Reviews// The Getaway 2: Black Monday

Succumbing to the urge to roam freely, we deviated from an early mission to go and visit a friend's flat (in the game world, we weren't skiving off work, honest). We knew the route, and all was going to plan, but when we got there, looking for a block of deck-access council flats, we found it had been knocked down: with a terrace of ageing Georgian houses in its place. Most mysterious.

If you're only vaguely acquainted with the relevant manor, you may never notice these little blemishes of untruth, but if it is your stomping ground and you do know which splodges of mucky chewing-gum go on which paving stones, this may cause you some irritation. You won't necessarily be able to take those sneaky short-cuts you know exist in reality, and you won't actually be able to go and get a pint of milk, fags and/or packet of super-sour fizzy Jaw-breakers from the corner shop. To get over this disappointment, we suggest you actually do pop down the corner shop - and then remind yourself that it's a vastly over-rated experience.

Seeing as Team Soho already had the map laid out, it's a bit depressing that they didn't sharpen it up more. Although the game has received a fair amount of flak for this recycling, the general principle strikes us as a sensible idea. After all, the first was expensive and time-consuming to create and it's inherently as atmospheric as any game in an urban setting need be. But seeing as it was a bit broken, they should have fixed it, a bit. There are tiny additions - like Congestion Charge markings, but frankly, they've worked a little too well and we'd happily have them removed in favour of a more realistic amount of traffic. Either way, accurate London or not, no amount of sight-seeing and route-planning will excuse the fact that, gameplay-wise, The Getaway 2 has the charms of a pint of jellied eel vindaloo.

And this is the point where non-Londoners will start to make noise (presumably in uncouthed, barely discernible raspy dialects from north of the Watford Gap). If you don't know 'that London', or simply don't like it, then there's no obvious joy in placing a game there/here. It might as well be a fictional city, which you couldn't criticise for being inaccurate, and which would have been designed for the purposes of a video-game; rather than for the practical and cultural purposes of millions of people throughout the course of history. And from that perspective all the focus then falls onto the gameplay: which is, at best, shaky.

The original was never really lauded for its gameplay either, although this was partially attributable to a certain GTA Miami-alike launching at the same time; but nonetheless we rather enjoyed it. It was difficult, it was glitchy and there were camera and vehicle handling issues. Somehow we completed it and concluded that it was a good game. This time round, however, it's difficult to be as forgiving.

None of the original criticisms of the prequel have been properly addressed. The cars still feel like they're all floating an inch above the ground, with seemingly frictionless braking and turning; the camera invariably snags on those intricate indoor missions and the AI behaviour is often unhinged and peculiar. It's a real shame, because everything else between those components is actually quite good. Basically, it's a fantastic idea that has been executed badly - a bit like the in-game enemies when the camera switches to a close up of a wall mid fire-fight.