GetDotted Domains

Viewing Thread:
"The Getaway - A review"

The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.

This thread has been linked to the game 'The Getaway'.
Tue 10/12/02 at 10:07
Regular
Posts: 787
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?
Fri 13/12/02 at 21:55
Regular
"Comfortably Numb"
Posts: 5,591
What would you guys give it out of ten?

Me - 9/10.
Fri 13/12/02 at 21:42
Regular
"accidental superher"
Posts: 2,482
Maverick42 wrote:
> I concur with Goatboy. The Getaway was a MAJOR disappointment.

yes i'm sorely disappointed too...and i've given it a chance...i've got to mission 11...don't like the handling or the camera when on foot...
sigh
Fri 13/12/02 at 21:37
Regular
"Comfortably Numb"
Posts: 5,591
Yes, but you haven't played it that much, have you?

You have to get into it, when i played the demo, i was really disapointed, but once you get used to the handling, it's great!
The missions are really hard, and they get better and better.
I'm on the one where you have to survive the gang war.
Fri 13/12/02 at 20:07
Regular
Posts: 13,611
I concur with Goatboy. The Getaway was a MAJOR disappointment.
Fri 13/12/02 at 17:54
Regular
"Jim Jam Jim"
Posts: 5,626
Jive wrote:
> adrian wrote:
> I still havent got my game.
>
> Yay, mine's arrived!
>
> *packs bags and heads for home*

Well i'll see if mine is here tommorow. May be just the christmas post making it all late. Dont really want to have 5 games lost in the post.
Fri 13/12/02 at 17:26
Regular
"Cigar smoker"
Posts: 7,885
adrian wrote:
> I still havent got my game.

Yay, mine's arrived!

*packs bags and heads for home*
Fri 13/12/02 at 17:12
Regular
"'what goes here?'"
Posts: 711
this is to pro evo- before the triads appear run in and kill the man by the entrance and get his ak-47, now head right behind the silver box thing and turn around a few triads will come so take them out quickly. stay there until it has quietened down a bit and then run and couch behind the ruined car. take out any left over people and go outside again the mission is now complete! it took me several attempts before a done it.
Fri 13/12/02 at 16:20
Regular
"Notable"
Posts: 4,558
can you fly through the windscreen when you crash at high speed? Heard someone say that you can. Is there weapons like a baseball bat?
Fri 13/12/02 at 16:00
Regular
"bitterly jaded ;]"
Posts: 417
Anyone know how to get passed those annoying laser beams?
I'm on the one with 3 verticals in the right corner and a horizontal and vertical on the left! I'm at the end of my tether!
Fri 13/12/02 at 11:49
Regular
"A man with a stick"
Posts: 5,883
I've been playing this game quite allot now, I just can't get enough of it.

The indicator on you're car which points you in the direction, is still a bit annoying, but I am finally getting used to it now, and it isn't as much of a problem now. The on-foot fighting missions are great fun, especially now I know how to heal myself, but the missions still suffer from a dodgy camera angle at times.

The only real dissapointment I have with the game is it's length. I think I'm already on the last part of the Mark Hammond missions, and it's just taken me over 4 hourse to get there. Not a major problem though, since I still have to play as Frank Carter, and have the free mode to unlock.

All in all I think this game is great, I'd put it over Vice City any day just because I feel it's a better game. I'm now really looking forward to the forthcoming Expansion pack and sequel.

Freeola & GetDotted are rated 5 Stars

Check out some of our customer reviews below:

Thanks!
Thank you for dealing with this so promptly it's nice having a service provider that offers a good service, rare to find nowadays.
Everybody thinks I am an IT genius...
Nothing but admiration. I have been complimented on the church site that I manage through you and everybody thinks I am an IT genius. Your support is unquestionably outstanding.
Brian

View More Reviews

Need some help? Give us a call on 01376 55 60 60

Go to Support Centre
Feedback Close Feedback

It appears you are using an old browser, as such, some parts of the Freeola and Getdotted site will not work as intended. Using the latest version of your browser, or another browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera will provide a better, safer browsing experience for you.