Perfect Stu
05-22-2002, 12:39 PM
May 21, 2002 - If Team Soho fails to completely realize its ambitions for The Getaway, one will hardly be able to fault them for it. After taking a good long look at the game, it becomes clear why it's spent close to three years in development so far. The finished product is intended to be: 1. a free-ranging car-chase sim with the ability to swipe any vehicle on the road; 2. a third-person action-shooter with stealth elements, smart AI, and a variety of tasks; 3. a realistic representation of some 20 square miles of modern London; 4. an authentic British crime movie in the Get Carter tradition, done in realtime 3D; and 5. a testbed for new motion-capture systems and other technology besides. That, as they say, is a pretty tall order. But it also looks as if the SCEE studio is up to the task of making it all work -- from what we've seen, the pieces are ready to fall into place for the game's release at the end of this year.
Up to this point, we knew the basic story behind The Getaway, and we knew that it was a pretty sharp-looking driving game. That was not the half of it, of course, especially as far as the story is concerned. Inspired by Get Carter, Mona Lisa, The Long Good Friday, and other greats of the British crime tradition, its aim is to tell a hard-boiled story with no compromise at all. The language and violence are R-rated from the beginning, and the dialogue is thick with authentic accents, to the point where some American gamers may be asking for subtitles. That's a key aspect of the flavor that makes this game different from, say, Grand Theft Auto -- it has a specific feel, unlike GTA's criminal melange.
The game stars Mark Hammond, a former bank robber gone straight after a stretch in prison. Two months out, he's settled down with his wife and son, and he has a steady job managing a nightclub. Sadly, other forces believe he ought to have greater ambitions in mind. His wife is murdered and his son is kidnapped, all at the instigation of East End crime boss Charlie Jolson. After a few years of semi-retirement, Charlie has a grand scheme to take over the entire London underworld, and Mark is the cat's-paw he plans to use.
Mark's half of the story (yes, just half) is a series of suicidal missions against every other criminal organization in London: the tony Soho vice lords, the Chinese Triads, the Yardie crack dealers and gun runners, and the Cockney thugs that have risen to power in Charlie's place. Some tasks are simple smash-and-grab attacks -- his first mission is to turn an old friend's restaurant into "the Towering f---ing Inferno" -- but later challenges require stealth and brains. Three or four missions in, Mark is forced to infiltrate a police station, find a weapon inside, murder a detective, and escape unharmed. Just a trifle ambitious, yes?
Similarly ambitious is the plot construction that develops later in the game. Some ways into Mark's story, a new playable character arrives, a cop named Frank Carter. Carter has spent his entire career bent on bringing Jolson down, and he believes Mark can help him do it. Frank first appears here and there during some of Mark's missions, gradually becoming a more significant character. Eventually, just before Mark's story reaches its climax, the story skips back a ways for the Frank missions, some of which show a different side of events that occurred earlier in Mark's missions. Once players complete both characters' stories, the dual climax occurs in the final mission.
"All of London"
It's worth noting, however, that there's an awful lot of fun to be had with The Getaway before the first mission even begins. Driver 3 may raise the ante, of course, but for now, this is the biggest and best-looking rendition of a real-life city ever made for a videogame. Approximately 20 square miles of modern London, from Hyde Park to the East End on both sides of the Thames, along with about 66 miles of roads, comprise the exterior section of the game world, all of which is accessible at any time. The streets and buildings are built in 3D using the British Ordnance Survey maps as a template, and textures are added based on reams of photographic reference. Landmarks large and small appear in the game, from Nelson's Column down to tiny nightclubs, with dozens of licensed facades and logos. The sense of scale is startlingly accurate. And yes, you do have to drive on the left side of the road, which is probably going to take some getting used to for American gamers.
As in Driver 2 or Grand Theft Auto, Mark can steal any car on the road at any time, providing he's willing to accept the occasional nasty consequences. All of the 70-some licensed cars (from more than 30 different makes) bear the same handling characteristics as their real-life counterparts, and it's easy to feel the difference in performance when you drive them. London's famous black cabs are slow and handle terribly. The Seat Ibiza does a little better in the corners, but it's not much for a drag race. The Alfa Romeo 156, Mark's starter car, is nice and average, a good introductory ride. Retro enthusiasts might enjoy the UK-only Ford Capri, back to reprise its famous performances from the 1970s.
For real downtown warfare, though, you'll want to up the sticker price a little. The BMW 5-series offers a potent blend of power and handling ability, the Aston Martin DB6 is unstoppable down the straights, and the Range Rover or Bentley Continental will come out on top in any crash. Well, that's not completely true. The only truly unstoppable car is the double-decker bus, but it's not much for a high-speed chase. All of the cars will take damage in crashes, showing realtime deformation of their exteriors. Apparently, this wasn't a problem with any licensors. The only company that objected to possible inclusion was Czech automaker Skoda, whose representatives preferred not to see their trademarks involved in any criminal activity (however virtual).
Of course, not every car is available in every area. Different parts of town are populated according to their socioeconomic status, so there aren't many Astons and Bentleys cruising the industrial neighborhoods in Brixton. Rich areas have more expensive cars, smaller models populate poorer neighborhoods, downtown is packed with buses and cabs, and big melting-pot areas like Soho have a little bit of everything. Once the game is complete, the mix of traffic and pedestrains should reflect the character of each area just as much as the buildings around them. On top of that, the developers claim that the portal-based loading and level of detail system will let the game run at a perfect 60fps framerate.
What the driving sections of the game could use is a few more navigation aids. In an effort to keep the GUI almost completely uncluttered, the only indicator that appears over the gameplay view is a small pointer dot, which moves around the outside edge of the screen to show the way to the next mission. There's no map at all, which seems like a bit too much effort in the direction of realism. It wouldn't be necessary to put a map in the GUI, but a map sub-screen, one that players could access after pausing the game, would be helpful for planning a route or picking out missed turns. In particular, that would help in the promised Tourist Mode -- added at the instigation of SCE's Japanese producers, it lets players drive around the city, snap pictures, and save them to a memory card.
"The gun, he means!"
When the action moves off the streets, the third-person control mechanics resemble Winback, the Koei 3D shooter. The selection of weapons is simpler, in keeping with the realistic theme of the game -- single and twin pistols, shotguns both standard and sawn-off -- but the controls are definitely familiar. The key maneuver for getting the drop on opponents is the familiar wall-flatten, which leads into a quick jumpout shot, and back behind the corner to dodge enemy fire. The Getaway adds more new controls to the mix, though -- for example, you can hop into a doorway, squeeze off a few shots, and then duck against the wall on the opposite side.
Also, as in Metal Gear, it's possible to grab an opponent by the neck and hold him hostage with a gun to his head. This leads to possibilities both obvious and subtle. It's easiest to just use a hostage as a shield, but if you grab the right bad guy, he can become a useful lever as well. The enemy AI is programmed with an understanding of each NPC's relative importance, so minor thugs will surrender if you have their boss hostage. On the other hand, a high-ranking opponent could care less if you shoot some peon in the head, so it's important to be aware of how strong a lever you're holding.
Up to this point, we knew the basic story behind The Getaway, and we knew that it was a pretty sharp-looking driving game. That was not the half of it, of course, especially as far as the story is concerned. Inspired by Get Carter, Mona Lisa, The Long Good Friday, and other greats of the British crime tradition, its aim is to tell a hard-boiled story with no compromise at all. The language and violence are R-rated from the beginning, and the dialogue is thick with authentic accents, to the point where some American gamers may be asking for subtitles. That's a key aspect of the flavor that makes this game different from, say, Grand Theft Auto -- it has a specific feel, unlike GTA's criminal melange.
The game stars Mark Hammond, a former bank robber gone straight after a stretch in prison. Two months out, he's settled down with his wife and son, and he has a steady job managing a nightclub. Sadly, other forces believe he ought to have greater ambitions in mind. His wife is murdered and his son is kidnapped, all at the instigation of East End crime boss Charlie Jolson. After a few years of semi-retirement, Charlie has a grand scheme to take over the entire London underworld, and Mark is the cat's-paw he plans to use.
Mark's half of the story (yes, just half) is a series of suicidal missions against every other criminal organization in London: the tony Soho vice lords, the Chinese Triads, the Yardie crack dealers and gun runners, and the Cockney thugs that have risen to power in Charlie's place. Some tasks are simple smash-and-grab attacks -- his first mission is to turn an old friend's restaurant into "the Towering f---ing Inferno" -- but later challenges require stealth and brains. Three or four missions in, Mark is forced to infiltrate a police station, find a weapon inside, murder a detective, and escape unharmed. Just a trifle ambitious, yes?
Similarly ambitious is the plot construction that develops later in the game. Some ways into Mark's story, a new playable character arrives, a cop named Frank Carter. Carter has spent his entire career bent on bringing Jolson down, and he believes Mark can help him do it. Frank first appears here and there during some of Mark's missions, gradually becoming a more significant character. Eventually, just before Mark's story reaches its climax, the story skips back a ways for the Frank missions, some of which show a different side of events that occurred earlier in Mark's missions. Once players complete both characters' stories, the dual climax occurs in the final mission.
"All of London"
It's worth noting, however, that there's an awful lot of fun to be had with The Getaway before the first mission even begins. Driver 3 may raise the ante, of course, but for now, this is the biggest and best-looking rendition of a real-life city ever made for a videogame. Approximately 20 square miles of modern London, from Hyde Park to the East End on both sides of the Thames, along with about 66 miles of roads, comprise the exterior section of the game world, all of which is accessible at any time. The streets and buildings are built in 3D using the British Ordnance Survey maps as a template, and textures are added based on reams of photographic reference. Landmarks large and small appear in the game, from Nelson's Column down to tiny nightclubs, with dozens of licensed facades and logos. The sense of scale is startlingly accurate. And yes, you do have to drive on the left side of the road, which is probably going to take some getting used to for American gamers.
As in Driver 2 or Grand Theft Auto, Mark can steal any car on the road at any time, providing he's willing to accept the occasional nasty consequences. All of the 70-some licensed cars (from more than 30 different makes) bear the same handling characteristics as their real-life counterparts, and it's easy to feel the difference in performance when you drive them. London's famous black cabs are slow and handle terribly. The Seat Ibiza does a little better in the corners, but it's not much for a drag race. The Alfa Romeo 156, Mark's starter car, is nice and average, a good introductory ride. Retro enthusiasts might enjoy the UK-only Ford Capri, back to reprise its famous performances from the 1970s.
For real downtown warfare, though, you'll want to up the sticker price a little. The BMW 5-series offers a potent blend of power and handling ability, the Aston Martin DB6 is unstoppable down the straights, and the Range Rover or Bentley Continental will come out on top in any crash. Well, that's not completely true. The only truly unstoppable car is the double-decker bus, but it's not much for a high-speed chase. All of the cars will take damage in crashes, showing realtime deformation of their exteriors. Apparently, this wasn't a problem with any licensors. The only company that objected to possible inclusion was Czech automaker Skoda, whose representatives preferred not to see their trademarks involved in any criminal activity (however virtual).
Of course, not every car is available in every area. Different parts of town are populated according to their socioeconomic status, so there aren't many Astons and Bentleys cruising the industrial neighborhoods in Brixton. Rich areas have more expensive cars, smaller models populate poorer neighborhoods, downtown is packed with buses and cabs, and big melting-pot areas like Soho have a little bit of everything. Once the game is complete, the mix of traffic and pedestrains should reflect the character of each area just as much as the buildings around them. On top of that, the developers claim that the portal-based loading and level of detail system will let the game run at a perfect 60fps framerate.
What the driving sections of the game could use is a few more navigation aids. In an effort to keep the GUI almost completely uncluttered, the only indicator that appears over the gameplay view is a small pointer dot, which moves around the outside edge of the screen to show the way to the next mission. There's no map at all, which seems like a bit too much effort in the direction of realism. It wouldn't be necessary to put a map in the GUI, but a map sub-screen, one that players could access after pausing the game, would be helpful for planning a route or picking out missed turns. In particular, that would help in the promised Tourist Mode -- added at the instigation of SCE's Japanese producers, it lets players drive around the city, snap pictures, and save them to a memory card.
"The gun, he means!"
When the action moves off the streets, the third-person control mechanics resemble Winback, the Koei 3D shooter. The selection of weapons is simpler, in keeping with the realistic theme of the game -- single and twin pistols, shotguns both standard and sawn-off -- but the controls are definitely familiar. The key maneuver for getting the drop on opponents is the familiar wall-flatten, which leads into a quick jumpout shot, and back behind the corner to dodge enemy fire. The Getaway adds more new controls to the mix, though -- for example, you can hop into a doorway, squeeze off a few shots, and then duck against the wall on the opposite side.
Also, as in Metal Gear, it's possible to grab an opponent by the neck and hold him hostage with a gun to his head. This leads to possibilities both obvious and subtle. It's easiest to just use a hostage as a shield, but if you grab the right bad guy, he can become a useful lever as well. The enemy AI is programmed with an understanding of each NPC's relative importance, so minor thugs will surrender if you have their boss hostage. On the other hand, a high-ranking opponent could care less if you shoot some peon in the head, so it's important to be aware of how strong a lever you're holding.