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This thread has been linked to the game 'The Getaway'.
It's alright.
*shrugs*
Presentation:
Graphics are reasonable, if a little jaggy on building edges/other vehicles.
It's certainly not GTA3, but then no doubt someone will argue it's not supposed to be but c'mon...
Cut-scenes are many and you have to sit through them, which is ok the 1st time but when you reload a game after a break it gets annoying to sit through up to 2 mins of mockney swearing.
Voice acting is good, if a little "Awight darlin'" "Geeza!". Imagine Lock Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels idea of cockney London. I do have a problem with the swearing though. I'm not a prude, but it seems to be included merely as a giggly "Hehehehe, this is an 18 cert game. Let's have more swearing" and uncecessary to be honest.
The cutscenes are cinematic and done well, lots of wide-boy violence dished out and lots of no-neck gorillas saying “####” a lot.
Which is always nice.
Gameplay:
Driving is handled well, if a little strange at first. It feels like the road is turning instead of the car but you soon get used to it and it becomes un-noticeable after a couple of minutes. No in-game map, you follow the indicators to tell you where to go. Again, an unusual idea but it becomes 2nd nature after a minute or so.
My main criticism of the driving is the camera. There’s no option to look left or right, nor can you look behind. Which is a problem at intersections when a collision will result in the police giving chase. You literally just have to pull out and hope for the best. Same with high-speed chases, you can’t look behind and see how close the police/triads/other gangs are, it’s just floor it and pray.
Car destruction is handled very well, eventually after charging down the Embankment and smashing into loads of cars, yours will grind to a halt.
I was chased by 3 rozzers, flew across a stinger and had sparks flying from 2 wheels. And still I sped along like a demented Tron-bike enthusiast.
Running/Shooting.
Oh dear. This took a *lot* of getting used to, unwieldy and cumbersome. Camera is terrible for the most part, it’s hard to see what’s going on unless you stop, hit R1 and pivot like a tank turret. But one in a suit.
Foes have a nasty habit of respawning unless you go round that corner/into that room to prove to the AI that it’s empty. Which can get frustrating, especially on the Chinese Artifact level when you have 6 blokes with AK47s bearing down on you. And twice I got stuck whilst ducking behind objects, he wouldn’t stand/shoot/roll/look about – just crouched like a stupid cockney garden gnome.
However, once you adapt to the idea that your character is a robo-plegic romcock and not a lithesome athlete, then gunfights are actually good fun. Something satisfying about ducking out from the cover of a wall, blasting someone a few times and your character saying “You ####ing muppet”.
Don’t expect the fluid running/shooting of GTA3 and you’ll soon lower your expectations enough to get into the gunplay.
I just wish you could do something about the camera control, it gets annoying to have to stop and rotate in order to look about, then start running again. This is especially hard when bailing from a dying car, stop/rotate to find another car, start running to it, stop/rotate to face the door and then steal it.
Plus Points:
A large area of London, replicated down to the major roads and easily recognizable landmarks. I don’t care who you are or your “violence in video games” standpoint, you can easily enjoy bombing it around Piccadilly Circus, up Shaftesbury and then charge down Tottenham Court Road whilst being chased by police.
I ignored the 1st part of the 2nd mission and instead of driving to a rendezvous, I went up to Old Street and took the journey I do a couple of times a week from the studio to a mates house nr Battersea. And yep, bar side-roads you can’t go down, it’s picture perfect – right down to the advertising boards and traffic lights. Hell, you even get traffic jams.
Car chases are good fun, if a little unrealistic and the lack of cameras whilst driving means intersections are a 50/50 chance of getting smashed in.
Negative Points:
Camera angles in car/on foot are not changeable at all. Behind for the car, behind for the running. Don’t bother trying to use the “free look” function, because you have to stop to look about, which doesn’t help when you’re being shot at and need to locate an exit.
AI
A major, major annoyance.
The police have 2 set AI routines (tested out over 2 hrs).
You are flying down Regent Street at whatever speed (no onscreen data *at all*), there are police coming to stop you. They will either
(a)Be in front of you and swerve into your path. It doesn’t matter what speed you go or whether you hit the brakes or not, you *will* hit them broadside. There’s no just-evaded sense like in GTA3 when you dodge an oncoming psycho cop’s car. They come at you, you try everything to evade – you will hit them. Try it, try to dodge them by accelerating to one side. Or try handbraking so they skid in front of you and you can carry on. Doesn’t matter at all, no matter what you do? You’re going to plow into them, accept it.
(b) Be behind you and be inches from your bumper. You’re on a straight and things are looking dicey. There’s a corner coming up. You can’t look about so you stick your foot down and just barrel across and pray. You make it, the sirens are still screaming. Here comes a sweeping corner now. Just as you start to turn? The police obtain a surge of speed and come alongside you, forcing you into the wall.
Wow, that seemed hardly fair- I’ll retry that level and go a different route.
Straight road, they aint catching me.
Here comes a corner aaaaaaaaaand…..WHAM, they get level and force you into a lamppost.
I may not have been doing something right, but level after level after level? Police straight at you means you’re hitting those piggies, regardless of your choice of action. Police behind means you’re getting slammed on a bend into the wall/lamppost/traffic light
The Getaway. 2 years in development, screens released and features written about the next generation of it all.
Merited?
Not really.
The streets look very good and London has been replicated to an extent. But it feels like they spent all this time mapping out an area, then sat round a table and said “Alright, now what?”
“A game. With swearing”
“And car stealing. And some more swearing”
“Cool.”
“Er…Grand Theft Auto 3 has just been released”
“B****r. Let’s leave it a year and wait for the fuss to die down then, release some screenshots of London”
“Cool”
*flash forward a year*
”Ok, the GTA3 thing has died down. Let’s release it”
“Er…Vice City has been released”
“Oh for fu…right, release it in December then. Add more swearing”
“Yep”
----
It's an alright game,just nothing special bar the London-mapped thing.
I'll play it, but it's nowhere near as special as I was thinking.
Murdered by hype?
*shrugs*
Presentation:
Graphics are reasonable, if a little jaggy on building edges/other vehicles.
It's certainly not GTA3, but then no doubt someone will argue it's not supposed to be but c'mon...
Cut-scenes are many and you have to sit through them, which is ok the 1st time but when you reload a game after a break it gets annoying to sit through up to 2 mins of mockney swearing.
Voice acting is good, if a little "Awight darlin'" "Geeza!". Imagine Lock Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels idea of cockney London. I do have a problem with the swearing though. I'm not a prude, but it seems to be included merely as a giggly "Hehehehe, this is an 18 cert game. Let's have more swearing" and uncecessary to be honest.
The cutscenes are cinematic and done well, lots of wide-boy violence dished out and lots of no-neck gorillas saying “####” a lot.
Which is always nice.
Gameplay:
Driving is handled well, if a little strange at first. It feels like the road is turning instead of the car but you soon get used to it and it becomes un-noticeable after a couple of minutes. No in-game map, you follow the indicators to tell you where to go. Again, an unusual idea but it becomes 2nd nature after a minute or so.
My main criticism of the driving is the camera. There’s no option to look left or right, nor can you look behind. Which is a problem at intersections when a collision will result in the police giving chase. You literally just have to pull out and hope for the best. Same with high-speed chases, you can’t look behind and see how close the police/triads/other gangs are, it’s just floor it and pray.
Car destruction is handled very well, eventually after charging down the Embankment and smashing into loads of cars, yours will grind to a halt.
I was chased by 3 rozzers, flew across a stinger and had sparks flying from 2 wheels. And still I sped along like a demented Tron-bike enthusiast.
Running/Shooting.
Oh dear. This took a *lot* of getting used to, unwieldy and cumbersome. Camera is terrible for the most part, it’s hard to see what’s going on unless you stop, hit R1 and pivot like a tank turret. But one in a suit.
Foes have a nasty habit of respawning unless you go round that corner/into that room to prove to the AI that it’s empty. Which can get frustrating, especially on the Chinese Artifact level when you have 6 blokes with AK47s bearing down on you. And twice I got stuck whilst ducking behind objects, he wouldn’t stand/shoot/roll/look about – just crouched like a stupid cockney garden gnome.
However, once you adapt to the idea that your character is a robo-plegic romcock and not a lithesome athlete, then gunfights are actually good fun. Something satisfying about ducking out from the cover of a wall, blasting someone a few times and your character saying “You ####ing muppet”.
Don’t expect the fluid running/shooting of GTA3 and you’ll soon lower your expectations enough to get into the gunplay.
I just wish you could do something about the camera control, it gets annoying to have to stop and rotate in order to look about, then start running again. This is especially hard when bailing from a dying car, stop/rotate to find another car, start running to it, stop/rotate to face the door and then steal it.
Plus Points:
A large area of London, replicated down to the major roads and easily recognizable landmarks. I don’t care who you are or your “violence in video games” standpoint, you can easily enjoy bombing it around Piccadilly Circus, up Shaftesbury and then charge down Tottenham Court Road whilst being chased by police.
I ignored the 1st part of the 2nd mission and instead of driving to a rendezvous, I went up to Old Street and took the journey I do a couple of times a week from the studio to a mates house nr Battersea. And yep, bar side-roads you can’t go down, it’s picture perfect – right down to the advertising boards and traffic lights. Hell, you even get traffic jams.
Car chases are good fun, if a little unrealistic and the lack of cameras whilst driving means intersections are a 50/50 chance of getting smashed in.
Negative Points:
Camera angles in car/on foot are not changeable at all. Behind for the car, behind for the running. Don’t bother trying to use the “free look” function, because you have to stop to look about, which doesn’t help when you’re being shot at and need to locate an exit.
AI
A major, major annoyance.
The police have 2 set AI routines (tested out over 2 hrs).
You are flying down Regent Street at whatever speed (no onscreen data *at all*), there are police coming to stop you. They will either
(a)Be in front of you and swerve into your path. It doesn’t matter what speed you go or whether you hit the brakes or not, you *will* hit them broadside. There’s no just-evaded sense like in GTA3 when you dodge an oncoming psycho cop’s car. They come at you, you try everything to evade – you will hit them. Try it, try to dodge them by accelerating to one side. Or try handbraking so they skid in front of you and you can carry on. Doesn’t matter at all, no matter what you do? You’re going to plow into them, accept it.
(b) Be behind you and be inches from your bumper. You’re on a straight and things are looking dicey. There’s a corner coming up. You can’t look about so you stick your foot down and just barrel across and pray. You make it, the sirens are still screaming. Here comes a sweeping corner now. Just as you start to turn? The police obtain a surge of speed and come alongside you, forcing you into the wall.
Wow, that seemed hardly fair- I’ll retry that level and go a different route.
Straight road, they aint catching me.
Here comes a corner aaaaaaaaaand…..WHAM, they get level and force you into a lamppost.
I may not have been doing something right, but level after level after level? Police straight at you means you’re hitting those piggies, regardless of your choice of action. Police behind means you’re getting slammed on a bend into the wall/lamppost/traffic light
The Getaway. 2 years in development, screens released and features written about the next generation of it all.
Merited?
Not really.
The streets look very good and London has been replicated to an extent. But it feels like they spent all this time mapping out an area, then sat round a table and said “Alright, now what?”
“A game. With swearing”
“And car stealing. And some more swearing”
“Cool.”
“Er…Grand Theft Auto 3 has just been released”
“B****r. Let’s leave it a year and wait for the fuss to die down then, release some screenshots of London”
“Cool”
*flash forward a year*
”Ok, the GTA3 thing has died down. Let’s release it”
“Er…Vice City has been released”
“Oh for fu…right, release it in December then. Add more swearing”
“Yep”
----
It's an alright game,just nothing special bar the London-mapped thing.
I'll play it, but it's nowhere near as special as I was thinking.
Murdered by hype?
Page:
Pro Evo wrote:
> I think to many people were expecting too much from it, which is fair
> enough, the game took two years to make.
Actually well over 5 years. They started back in 1996 with a PS1 version, scrapped that and converted to PS2.
> I think to many people were expecting too much from it, which is fair
> enough, the game took two years to make.
Actually well over 5 years. They started back in 1996 with a PS1 version, scrapped that and converted to PS2.
Well for the second game running that I've ordered from SR, I've been let down again :-( get home early at 4.30 after a trip to the sodding dentist and yep...you guessed it, no game.
Just checked me tracking order number and it says posted on 9/12/02 so it should have been here.....but I'm like......whatever!
Just checked me tracking order number and it says posted on 9/12/02 so it should have been here.....but I'm like......whatever!
Be fair - it's the Post Office letting you down, not SR!
Yeah...Post Office once again....hence the "whatever" bit!
I ordered mine from play.
They posted it yesterday, but it always takes longer from them.
I dont mind though, saved a few quid on the SR price!
They posted it yesterday, but it always takes longer from them.
I dont mind though, saved a few quid on the SR price!
Jive wrote:
> Yeah...Post Office once again....hence the "whatever" bit!
You have my sympathies. Post Office has been pratting around with my mail recently, too.
I've had FOUR pieces of mail go missing in the last 6 weeks, and that's only things I was *expecting* - who knows what else has gone astray that I didn't know about? So I have one complaint in progress there.
And I recently sold my copy of Pro Evo on eBay. Posted it off, in a jiffy bag. Got an e-mail from the buyer saying that it was damaged, and asked them to return it, with the envelope.
The envelope has been pierced, the game's case shattered, and the CD is snapped. And this was send First Class Recorded! So I'm just filling out another complaint/compensation form now...
> Yeah...Post Office once again....hence the "whatever" bit!
You have my sympathies. Post Office has been pratting around with my mail recently, too.
I've had FOUR pieces of mail go missing in the last 6 weeks, and that's only things I was *expecting* - who knows what else has gone astray that I didn't know about? So I have one complaint in progress there.
And I recently sold my copy of Pro Evo on eBay. Posted it off, in a jiffy bag. Got an e-mail from the buyer saying that it was damaged, and asked them to return it, with the envelope.
The envelope has been pierced, the game's case shattered, and the CD is snapped. And this was send First Class Recorded! So I'm just filling out another complaint/compensation form now...
My main gripe with the post office is we never recieve our mail till after 2pm here, ever. Sometimes its as late as 4pm.
I suppose it just depends upon where you live -regarding the postal system.
In the last month i've ordered loads of stuff online and recieved most of it the next day!
In the last month i've ordered loads of stuff online and recieved most of it the next day!
Pro Evo wrote:
> My main gripe with the post office is we never recieve our mail till
> after 2pm here, ever. Sometimes its as late as 4pm.
Similar here. In the last year or so, it's not unusual for our post to arrive anywhere between 8:30 and 15:00. It's just not good enough, especially if you're expecting something that you know the postie will bring, but which won't fir through the letterbox.
But that's just these backwards little shanty towns like Northampton for you. When we lived in London, it arrived at 7:30 (give or take 10 minutes) every single day. Except Sundays and holidays, of course. :-)
> My main gripe with the post office is we never recieve our mail till
> after 2pm here, ever. Sometimes its as late as 4pm.
Similar here. In the last year or so, it's not unusual for our post to arrive anywhere between 8:30 and 15:00. It's just not good enough, especially if you're expecting something that you know the postie will bring, but which won't fir through the letterbox.
But that's just these backwards little shanty towns like Northampton for you. When we lived in London, it arrived at 7:30 (give or take 10 minutes) every single day. Except Sundays and holidays, of course. :-)
You know what you were saying about how the police always ram you against the wall or always hit you? Well does that mean that...
On the getaway, you cant getaway???
On the getaway, you cant getaway???
Page: