The Getaway
Details: Video game series
Developers: Team Soho, London Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Description: The Getaway takes you into the underbelly of today's London, a world filled with lowlifes, gangsters and scum. Mark Hammond, an ex-con turned legit businessman, is sucked back into the criminal underworld after his son is kidnapped by feared gang boss Charlie Jolson. With his boy's life on the line, Hammond is forced to revert back to his old ways, doing Jolson's dirty work and all the while ducking, diving and weaving to avoid the clutches of the police. Playing both as Hammond and as Frank Carter, a vigilante cop from the Flying Squad, your job is to rescue Hammond's son and take down Jolson. It's a dangerous and brutal mission that takes in Charlie's turf in the East End, a seemingly classy art gallery in Hyde Park, a Yardie crackhouse south of the river and plenty of other places you won't find in your London tourist guide. Far and away the most ambitious project ever undertaken by a SCEE studio, The Getaway is a unique plot driven adventure set against the gritty backdrop of urban London. As you meet Jolson's increasingly psychotic demands, you'll undertake a variety of missions as you criss-cross London, often with coppers tailing or chasing you. The city of London, recreated in astonishing detail from thousands of reference photos, can be traversed on foot or by car; there's a total of 60 vehicles that can be 'acquired' (read nicked), all with their own physics and handling. Vehicles range from the unassuming Nissan Micra through to the Lexus IS20, the Police Vectra and the good old fashioned black cab. With a hard hitting storyline that doesn't pull any punches in depicting London's brutal criminal element, The Getaway is definitely a title for the more mature gamer. The compelling storyline, played out by a full cast of professional actors, blends seamlessly with gameplay to stunning effect, making The Getaway as close to a movie as a game has ever come. Realism is an important aspect of the game, with no health bars, ammo meters or other on-screen indicators to detract from the action. If your character's hit, he bleeds and slows down, clutching his wounds; if you're in a high speed chase or on your way to a location, your car's indicators signal the best route. Everything's designed to suck you in to the world of The Getaway and keep you there. Having been almost three years in the making, The Getaway represents the cutting edge of videogame production. The list of technical innovations in the areas of graphics, animation and even motion capture is far too long to go into here, but the results speak for themselves. Visually, The Getaway is absolutely stunning - the living, breathing in-game London has to be seen to be believed - while the classic gangster film style narrative adds surprising depth to the winning mix of driving and action. - Stunningly realistic graphics and animation - London's entire city centre recreated in unprecedented detail - Deep and involving storyline, played out by a full cast of professional actors
Developers: Team Soho, London Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Description: The Getaway takes you into the underbelly of today's London, a world filled with lowlifes, gangsters and scum. Mark Hammond, an ex-con turned legit businessman, is sucked back into the criminal underworld after his son is kidnapped by feared gang boss Charlie Jolson. With his boy's life on the line, Hammond is forced to revert back to his old ways, doing Jolson's dirty work and all the while ducking, diving and weaving to avoid the clutches of the police. Playing both as Hammond and as Frank Carter, a vigilante cop from the Flying Squad, your job is to rescue Hammond's son and take down Jolson. It's a dangerous and brutal mission that takes in Charlie's turf in the East End, a seemingly classy art gallery in Hyde Park, a Yardie crackhouse south of the river and plenty of other places you won't find in your London tourist guide. Far and away the most ambitious project ever undertaken by a SCEE studio, The Getaway is a unique plot driven adventure set against the gritty backdrop of urban London. As you meet Jolson's increasingly psychotic demands, you'll undertake a variety of missions as you criss-cross London, often with coppers tailing or chasing you. The city of London, recreated in astonishing detail from thousands of reference photos, can be traversed on foot or by car; there's a total of 60 vehicles that can be 'acquired' (read nicked), all with their own physics and handling. Vehicles range from the unassuming Nissan Micra through to the Lexus IS20, the Police Vectra and the good old fashioned black cab. With a hard hitting storyline that doesn't pull any punches in depicting London's brutal criminal element, The Getaway is definitely a title for the more mature gamer. The compelling storyline, played out by a full cast of professional actors, blends seamlessly with gameplay to stunning effect, making The Getaway as close to a movie as a game has ever come. Realism is an important aspect of the game, with no health bars, ammo meters or other on-screen indicators to detract from the action. If your character's hit, he bleeds and slows down, clutching his wounds; if you're in a high speed chase or on your way to a location, your car's indicators signal the best route. Everything's designed to suck you in to the world of The Getaway and keep you there. Having been almost three years in the making, The Getaway represents the cutting edge of videogame production. The list of technical innovations in the areas of graphics, animation and even motion capture is far too long to go into here, but the results speak for themselves. Visually, The Getaway is absolutely stunning - the living, breathing in-game London has to be seen to be believed - while the classic gangster film style narrative adds surprising depth to the winning mix of driving and action. - Stunningly realistic graphics and animation - London's entire city centre recreated in unprecedented detail - Deep and involving storyline, played out by a full cast of professional actors
