Who doesn’t like a Guy Ritchie movie? All the car chases, shootouts and that thick British accent that you can hardly understand -- but damn if it doesn’t sound really cool when they’re cussing their heads off. Seems almost completely logical that this formula would translate perfectly to a video game; after all it has all the elements that make them popular nowadays: action, violence, sex. SCEE London Studios tried a few years back to materialize this into The Getaway. Sadly, although the game was definitely cool, it was mired by technical issues that bogged it down. Back to right the wrongs, Team SoHo comes at us this year with The Getaway: Black Monday.
Unlike many of the sequels out there, Black Monday really has nothing to do with the original Getaway except for the city it takes place in. London, in all its finest, has been realistically rendered just like in the original. This time around though, you actually have a few opportunities to experience it. Besides the main story mode there are 4 other modes that can be unlocked during your travels: race, black cab, chase and free roaming. Each of the modes is pretty self explanatory, save for black cab -- which is like a slower less fun and crazy version of Crazy Taxi. So yes, SoHo does include a few new modes to let you enjoy the city more than in the first game, but they aren’t that special. Plus London, although realistic, just isn’t as fun to roam around as some of the more fictional cities that we’ve been driving around in lately.
The main story has you playing three different characters this time around: the rebel cop, Sgt. Ben ‘Mitch’ Mitchell; the conflicted criminal, Eddie O’Connor; and the computer-hacker-gone-even-more-criminal, Sam Thompson. Three different characters to take charge of sure sounds like it will lead to a gripping story that offers many varied styles of gameplay and adventure. But, though Black Monday tries to do that, it doesn’t quite get there.
Mitch’s missions are pretty fast-paced and almost don’t give you a chance to figure out who you’re chasing and why before you jump into the next one. They’re played in a pretty standard 3rd person shooter-style kind of way, and would be down right easy if it weren’t for the difficult control system that doesn’t give you full reign over the camera. Don’t worry though, if you find yourself getting shot up one too many times you can call upon the ultra-secret-super-special cop technique: roll ‘n cuff. That’s right! Due to some interesting programming on the part of the developers, even in the midst of the heaviest shootout, Mitch can easily roll repeatedly to any of the assailants and set them into a handcuffing animation by pressing the ‘O’ button. Not only that, but the crooks’ campadres will even be compassionate to the situation and cease firing until you’re finished with the routine. Aww, how nice of them. This glaring bug makes even the toughest firefights that Mitch has to face a piece of cake after you stumble upon this combo o’ death.
Thankfully, Eddie’s missions are a little more fun to play than the Sergeant’s. Eddie, being a brawler, likes to use his hands and where Mitch could handcuff, Eddie grapples and then clobbers his prey with his fists. Unlike Mitch, who works for the law, Eddie is right in the middle of the crime syndicate and his missions focus mainly on a heist that he and his compatriots at the local boxing gym are planning. One of the cooler things about Eddie is that (unlike Mitch who only uses the standard police issued pistol and automatic) he can pick up almost any weapon laying on the ground -- pool cues, baseball bats, shotguns, they’re all fair game -- and sometimes you can even dual-wield them.
So after Mitch’s gun fights and the brawling fisticuffs of Eddie, where do you go next? Stealth of course, with Sam the slinky hacker-type. Sam’s missions are actually intertwined within Eddie’s, and will have you wishing every second that you get back to playing with the boxer. Stealth missions are some of the most fun experiences in many games out there like Metal Gear Solid, or Splinter Cell – Team SoHo should have played these games. Black Monday’s version of stealth missions are horrible. They basically break down to avoiding the line of sight of your opposition, but in many circumstances all you have to do is hide behind a box, or table for a bit if you’ve been seen and they’ll forget about you like you’re facing a bunch of goldfish with semi-automatics.
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So yes, the game isn’t perfect. Keep in mind though that few are, and Black Monday does make up for its shortcomings in gameplay with a pretty enjoyable (though sometimes hard to follow) story, good graphics (set in an impressive backdrop), and some of the best voice acting in the business. Enough can’t be said about the quality of the voice acting and sound. Even though at times you’ll find yourself completely frustrated with the controls, you’re still going to be sucked in by the heavy accents, dirty dialogue and catchy background music. Combine that with the coolness of tearing down a carbon copy of the London streets doing power slides through bad guys in a car you just commandeered and you do actually enjoy Black Monday. It’s gritty, and unpolished in many areas (I actually had a few freezes that forced me to reset my PS2), but if you bite down and bare it, you’ll like it. That is, if you are a fan of movies like those Mr. Ritchie makes.
Black Monday is a cinematic action game, and it does a pretty good job at being what it is. Regardless, like most in this genre, the game fails to refine all its parts equally and ends up lacking in the end. Can I recommend The Getaway: Black Monday? If you were a fan of the first game, I’d say there are enough improvements this time around to have another go at it. If you’re looking for a fix after playing your way through GTA: San Andreas though, stay far away. For anyone else, as long as you don’t expect too much or let yourself get too worked up about the glaring gameplay issues, the cinematic feel will suck you in and you’ll have a good time.
