The Getaway Comments by Kristan Reed

So they're flogging it already at Game in town...

Why do people bother any more with release dates anyhow?

"Why do people bother any more with release dates anyhow?"

Beats me..if the thing's out there, and ready to sell why not sell it! It was idiotic working at EB, recieving a game a week ahead of its release schedule and then having to effectively sit on it whilst customers clamoured for the damned thing.

Dumb...I guess there has to be a reason for it...damned if I know what it is though.

peej

It's basically to protect smaller shops which often get stocked later than big electronics markets.

Just f.y.i. - the 'c' word is accually in the game, if I remember correctly. One of the Triad guys is translated as calling Jolston a 'c**t' in the subtitles =)

Weird that. Most of the indies in Brighton would quite happily sell you a game ahead of its release date...!

Pointless exercise or what!

Peej

I thought it was all to do with the charts? Everyone gets their stock on different days - if they just started selling it whenever they received it then they might mess up the charts, i.e. half of the shops sell in one week while the other half sell after the cut-off point and are hence in the next week. Makes the first-week sales figures look poor.

Actually if they sold early, it would make their first week sales look potentially better. Charts run from Sunday to Saturday, so if it was sold early - i.e on a Wednesday, then it wouldn't mess the charts up at all.

Charts run from Sunday to Saturday

So why release everything on a Friday? o_O

/Nem turns up late for the party/

I'll be picking this one up. At last a mature game for the mature gamer. Er. The joy of finally getting old is you can buy older material. Wahoo!

(To Otto - saw Michael Palin t'other day - nice bloke)

I know of no logical reason why publishers release games on a friday, when music and DVDs (and books?) get released on monday. Or failing that, I don't know why ChartTrack doesn't run its charts from friday to thursday to account for a full week's sales.

Star spot - EG's mark saw Paul McCartney in Brighton!

Slebs we had in our store...

Jeremy Irons (decent local bloke - picked up a copy of Die Hard Trilogy and wanted to know why he wasn't getting any royalties from it...! Cheeky sod!)

Mel from Mel and Sue (I used to fancy her but in the flesh? Definitely a 10 pint beer goggle job)

Desmond Morris and his comedy comb-over "barcode style" hairdo.

Peej

I once knocked over Craig Charles while walking down a crowded street in Reading, much to his bodyguard's amazement. It was an accident! They shouldn't have been running. :-)

He wasn't bothered, btw. He thought it was quite funny.

My Dad had to suffer the girls from CATS Eyes every morning whilst they did the filming in our area. (One for you old gits out there....Eugh).

I'll probably pick this up, too. Does anyone know whether the German version has an English language option? Guess this isn't the right place to ask this, huh? :-)

I think it's disgusting how no one ever goes to the toilet in this game. It's a gritty, realistic east end gangster movie-game right? Not once so far have I seen a line of villains standing at a row of urinals discussing their latest blag. I think the House of Commons should be told...

Peej

Got my copy via the Eurogamer shop this morning and have been playing it most of the afternoon. Really enjoying it and it runs quicker than the demo too, whether that's because it's running in NTSC I don't know.

Flying across the roundabout in front of Buck House in a stolen jam sandwich, marvellous stuff! :-)

"If I wanted to, I could go to the police and report SCEE for releasing racist material, regardless of it being entertainment."

I can't see the big deal personally.If every culture and religion is getting the rise taken out of them then so what?.

So its ok to have untold violence in a game but not name calling.

In an ideal world there would be peace and love between all humanity.Unfortunately there isn't.There never has been or ever will.

Get real.

Strangely, Sony has elected to lock the Free Roam mode (it was unlocked in the preview build), meaning that you have to play through all 24 missions to access the facet of the game we have been evangelising about, which is Team Soho’s first mistake.

I might still buy this game, but this just seems to be the icing on the cake. Why bother doing this? It's so utterly inexplicable.

Playing this atm and really enjoying it. However, I don't seem to heal when I stand against a wall?!? There's nothing like this mentioned in the manual also.

Btw, in the game they're all using the same mobile that I've got. No wonder, it's a Sony. ;-)

Strangely, Sony has elected to lock the Free Roam mode

OK, imagine for a moment that I own a PS2. This loses SCEE a sale. What an idiotic thing to do.

Lucky for SCEE I don't have a PS2. Now they haven't lost a sale. Er.

To heal, just stand side on to a wall, rather than with your back to it. Your character will put his arm out and lean up against the wall...and mysteriously the blood you see on your character will start disappearing...

However, I don't seem to heal when I stand against a wall?!?
Just stand next to a wall, don't stand (by pressing X) against it, after a few seconds Mark will lean against the wall and his breathing will steady and the blood stains will slowly disappear. Just like real life obviously! ;-)

It's weird it's not mentioned in the manual and potentially the only clue you might get is Mark saying "I need a rest" when he's in trouble.

Btw, in the game they're all using the same mobile that I've got. No wonder, it's a Sony. ;-)
Funny that bit of product placement! :-)

Much like the music helped the atmosphere in VC, the real cars and locations make this game so much more enjoyable. I've never driven across Leicester Square in a stolen Micra before and considering how difficult it is to walk across it I don't think I ever will in reality! Nor have I ever had a three way gunfight between Yardies and SO19 in Trafalgar Square until today...

That Sony mobile was my first contract phone about 2 years ago! This game really has been in development for a long time..it was probably bleeding edge when they started.

'Interesting' rumour I heard - Yasmin not getting in the car very readily is a bug associated with the voices - she won't get in until she's finished speaking, and she's normally going off half cocked at the rozzers.

Cheers krudster and Whizzo - this makes life a bit easier indeed. To nitpick a little: the turning circle of the cars is a bit extreme, isn't it? without the handbrake you really need both sides of the road and the sidewalk to make a 90 degree turn.

The story's got me totally hooked, I have to say, though it's nothing new at all and full of clichés, but I really want to help that guy Mark Hammond.

Btw, Errol, there's a nude (or rather topless) girl in the game ;-)

Mafia kills this game and Vice city.

Pff. In its dreams, maybe.

This game really has been in development for a long time..it was probably bleeding edge when they started.
Seems the edge got a little dulled and went a little rusty along the way somewhere.
After reading the review this one definately seems worthy of a purchase after Christmas.
On the review though I'm a little surprised that it received a 8/10 with all the flaws, glitches etc pointed out by krudster it seemed to be deserving of no more than a 7/10.
That said it is scoring in the 80's and 90's in other reviews.

Barton, I think bleeptest's comment "it was probably bleeding edge when they started" referred to his former (and my momentary) mobile rather than to the game itself. :-)

Nope he definately said This game really has been in development for a long time..it was probably bleeding edge when they started.

That Sony mobile was my first contract phone about 2 years ago! This game really has been in development for a long time..it was probably bleeding edge when they started.

Now don't you omit the first sentence! "It" refers to the Sony mobile. How could the game be bleeding edge when they just started to code it? Some people! ;-)

We need some clarifying words form bleeptest here.

bleeptest was obviously talking about the Sony mobile.

The it in the sentence refers the subject of the sentence that is This game ergo 'The Getaway' not to another subject in the previous sentence.

Anyhew I was only taking the piss :)

Welcome to 'English Grammar Today'.

Please give a round of applause for your host, Errol, and his beautiful assistant, Isla.

Welcome to 'English Grammar Today'.

Please give a round of applause for your host, Errol, and his beautiful assistant, Isla. LOL

So teacher Sir. What is your opinion on the sentence structure in question. :)

So teacher Sir. What is your opinion on the sentence structure in question. :)

Sod that, I'm just here to bone Isla.

Thought as much :)

Btw, to answer my own question from yesterday, there's an English language option (and French, Italian etc.) in the game, so the Pal version seems to be identical across Europe. To my surprise, though, the German version is almost better. They used the German voices of Samuel Jackson, Johnny Depp etc. for the dubbing. But it feels much more authentic in English of course.

you ask 1000 pc gamers whats better mafia or gta3 and 999 will say mafia

I doubt that, frankly.

As do I, I like all three; GTA3/VC, Mafia and The Getaway. I would say that The Getaway, to me at least, is a better game than Mafia but it's not directly comparable to GTA3/VC. The set missions the lack of the ability to roam around and do your own thing does make quite a difference.

One thing The Getaway does do better than either GTA title though is the fact that Police and gangs will fight each other when they're both trying to get you! I also like the short musical burst you get that indicates that a certain gang is now chasing after you. I really wish there were more camera controls though and the inability to look behind you in the car is a pain in the arse although I guess technical limitations would restrict that.

I asked 10 pc gamers what was better.
9 said gta3...

4 Years in the making and they could not create a better flow in the controls/movement/into/outof cars/cars.

Yeah good work.

A single key press/mouse button to enter and exit cars(held down to lockpick) surely isnt that taxing?
Press circle when next to a car, if it's empty you get straight in, if occupied you tell the occupant to get out and then you get in. If you get in on the wrong side you slide over. Pretty much the same as in GTA3 even if it does take longer to ditch the previous owner. In Mafia if you tried to get in the wrong side the little menu would pop up and ask if you wanted to get in the front as driver or passenger.

One huge criticism of The Getaway comes on level 11, just two words : laser beams! What the hell were they thinking? :-O

I asked 10 pc gamers what was better.
9 said gta3...

I asked 2678594, and 2678593 said gta3.

:) that makes it 99.999999999% in favor of gta3?

I meant Mafia on both posts. Funny jumping in Mafia btw, not that gta has a better jump (wouldnt know how vice city is since i havent played it).

Sorry Barton, I was talking about the phone being bleeding edge.

I still haven't finished the 12th level (bloody box), and Yasmin is still annoying me by not getting in the car, whilst simultaneously shouting 'Come on Mark'.

Sorry Barton, I was talking about the phone being bleeding edge.
Grand so, bleedin English grammar who needs it eh.

Why O Why does the guy in The Getaway run like he has been rogered up the arse?

I think you answered your own question ...

He walks a bit strange, ok, but what they really managed is to create an absolutely desperate main character. I can't remember having ever played another game where the main character is so comprehensibly and believably in absolute despair. It's almost too real sometimes, when he rather crawls than walks, shotgun in his hands, blood stains on the jacket, mumbling stuff like "This is too much". They captured that perfectly.

Hmm, I think opinion's pretty much mixed on this one then. It's pretty tough, and some of the glitches/handling problems are unbelieveable in a modern multi-million quid game. I think had they made the driving sections with a little bit more attention to a believeable physics model, and taken a leaf out of Splinter Cell's book with the movement of the main character, the game would've been a shedload better. I think the main problem most people have with this game is that it just doesn't feel like something that's had 4 years of attention lavished on it.

It's merely "OK" it's not a killer app by any description. Don't judge it on the demo, go and rent the full version or buy it from somewhere with a decent returns policy. But if you're buying this in preference to either GTA 3 or GTA VC you're a f*****g muppet!

Peej

At least they can re-use all of the scenery for Getaway 2, that should speed up development on the sequel.

Lets hope that no skyline-changing terrorism happens to London until then...

Give it some time, it really grows on you. It has some annoying design flaws and feels rushed, but once I got used to that, I was (and still am) enjoying the game very much. Easily one of the best games I have played on the PS2 so far. I'll give it a 9 out of 10, could have been a 10/10 without all the flaws. So much better than MGS2, GTAIII etc., all imo of course.