http://ps2.ign.com/articles/367/367782p1.html August 14, 2002 - Since Jeremy and Doug were both in attendance at this afternoon\'s press-friendly software event held by Sony Computer Entertainment, we thought it only fitting to give both of them the soapbox for one of the biggest games of the show: The Getaway.
Doug\'s Take:
Until today, I had yet to be convinced that SCEA\'s The Getaway was anything but a surreal upgrade to Reflection\'s Driver series, or for that matter, a rather fine looking imitation of Grand Theft Auto III. In fact, I\'m still a little skeptical, and that\'s because it is indeed very much like both of those games.
When I played it today, though, I got a better sense of its flow, rhythm, and controls. The cars drive like real cars, and there are a slew of them in this game. I drove a Saab, Mercedes, a BMW coupe and a couple of other vehicles. There have tight handling and instant brakes, two very necessary elements required for driving in the narrow streets of London. The lead character can car jack just about any vehicle in the game, and since it takes place in London, you have to car jack from the right side, not the left. Right.
Once you\'re out of the car, the character is a little still, but he does have a good assortment of moves, including using other characters in the game as human shields or hostages, and using the R1 button to target enemies. All in all, I\'m now far more intrigued and I want to play more. There is something very definitely unique and cool about SCEA\'s big new action-driving title, and now instead of groaning, I\'m looking forward to it.
Jeremy\'s Take:
Much like Doug, I too was on the fence with The Getaway. A great premise with plenty of British mobster atmosphere, Studio Soho\'s attempt at playing a movie was something I really wanted to like. After seeing it at E3 this past May however, I was left with more questions than answers. Could they pull this one off?
Based on the newer version we saw today however, that answer is a resounding yes. Sporting a cleaned up framerate and more fluid mission parameters, the 24-level action/adventure is slowly starting to reel me in. Especially when I saw the types of things you can do with the environments.
While it\'s not exactly War of the Monsters in regard to the interactivity, there\'s still a healthy amount of things you can destroy and use to your advantage. Picking up fallen opponents shotguns, carjacking motorists, and kidnapping passersby for us as a human shield are all simple processes that provide the illusion that you\'re really inside a living, breathing, mini-London.
It\'s going to be an interesting couple of quarters once The Getaway comes out though, as plenty of developers are starting to jump on the GTA 3/Max Payne bandwagon (Most notably, Activision\'s True Crimes and Sony\'s newly announced Jet Li piece, Rise to Honor).
But I\'m really starting to become a believer now, with the proof that Studio Soho their behinds off at making this a game to remember. Once we\'re lucky enough to get office code, we\'ll be back with another update.
Topic: Better Getaway impressions (Read 784 times)