Former bad boy gone straight Mark Hammond is having a really bad day - his wife gets shot and his son kidnapped. It turns out that gang boss Charlie Jolson is behind it and is using Mark's son as leverage to make him do whatever evil deeds he wants. You play Hammond in this gritty and violent adventure.

Comparisons to GTA Vice City are unavoidable, and generally it plays in a similar way: Run around in third person or drive around (in third person too, because there's no in-car view) - You get sent on missions all around London, stealing cars, shooting Cops and badguys with gay abandon - there's no time for a concience when playing The Getaway.

   

The graphics are rather nice - a bit of pop up spoils things but they're mostly solid with an impressive draw distance (just as well when you've got 48Km square to play with) - London feels…well…like London. The traffic is constant and plentiful, it acts in a realistic, intelligent way and any more would have made the game a nightmare, just like real London.

There are lots of pedestrians wandering around, and I'm sure they could have added more - but what would have been the point?

The real licensed cars look great (40 something different types, from Rovers to Toyotas) and handle well with lots of bodywork damage possible. There are an incredible amount of real businesses and shops, and we're amazed just how many we spotted. Scenery-wise there are some blurry textures, and we'd have liked more back alleys but it's difficult to not be impressed by the rendering of a big city with this much detail.

   

Rated 18 with good cause, The Getaway is definitely an adult story as it contains a lot of violence and bad language - there's even some partial nudity and implied sex. How much of this was really vital to the plot we're not sure, but it's bound to make it even more controversial and therefore popular. Playing The Getaway is a bit like being in a Brit Flick gangster movie, possibly directed by Guy Ritchie but filmed by an idiot. Why an idiot? - because the camera views are either missing or terrible - no side or rear views in the driving sections and no control over it in the shooting bits. Technically speaking, it's amazing to be able to drive all over London, then hop out of a car and explore a complex, multi-floored building without any loading interruptions - but the cameras do spoil things, If you could side step it might have made the twitchy camera unimportant, but often you can't shoot a bad guy because the camera isn't prepared to give you a decent view.

But learn to deal with the camera's quirks (like we had to with Mario Sunshine) and there's a rather good game in here. Exciting car chases and atmospheric shootouts abound, The Getaway is a fast-paced, tireless affair. Not everyone will like its lack of on-screen help (there are no handy direction arrows, maps or health gauges) but there are some truly innovative moments. Almost more of an experience or interactive movie than a game, you'd have to be a right muppet to miss The Getaway.