The Getaway: Black Monday

"If you enjoyed the first one, you'd love it, although it's a bit of a stepback rather than forward."

Back in late 2002, after so many years of waiting (it was originally scheduled for the PS1), the first Getaway was released on the Playstation 2 console . Although it did receive a lot of criticism, many folk did actually enjoy the game and rated it very highly, like myself. In my opinion, the people who criticized the game were expecting it to be a Grand Theft Auto match but were disappointed. I didn't at all expect The Getaway to be exactly like GTA so perhaps that's why I enjoyed it more. But enough chit chat about the first Getaway, we're here now with a sequel - Black Monday. It received a lot of hype, and tons definitely expected it to be much better than the first, but is it? Will the people who criticise the series finally back off? All will be answered in my review of The Getaway: Black Monday.

Gameplay
Being honest, the Gameplay is pretty much exactly the same as the first. For people who weren't fond of the original this is a bad thing, but for fans of the original I'd say this is a good thing. Yes, the annoying camera control is still in Black Monday which I'd say was the only big negative thing for me. It's very awkward when you're in a complex building with loads of enemies for example and you won't be able to get a good view because of the annoying camera. Why don't Team Soho just put in a camera that is smooth and you get full control of? It's not that difficult, and I think it'd really improve the next game.. if there is one that is. There are 22 chapters in BM, compared to the original of, I believe, 24 (I could possibly be wrong here, but I think the original was longer). Like its predecessor some of the missions are very hard but you can actually complete BM in no time, so it's a pretty short game. You'll need help during some stealth parts though so that will lengthen its lifespan.

The controls, I believe, are also exactly the same as the first Getaway, albeit a few alternations. On foot the cameras are quite good, pressing the X button to take cover between walls and accessories for example. At first, especially if you're a veteran of the GTA series you will find the controls awkward and quite a bunch of people bash the controls, but once you've got used to it I guarantee you'll have no problems at all in the future. As stated earlier, the only really annoying thing is the camera control. In a vehicle the controls are also identical to the first except I noticed that the Circle button was now used to reverse your vehicle. When I first played, I kind of got mixed up and was pressing Triangle to reverse, only to find myself getting out of the vehicle! Thankfully in no time I got the hang of things. In my opinion a certain few are chosen to like this control system, and a certain few aren't. I guess I was just one of the few who was chosen to like this control scheme. Being exactly the same as the first Getaway, I was pleased.

What's new in BM you might ask. Well, there is an introduction of stealth in the game. To be honest, it doesn't really work well. Of course it doesn't compare to the likes of Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell, as the game isn't fully focused on stealth like those big titles, but it could be a tad bit better. Sometimes you'd find yourself becoming heavily frustrated that you can't get past a part where there are guards scattered all over the place, and rightfully so. Other times, though, you'll find that the guards have their backs to you all the time, which I don't really like in games as there's no realism there. What good's a guard if he's just staring at the wall continuously? Putting guard patrols in the stealth parts would of increased the realism and challenge, but would it just annoy and frustrate the player? In my opinion I agree with the latter, as The Getaway is focused on action and it wouldn't fit right putting all of this in-depth stealth stuff in the game.

You can also shoot out of your vehicle this time in Black Monday, which is a good thing, I guess. After GTA: Vice City came out and the original Getaway releasing just after, people were disappointed that you couldn't shoot out of your vehicle but now your wish has been granted. It definitely comes in handy during some missions when you've got hundreds of bad guys with big guns chasing after you in a fast car. This time in BM you can also dual-wield guns, which I guess is another good thing. There are also some new game modes to play, such as Vigilante or Race modes and a few more. Free roam is actually accessible from the start this time, unlike the original where you had to complete the game to unlock it. Motorcycles and bicycles are also introduced in BM, although they don't have that same feeling like, for example, San Andreas does. The motorcycles kinda' remind me of DRIV3R's motorcycles, and that isn't a good thing. By pressing the start button during in-game you will bring up the map which wasn't in the original. I think it's pretty boring though and certainly doesn't compare to the in-depth map of say, a GTA game. Personally I just think they should change the camera system and that'd be a major positive - I don't really care a great deal for all of these new things they put in.

Graphics
If there's one thing The Getaway series does shine in, it's the graphics and their superiority. Thanks to the graphical sights it really makes you feel like you're playing in a movie during the cutscenes as each character model looks good. Everything from the characters to the buildings to the cars look very realistic. The cars are all licensed like the first so real cars all look like they would in real life and also like the original, real buildings are scattered all over London. So you'd be driving down the street and might spot a real post office that you would see in London, or a real fast food restaurant like McDonalds or Pizza Hut.

In London, you're probably aware that it has some of the most dull weather possible and in BM it really shows. The weather is always boring and it's difficult to find the sun sometimes, really adding to the whole London feel of the game. Forgetting about the dull weather (it's making me sleepy here), when you go inside some of the mission buildings they look tremendously realistic. The Snooker club springs to mind, as it looks exactly like a real Snooker club in real life. I'm impressed with this just like I was with the original. Sadly, though, you can't enter Snow Hill (the police station) like you could in the first Getaway, even though you play as a police officer. You do see it in some of the cutscenes, but it would of been nice to walk around it in Free roam. If they added all of these good looking buildings into free roam mode, I think it'd definitely improve the series and up the mood of free roam, as it's pretty dull as there's nothing to do. Hopefully Team Soho will come to realise this and will put all their hard work into the next Getaway. Again, if there is one.

Sound
Obviously, all of your vintage London accents are in BM. Sometimes you'll just have to laugh at the characters and what they say. I noticed though, that there is less swearing in this game than the original, probably because the original focused more on gang warfare. The in-game music, well.. it's pretty poor. If you're expecting car radios and in-depth music like in GTA, you'd be heavily disappointed. The music that is actually in the game is well bland and will annoy you sometimes. For example, when a gang suddenly starts chasing you, their respective music will blare out, but it's generally some annoying beats. The music in-game is pretty much the same and it sounds like it's just repeating itself over and over again. It didn't annoy me too much, but it's just very dull, especially if you pay attention to it.

The dialogue is all acted out well, even the civilians in the city who don't really mean anything to the game say stuff when you walk past them. All of the main characters of course, give that feeling like you're playing some London gangster movie.. or, well, an episode of The Bill (for people outside the UK, it's a drama programme focused on the Sun Hill police). Snow Hill being The Getaway's police station - get it? Yeah.

Story
You start off as trigger-happy police officer Sgt. Ben Mitchell and then move onto boxer Eddie O'Connor, both with two sides to the story. Just like the first, you play as two characters and it seems that their stories aren't connected at first, but later do become connected as you progress. Although the story certainly doesn't compare to the first, in fact it's pretty poor, it's still OK and nothing that'll put you off the game completely.

Replayability
Being honest, once I completed the game and knew about all the alternative endings I haven't played BM since. Yeah, there's modes like free roam, but it could be so much better. Even with the introduction of new modes like Taxi, Vigilante and Races, there won't be much replayability here. I doubt it'll be a game that you will keep coming back to. However, you might want to replay some of your favorite missions again, just for the fun of it, as some missions are very fun to play.

Buy or Rent?
This is probably the easiest Buy or Rent? question that I've had to answer in all of my reviews on GameFAQs. Simply put, if you liked the first and really thought that The Getaway was a great game, you will enjoy Black Monday. If you're expecting a game that will rival San Andreas, think again, and go out and rent it. As the game's pretty short, you will probably complete it during your days of rent anyway.

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Ever since the game was announced to be released I was hyped. Sadly enough, it doesn't surpass the original and still has the deeply annoying camera that has the potential to put any avid gamer off completely. The story doesn't compare to the original's at all and is pretty dull, but still OK. The introduction of stealth and motorbikes weren't really as good as people expected, so BM is a disappointment compared to the first, but still a solid game. Any fans of the original will be pleased to add Black Monday to their collection however.
Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/05