“Stop or I’ll shoot!” cries out the pursuing police officer

The suspect turns, a young man, hand outstretched and holding a gun. “Don’t make me shoot you, man! I’ll do it!”

“Drop the gun! Put it down!” pleads the police officer.

Shots ring out and the suspect drops down dead. But that was in the past, albeit a troubled and haunting past for the police officer known as Mitchell. Move forward, and a special ops team en route to a tenement where drug suspects are. The commander of the unit gives the orders crisply:

“Open fire to neutralize perceived threats, not before!” 

But what begins as a coordinated drug bust soon devolves into a lusty shoot-em up throughout the compound. And this was only the beginning.

SCEA and Team Soho have conspired for The Getaway: Black Monday, a PlayStation2 release that combines shooter action from the third-person perspective as well as some vehicular timed missions through London’s streets. The game begins with promise but after playing for a while, it becomes apparent that this game is more of a typical shooter game.

Back in the 1970s the British film entity known as Pinewood Studios had a certain flair, or signature if you will, that was stamped on the majority of their motion pictures. That same feel is endemic to The Getaway: Black Monday in the way the game initially unfolds. Taut, gritty, robust with atmosphere and language (ok, they are cops that are wound a little tight and toss around four-letter epithets with abandon), the game sets a great tone from the beginning, but fails to maintain it as the story unravels.

The story centers on gang violence in London and during the course of the game, players will be able to take on the person of different characters, each with a different story. It begins with Mitchell and a shoot-out in the tenement complex, then moves to a boxer and then a female character. There are stealth missions and also timed driving missions. The latter can be frustrating, and quite a harrowing ride for those in the car. This game borrows absolutely nothing from driving games, and the car controls leave much to be desired.

Actually, while the game tries to give you a sense of not being an arcade title, with a lack of maps and health bars, the game still comes across somewhat like that – but that is mainly due to the linear nature of the game (more about that in a moment). The control elements, overall, can be a bit of a pain, and really don’t follow the format of tried-and-true shooter games. Aiming takes practice, though the game does allow you to fire off either a single shot or a burst at the bad guys.

Graphically the game is solid, with three-dimensional models and environments, working through each level, which is, more or less, a maze. Elements will block access to different areas so the environments are not thoroughly open. You will be tasked to weave your way around to certain areas, and sluggish camera controls can make this less reflexive than intended 

The game’s sound keeps the mood of the game. The music is well done and the voice acting powers the game’s angst rather graphically at times. It would seem that most of the people in this game don’t like one another, even though they are compelled to work together.

The game is somewhat linear in design. If you fail a scenario, it plays out – more or less – exactly like it did the last time you attempted it. You can achieve different results, though, either but solving the problem in a variety of ways – all seemingly with little consequence. For example, Mitchell can walk through the mission, busting all the bad guys he gets close enough to, or he can shoot up everything that moves. The radio chatter will grouse at him, but you can ignore that and simply play it out.

The Getaway: Black Monday has several faults, which stop it from achieving anything other than an average gaming experience, if that. The game tries to do too much and as a result doesn’t really do a lot well. Eliminated some of the less refined elements (like the car sequences) would help, especially if that effort went into making the interface tighter and more accessible. The Getaway: Black Monday is certainly not a bad title – it just is a little too clumsy.

Gameplay: 6.0
The controls are clumsy and during reflexive elements of the game, like the shooter aspects, this translates into less reflexive gameplay moments. And the driving elements are just not that good.

Graphics: 7.5
There are some minor movement problems, but overall the game looks good. Environmental elements are sometimes a little silly – serving as immovable barriers or blowing away like paper.

Sound: 7.8
The sound of this game really does a good job to capture the mood and overall tone of the story.

Difficulty: Medium
There are no difficulty settings, per se, and some of the AI is a little weak – like bad guys, with handguns, standing five feet from an officer with a submachine gun and trying to have a shootout.

Concept: 6.0
It seems like the developers tried to pack multiple elements into this game and didn’t really give them all a thorough treatment. Black Monday has a strong story, but aspects like the timed driving missions could have easily been left out, and the game would have been stronger for it.

Overall: 6.7
There are too many stumbling blocks for this game to rate a higher score. The intent for a compelling game was certainly there, but sluggish controls in reflexive situations make for less than satisfactory results.