twist. Also, the game doesn't just have one playable character. You get to watch the action from two angles. The first is through the eyes of Mark Hammond, convicted for bank robbery and just finished his five years in prison. His wife is murdered and his son is kidnapped and he is forced back into the life he vowed he would never come back to. He must accomplish jobs that the nefarious Charlie Jolson gives him. Otherwise his child's body will end up in the River Thames. The second is DC Frank Carter, member of the flying squad but suspended from the force due to his "go in guns blazing" technique. He is intent on bringing down the Jolsons and clearing his name. Both men are seperated by the law but brought together by their one true goal, bring down criminal overlord Charlie Jolson. And that is the main plot. But each character will experience twists and turns that will either assist or screw up their journey to bring down the Jolsons. Enough about the story for now. When in a car you will notice a big difference between GTA handling and this. Trust me, in the first few minutes of driving you will smash your car up big time. Once you get used to the ultra-realistic handling it is a pleasurable experience to speed through 40 square-miles of photo-realistic London streets. If you are a cockney you won't even need any help navigating the streets that you have been to yourself. If your not a cockney and have never visited the capital of England, this is as close to the real thing as you can get. The on-foot sections of the game have a nice MGS2 touch to them as you roll past armed enemies, crouch behind explosive barrels and flatten your back against a wall while stealthily listening to dangerous gang members chatting to each other. Or you could just run in with an AK-47 and blast your way through the levels but that would probably get you killed a few times. Anyway in some levels stealth is essential. If you get caught you fail. Also, there are no health bars, health packs or arrows pointing to where you have to go giving the game an even more cinematic touch to it. Well it's time to address the pro's and con's of team soho's multi-million dollar project:

Pros: Breath-taking graphics
Stunning cutscenes
A very cinematic feel to the game
Ultra-realistic handling and damage models on the vehicles
Every last detail right down to the shop fronts has been researched and put into the game

Cons: With the likes of GTA on the market it has tough competition
No health bars or healthpacks make this one ultra tough game
The vehicle indicator system can be annoying

I could think of more pro's and I stretched my mind to the limit thinking of con's so I'd say this is a game that any mature PS2 gamer should purchase.

Don't buy this game unless you buy games for the cut scenes

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I should have really given this game one star, but as my tag line reads the cut scenes are top notch. Well acted, well written, and a fantastic view of the world the game is trying to illustrate, these cut scenes are some of the best I have ever seen. However if you buy a game for the actually game playing, avoid this one like the plague! The character animation is really poor, it is too slow, the player has no control over the tempo of their character, and the on screen information is nonexistent.

I read the PS2 Magazine write up of the game and the designers were talking about how they thought that this game both provided insights into the world of crime found no where else, and brought a level of maturity to gaming that has not been seen before. In my opinion, and the opinion of PS2 Magazine, these were slights against the Grand Theft Auto series, and in this case they were slights that do not reflect reality. This game may, and let me emphasize may, be better than Grand Theft when it comes to cut scenes, but when one looks at the rest of the game the Getaway is a sad pretender to what its designers hoped it would be. If you are looking for a game to buy go out and buy GTA 3 or Vice City, do not buy the Getaway, you will be very disappointed.

Not a Grand Theft Auto Rip-Off

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It seems every time I mention this game to anyone the response is always the same: "That game just looks like a rip-off or Grand Theft Auto!"
Granted, at first glance it does look as if this borrowed too heavily from the GTA series, but if you give the Getaway a chance you'll find that it's quite it's own game.
Where as Grand Theft Auto pretty much throws you into a city and lets you do what you please, the Getaway is very linear. It follows two characters through a very good story line, and it really makes you feel liek you're playing a movie, which is obviously what the developers intended. It seems cliche to say that a game makes you feel like you're playing a movie, but in the Getaway that is exactly what it does.
First of all, there are no maps or health readouts on the screen at all. No arrows, no ammo indicators. Just gameplay. There will never be any sort of icon on the screen at any time. Which is to say that there will never be any indication aside from the controller in your hand that you are infact playing a videogame. This can be difficult at times, which is why I took away one start from my overall score, because when you are driving a car you'll likely find that you will have absolutely no sense of where you are going. This city is enormous, and there isn't even a map to help you get around. When on a mission the only way you will find out which ways to turn is by paying close attention to the blinkers on your car which go off indicating when it's time to make a turn. It gets quite frustrating because often times, I just found that I was spending most of my time playing the game looking for the location I was trying to get to.
And as for the lack of a health-readout, the only way you will know when your characetr is about to die is by looking at the amount of blood on your character's clothing, and how much he is limping. You'll know when there's too much blood. A novel concept, and unlike the blinkers on the cars, this actually works fairly well. And don't expect any health in the form of food or anyting lying around on tables. When your character needs health, you will have to build it up by leaning against a wall for a while. Again, very realistic, but not possible when you're in the middle of a gunfight, which happens to be quite often.
I didn't have to much of a problem with the controls, but the driving controls do take some time getting used to. Like GTA, you can steal any car on the road, and each one handles very differently. But unlike GTA, this game features liscensed vehicles from manufacturers like Lexus.
The gameplay outside of the cars is outstanding. You have an unbelievbale amount of moves in the plam of your hands. Everything from taking hostages, to jumping out from behind walls and then safely ducking back behind them can be done. The gameplay itself varies in style, but manages to combine the best elements of games like Metal Gear Solid, Winback, Splinter Cell, Driver, and yes, Grand Theft Auto.
This is a avery adult game. There is a lot of violence, and a striking amount of blood. The language, as you'd expect from a game similar in content to GTA, is very strong. In fact, the language in this game is stronger than in any game that has come before it. Nothing is censored.
And finally, the graphics are outstanding. Grand Theft Auto, which looks a lot like a cartoon, cannot hold a candle to the Getaway in terms of graphical detail. The characters and environments (the game takes place in London) are super-realistic.
Overall, this is an amazing achievment as far as the future of videogaming is concerned. It is technically impressive, and shocking, and amazingly fun to play. Enjoy.

Not a GTA coppy cat

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The getaway is a very good game but wen i tell my friends about it the just say "sounds like a jock off of GTA". But i said no way!
In GTA U get a handfull of a story then they throw u in the streets for u to do whatever u whant. In the Getaway Has a very good story and straight throu missions. if u want while u are on a mission u can go around and kill people and stuff but the misons are really fun.
Plus the grafics in GTA Vice city are very cartoony but the getaways graghics Are isanely realistaic.
also there are no health meters, dosn't tell u how moch amo u have for your gu or a map to tell u were to go but these flaws are for realisms sake.
in real life u don't no wen your going to dy or how much amo u have or any icons telling u were to go but they could add a map at the pause menu bacause in real lif u can have a map. there are no health pick ups and the only way to tell wen u are hurt is the amount of blood on your characters cloths and the only way to heal your self is to find a quiet place and lean against the wall till there is no more blood on your cloths. And the only way u no were u are suposed to go is the blinkers on the back of your car.
so the getaway is much different than GTA.
oh ya i forgot after u complete all 24 missions u onlock free mode but it kind of is different than GTA.
u can only hold three wepons at a time. u can hold two hand guns and one big wepon and if u want to swich to your hand guns u have to drop your big wepon.
u can jack any car u want and go any were in that part of londo that they give.
one of the best parts is that u cane take people hostage and shoot them in the head or if u put your guns awayu can brake there neck. and if u have some one hostage and u have cops on u the cops wont shoot unless your back is turned to them. and the oly way to make a bad guy not shoot u is hold another bad guy hostaage. u can also take cops hostage wich is cool. and if u are holding someone hostatge and someone shoots at your stomach it wont hurt u it hurts the hostage.
so over all the game is great but not a GTA copy cat!

Meh!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

it wasn't really a great game. i mean, i heard it was so i bought it, then i played it for three days, then sold it on the fourth. It was boring. i found it way to hard on the second mission and it was a struggle to get past it! the one good thing about it is the graphics which are awsome. the graphics are what made me give this 2 stars; everything else just wasn't as exiting as other games i've played. after i sold it, i went out and bought grand theft auto vice city for LESS even though it is a way better game. i should have bought it first.

I Expected Better

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is ok. It is fun in certain ways such as taking hostages. It is kind of annoying when you have to spend half the game against the wall regaining your health. I bought this game thinking it would be a grand theft auto with a twist to it, but it is too difficult. You may enjoy hard games such as splinter cell, but if you are like me, you won't enjoy this game that much.

Average-But Not Vice City

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

After several years in development, The Getaway realeses big with high anticipation for a great game. Team Soho, the developers, have a great storyline plot and BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS, and it shows why the game took so long in development. The control scheme is difficult, but with spent time, they become simpler. This is a GTA [type game], where you rome the streets and are chased by the police to get from point A to point B. The great thing about this game is the excellent driving engine and rarely slowsdown on you. The game starts out with a man Mark Hammond whos wife gets murdered and son kidnapped by the London crime boss Charlie. Mark must travel throught the percisely detailed London to kill his fellow commrades to get his son back. This game has A LOT OF NEEDLESS SWEARING, and the selection of guns is limited to 3, AK47 and Shotgun and the classic, Pistol. Try this before you buy it. If you liked Driver 2, buy this.

Its the perfect GETAWAY

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

WOW! I absolutely loved this game. The reason why I bought it is becuase, yes once again, Grand Theft Auto. I'm really into games like that. The Getaway conatins great and accurate graphics, it also has licensed cars and businesses. Even the actors look real. The storyline will make you ask for more. Its just like a movie only you play it. Yeah I know people say there are flaws but what game doesn't? If you're into games like Hitman 2, the Grand Theft Auto series, stuff like that, you'll absolutley love this game. I absolutley love the actor who played Mark Hammond, hes hot.

Great graphics bad gameplay

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It is obvious what the developers of The Getaway spent the most time on and that is the graphics. I must say that I was very impressed by all aspects of the graphics in The Geteway. Each character in the game looks very realistic. The detail on their faces are unbelievable. Each individual car looks like the actual car as well. Whenever you are driving down the streets in London you really have the feeling you are in London. All the streets and the various sites of London in the game are almost 100% accurate. The vast size of the game map makes the Grand Theft Auto series look like child play.

However, after all the praise I have given the graphics I must complain about the bad gameplay. First of all there is no aim on your weapons and you have no idea when you are running low on ammo. So not only is it hard to be accurate with your shot but at times you may all the sudden just run completely out of ammo. The gameplay camera views can be frustrating at times. Sometimes your own body will block your view making it confusing to keep up with where the enemys may be. Last of all driving thru the city to your mission spot can be a difficult. There is no radar to tell you where to go, you have to stare at your signal to know when to turn which is a very frustrating task.

One last thing about The Getaway is that whenever it was first released a lot of people was comparing it to the Grand Theft Auto series. This is NO Grand Theft Auto people!... Yes there is cussing, extreme violence, and the jacking of cars but you have no freedom!... Once you do a mission you get a cinema and you are ordered to do another mission and you repeat this process over and over. Unlike Grand Theft Auto you can't just go around and cause havoc anytime you want. Infact you really can't cause much havoc at all unless you are in a mission.

While the graphics are impressive, I wasn't impressed with the gameplay. I was hoping for a game similar to Grand Theft Auto, however I ended up getting a normal shoot 'em up game with great graphics. So if you are looking for a GTA type game don't buy this!! But if you are looking for an extremely realistic game then you will enjoy The Getaway.

GTA it's not

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you're looking for a Grand Theft Auto, UK version, this isn't the game for you. The Getaway is a game all on its own with realistic controls (you can't look behind you, you don't have a health meter, there is no map), but what one must remember is that this game was made to be more like a movie/real life than anything. There are no health packs in real life, no maps handy. The creaters did make The Getaway fairly simple to use, though. If you get shot too many times, Mark Hammond/DC Carter slouches and limps, gasping for breath and sometimes even stating they're hurt ("Ahh, it hurts!", etc). When this happens, the player can simply press the character to one wall so that he may lean and regain his health. When he's done, he stands upright, ready for action. To figure out where you are, simply look at the signals on the car. At times it may seem like you're going in a circle, which I admit can be frustrating, but eventually they're fairly easy to figure out.

As for the cinematics (cut scenes) in the game, I must admit they're a bit lengthy (epecially "Prodigal Son" and "Meet Mark Hammond," which go on for almost ten minutes). You're unable to bypass any of the cinematics (despite whatever cheat codes people are throwing around on the internet) and if you play it more than once, you may find yourself walking out of the room during the scenes.

All in all, I think the Getaway is an awesome game (if you're not too bothered by the filthy language) with great graphics and engaging characters. To compare it to GTA would be unfair and unneccessary. Rent/buy the game and see for yourself, but remember to think of it as a game in itself, not GTA in London.

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