The Getaway

Sunday, July 20, 2003 » gaming thought

I remember back when the PlayStation 2 had just hit the market, one of the games that grabbed my attention the most was The Getaway. This was mainly because of a series of screenshots released to the press which showed off the game's amazing graphics. I didn't really care what type of game it was; it just looked great. Then it sort of disappeared for a while.

Then about a year and a half later when the buzz from Grand Theft Auto III was beginning to cool down (only to be followed by the hype surrounding Vice City), The Getaway resurfaced, this time noticeably banking on GTA3's success by pushing its London underworld premise and gritty content. It also had one hand latched onto the games-as-cinematic-experiences bandwagon as it boldly did away with any onscreen displays (health, ammo, etc.), promising to replace them with less conspicuous indicators like the car's turn signals to indicate direction, and a main character that became progressively bloodier and erratic as he received damage. It also promised more emphasis on action on foot than Grand Theft Auto. It sounded very ambitious.

Now, just short of six months after the game's release, I have had the opportunity to try it out and can offer my opinion: The Getaway is a terrible game.

The first thing that drags The Getaway down is its control. Whether inside or outside of a vehicle, movement is awkward. Cars behave like they're glued to the pavement and turn erratically. On foot, the protagonist limps around goofily, and it is often hard to control his direction precisely as the camera swings around uncontrollably. Despite there being numerous unused buttons on the controller, there are no camera controls whatsoever (aside from a free-look/aim option).

The second major flaw is the aforementioned lack of status displays. On foot, it is quite easy to see when the protagonist begins limping (although often he dies too quickly for it to make a difference), so it's not a huge problem there. However, in the car, the only indication of where you're supposed to be headed is provided by the car's turn signals flashing, which is inconspicuous and easy to miss while trying to weave in and out of traffic while remembering to stay on the left side of the road, since this is London, for god's sake. And because the developers actually managed to transfer the entire city into the game but also did not provide any sort of map because that would just ruin their Guy Ritchie film aesthetic, any deliberate navigation is hopeless. However, since cars are seemingly indestructible and it's quite easy to just hop out of one and into another, arrival at the next destination is almost inevitable, provided the player has the patience.

The Getaway does have its share of good qualities, of course, beginning with high-quality voice acting. Then there are the graphics. Although they're nowhere near the quality in the early screenshots (which is not surprising), the car models and facial textures are extremely realistic, and the city of London streams effortlessly across the screen. The scope of the city is even more impressive, with surprising attention to detail and the inclusion of recognizeable landmarks. It's unfortunate that the free-roaming option is only available after completing the game, which seems like such an unattainable goal if it means wading through the rest of the mess.