E3 | The Getaway | Black Monday Hands-On
Author: Dan "Supermonkey" Reiley
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: SCEE - London Studios
Platform: PS2

For fans of the Getaway series on the PS2---you know, the franchise that recalls any Guy Ritchie film you're likely to see---comes a brand new game titled The Getaway: Black Monday. This franchise was often compared with the golden child of Grand Theft Auto, which was fair, to say the least, but the flavor of the stories is definitely uniquely British. The game also adds in motorcycles, which were sadly missing from the first game---no hard feelings though, mate. Cheers for including them this go 'round!

The Getaway: Black Monday features a mostly all-new cast, with some old familiar faces from the last game making cameo appearances. Part of the new cast is the trio of characters available for you to play during some missions. These characters include: Ben "Mitch" Mitchell, a cop with a questionable past. He is a gun expert and has a flak vest to protect him just in case he happens to get in any firefights during a mission. There is also Eddie O'Connor, an ex-boxer with mob ties, whose specialty is obviously hand to hand combat. And finally there is a female named Sam, who is more of a cat burglar with no combat skills to speak of.

The story unfolds in a way reminiscent of Pulp Fiction, meaning it is non-linear, in a way that ties all of the ends together by the time you have gotten the last piece of the story. The story takes place in London and its environs, once again, and the game will feature 17 new locations, and of course the streets of London are again faithfully recreated to give it that authentic, real world feel. The tone of the game is very important to the creators, and they are trying to evoke the feeling of a Hollywood "thriller" film this time around, rather than a Hollywood balls out "action flick" like their last outing was.

The gameplay for this go-round rewards moral choices. Depending on your actions while playing the game, the story will unfold in different ways depending on what you have done thus far in the game. Thus there is guaranteed to be multiple endings, and the replayability quotient of this title is sure to be high.

I got hands on with the game and I have to say that it's shaping up quite nicely so far. I never got to play the original, but I am a big GTA head, so it was a very slight adjustment for me to figure out the controls. At this point in time, they felt a little sluggish, but I'm sure they will be tweaked before the game ships (indeed it was only touted as being 60% done at the time of this article). The weapons all did a nice bit of damage, and the levels were interesting and authentic.

I'm looking forward to seeing more on this title as it moves forward and I am very intrigued by the method of story telling they wish to employ---in terms of the Pulp Fiction style. And of course, Marcellus Wallace does not look like a beyotch.

--->SuperMonkey

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