Open-world crime game set in London. Oh go on then. Apparently The Getaway did well on its release, however I can't say I had ever heard of it until recently.
I live in the UK and spend a lot of time in London as it is only a short journey on the train for me. Naturally I was eager to see what a game set in London would look like. Honestly they did an amazing job recreating the streets of London and its impressive how good it looks considering it came out in 2002. All of the landmarks are there as well as so many smaller details. While in London the other week I visited Covent Gardens as it is always a nice place to visit this time of year. While there I grabbed a coffee from a nearby Starbucks. Later that week I went down the same road in The Getaway and was amazed to see a Starbucks pretty much in the same place. This is probably a massive coincidence but I couldn't help but find this hilarious. Apart from making me laugh I'd say this is the main reason why the game feels so immersive and a joy to play. I was also surprised to find out that all of the cars are real car models from that time. There must be around 30 plus official car manufacturers in the game. Again I found this hilarious when the police were chasing me in my Fiat Punto.
What sets The Getaway apart from other games is the lack of a HUD and using alternate methods to explain to the player what is going on. The lack of a HUD does make the game feel more immersive and I do think overall it was the right choice but it does have its problems. Apart from a few hints in the pause menu and a mission brief, you are given very little information when starting the game. For example The Getaway's lack of a HUD means there is no map to look at, so how do you know where to go? The Getaway solves this problem by using the indicators on the car to tell you what direction you need to be going. This is a pretty cool mechanic but it can be hard to follow especially when you're being chased by the police or rival gangs. It also isn't explained to you so I ended up failing the first mission several times before I noticed this. While I'm talking about the driving I should also mention how weak the cars are in this game. It only takes a few crashes to destroy a car. Some missions I ended up stealing 4-5 cars just to get to my destination as they kept breaking down. At certain points in the game you are required to get somewhere within a time limit so taking your time isn't an option, expect to crash a lot.
The other half of the gameplay is the shooting and I found this more enjoyable, once I worked out all of the mechanics that is. Again The Getaway uses different ways to deal with no HUD. For example if you run out of ammo your character will simply drop the weapon and then pick up another automatically if you walk over one on the floor. How much damage you have taken is indicated by the blood on the player and your character will start to limp on low health. It is little details like this that I enjoy in a game. That being said, like the driving sections, it still has its issues… well for me anyway. I found myself hating the shooting sections at first because to my knowledge I thought you could not heal. I thought every shooting section was way too hard as you can't take many hits before dying. It was not until I got about half-way through the game that I realised you could heal. Simply stand next to a wall and your character will lean up against it and regain health. I know I'm probably an idiot as there is a tip on the pause menu telling you this but I still think this is another example why The Getaway can be a bit confusing for new players.
I didn't want to talk too much about the story but I did find it engaging and found the cutscenes to be well-acted. It's nothing to write home about but if you're a fan of the films it's based on you will probably enjoy it.
I was struggling to decide if this is worth recommending or not. Despite my gripes I still had a great time. I wanted to write this review because I think The Getaway is worth your time, however if you do want to give this a go be patient with it and make sure you learn all of the mechanics.
I live in the UK and spend a lot of time in London as it is only a short journey on the train for me. Naturally I was eager to see what a game set in London would look like. Honestly they did an amazing job recreating the streets of London and its impressive how good it looks considering it came out in 2002. All of the landmarks are there as well as so many smaller details. While in London the other week I visited Covent Gardens as it is always a nice place to visit this time of year. While there I grabbed a coffee from a nearby Starbucks. Later that week I went down the same road in The Getaway and was amazed to see a Starbucks pretty much in the same place. This is probably a massive coincidence but I couldn't help but find this hilarious. Apart from making me laugh I'd say this is the main reason why the game feels so immersive and a joy to play. I was also surprised to find out that all of the cars are real car models from that time. There must be around 30 plus official car manufacturers in the game. Again I found this hilarious when the police were chasing me in my Fiat Punto.
What sets The Getaway apart from other games is the lack of a HUD and using alternate methods to explain to the player what is going on. The lack of a HUD does make the game feel more immersive and I do think overall it was the right choice but it does have its problems. Apart from a few hints in the pause menu and a mission brief, you are given very little information when starting the game. For example The Getaway's lack of a HUD means there is no map to look at, so how do you know where to go? The Getaway solves this problem by using the indicators on the car to tell you what direction you need to be going. This is a pretty cool mechanic but it can be hard to follow especially when you're being chased by the police or rival gangs. It also isn't explained to you so I ended up failing the first mission several times before I noticed this. While I'm talking about the driving I should also mention how weak the cars are in this game. It only takes a few crashes to destroy a car. Some missions I ended up stealing 4-5 cars just to get to my destination as they kept breaking down. At certain points in the game you are required to get somewhere within a time limit so taking your time isn't an option, expect to crash a lot.
The other half of the gameplay is the shooting and I found this more enjoyable, once I worked out all of the mechanics that is. Again The Getaway uses different ways to deal with no HUD. For example if you run out of ammo your character will simply drop the weapon and then pick up another automatically if you walk over one on the floor. How much damage you have taken is indicated by the blood on the player and your character will start to limp on low health. It is little details like this that I enjoy in a game. That being said, like the driving sections, it still has its issues… well for me anyway. I found myself hating the shooting sections at first because to my knowledge I thought you could not heal. I thought every shooting section was way too hard as you can't take many hits before dying. It was not until I got about half-way through the game that I realised you could heal. Simply stand next to a wall and your character will lean up against it and regain health. I know I'm probably an idiot as there is a tip on the pause menu telling you this but I still think this is another example why The Getaway can be a bit confusing for new players.
I didn't want to talk too much about the story but I did find it engaging and found the cutscenes to be well-acted. It's nothing to write home about but if you're a fan of the films it's based on you will probably enjoy it.
I was struggling to decide if this is worth recommending or not. Despite my gripes I still had a great time. I wanted to write this review because I think The Getaway is worth your time, however if you do want to give this a go be patient with it and make sure you learn all of the mechanics.