Solid, but graphical bugs, terrible physics, and badly implemented gameplay features bring this one down.
User Rating: 7.1 | The Getaway PS2
The Getaway is absolutely nothing like Grand Theft Auto, save the guns, stealing cars, and crime bosses. The seemingly open-ended city of London looks nice, but beyond the surface, is not interactive at all. In fact, the only way to enter a building is by following the main story, which is the lone attraction in this game, so if you like side quests and a lot of play time, this one isn't for you. You may find it challenging at first, however, with one of the most ridiculous features ever implemented, you can magically heal at any time! How, you ask? Med kits? Nope. Health power-ups? No. Portable hospitals? Almost, if you're judging by sheer lunacy. Yeah, you guessed it. No, wait, you didn't - how could you possibly guess that the only way to regain health in The Getaway is to lean against a damn wall? No, it isn't a joke, you literally go up to a wall and wait. After about 3 seconds, you'll begin to lean against a wall, recovering your health fully in up to about 10 seconds at most, depending on how hurt you are. As you lean, your character's blood stains magically disappear, and you keep leaning until your health is full, at which point you stop leaning and go right back into the, uh, action. Speaking of which, the shooting is the only fun part of The Getaway, but it's lock-on. Driving a car is frustrating, to say the least. Your tail light signals flash, either the left or the right, directing you which way to go, but they don't always flash, and they often lead you into oncoming traffic and dead ends. The bottom line? Worth a rental or a 10 dollar purchase, just don't expect much out of this one.
