Publisher: Sony, www.playstation.com
Ages: Mature only
Parental
Advisory:
Violent, crass, and gritty
In the same way that the adult-oriented Grand Theft Auto: Vice City captured the attention of teens and younger players, The Getaway, with its "R"-rated violence, gore, language and sexual content is gaining similar notoriety and appeal in the same audiences. The Getaway is a visually impressive game and a technical achievement, but features some of the most graphic violence and explicit swearing that we've seen and heard in any game. And like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, it's clearly not for teens and younger players who will want to buy and play it.
Sony's The Getaway is a mission-based, 3D action game that's set in London. It follows the story of two men from opposite sides of the law. Mark Hammond, an ex-bank robber and former member of the Collins Crew gang, is on the run for the alleged murder of his wife. Frank Carter, on the other hand, is a cop who has been suspended from the Flying Squad. Both men, having been manipulated by Charlie Jolson, a notorious crime boss in London's East End for more than 20 years, want to clear their names. Longing for revenge, each works to bring down London's crime supremo.
To start, gamers play Hammond to complete a series of missions, and later switch to the role of Carter to complete additional missions. Both characters provide a variety of options to accomplish missions and achieve their goals. As Hammond's story unfolds, there are characters that are seen from his perspective. And when gamers change roles, the same events and characters can affect Carter differently, which injects entwining storylines into the game.
The Getaway offers detailed environments that feature moving automobile traffic, parks, tourists and pedestrians, and there's detailed physics and damage modeling on cars and high-powered weaponry. Players can abandon cars and jack new ones.
While The Getaway initially sounds much like Grand Theft Auto as both involve driving cars through cities and feature violent events and crime, The Getaway isn't as freeform as Grand Theft Auto. And while Grand Theft Auto featured dark humor, The Getaway simply feels cold and harsh.
The game's designers seem to be emphasizing looks over gameplay. To start, the cinematic cutscenes look great, but the game doesn't let you skip them. This is a pain when you have to start over. Another thing, the game lacks necessities such as indications for ammo or remaining life. The characters do slow down, limp, and take deep breathes when they're injured, but a life bar is a gaming essential. Other problems: it's often hard to tell where you should drive, and during our testing, the game occasionally froze.
The game looks fantastic and often resembles a gritty movie. A technical achievement, the game serves some 40 square kilometers of photo-realistically recreated London blocks and street corners. The voice acting is also first rate.
The Getaway has definite merits, but it's got some problems as a game. And in any event, it's clearly not for youngsters.
2/10/03 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
