Cor blimey guvnor, it's like a geezer version of San Andreas, innit? Well, on the surface, yes, you would get that impression, but there's a lot more to The Getaway: Black Monday than simply aping Rockstar's finest moment. No loud shirts or white singlets here, son. This is as English as elevenses, the Daily Mail, and Aquascutum-clad Burberry herberts necking 'Hostile' Pils pre-football kick-up. The grimy urban sprawl of inner city London is where it's at in The Getaway: Black Monday, developed by SCEE's Team Soho - how seedy, how apt.
Two years on from the original The Getaway and the fall of the London’s most dangerous gangster, Charlie Jolson, Black Monday tells initially of the calm before the storm. The Met’s firearms squad has a new sergeant, and he's about to endure the toughest 48 hours of his working life. Starting with a raid on a council estate that goes awry, and culminating in a confrontation with the most ruthless and powerful man in London, Monday soon gets dark and doomy for Sergeant Mitchell. This is but one of the perspectives through which the tale of Black Monday unravels, weaving three distinct views of the story, and unwinding through a number of plotlines. That in itself makes for a deeper experience than GTA: San Andreas.
In common with the latest offering in Rockstar's notorious GTA series, Black Monday is set in a massive environment - approximately 40Km2, overground and underground - and is a totally free-roaming affair, allowing the player to choose his/her missions and therefore how to progress through the story. Add to that the fact that there are playable characters other than the aforementioned Sergeant Mitchell on offer - boxer Eddie O'Connor's bank job has gone terribly wrong, all his partners in crime dead, and he's having his head caved in as his story begins - and you can sense the depth of the gameplay already. Two distinct storylines are destined to collide with explosive results, and the next 48 hours are likely to be the most intense you'll ever experience in a videogame.
Finally, a word of warning to prospective buyers, especially parents/guardians who may be thinking, "It's only a video game, they're all for kids": the BBFC rating is there for a reason, and if you buy this for your 11-year old, you only have yourselves to blame if he/she turns out to be a foul-mouthed, disrespectful career criminal. Happy gaming, everyone!