The Getaway: Black Monday (PlayStation 2)

It’s going to be a day to remember for Sgt Mitchell. His first shift back on the MET’s Organised Crime Squad begins with a dawn raid on a council estate that turns nasty. The next 48 hours will put him against the suspicions of his team mates, a new ruthless wave of crime and the most powerful man in London.

Meanwhile on the other side of the city, amateur boxer Eddie O’Conner is in severe trouble. The bank job went horribly wrong, his small-time crew has been wiped out and his only ally in this whole mess is Sam, a teenage thief more comfortable with nicking laptops than gang violence. Eddie knows he’s way out of his depth, now his friends are dead and somebody is going to pay…

The game is split into sections. Once you complete Sgt Mitchell’s part, you get to play as Eddie. You play the same story, but view it from two different angles. Some events that look vague when played from Mitchell’s side get explained when controlling Eddie. Some portions of the game are played as Sam, providing yet another piece of the puzzle.

The gameplay is divided into driving and shooting/sneaking parts. Usually you receive a mission, drive to a certain destination, and then shoot (or sometimes sneak) your way to the goal. London has been digitally recreated for this game, and you can drive through it freely. As Eddie, you’ll have to avoid police and rival gangs chasing you. You can hijack cars and even buses. You can also leave a car at any time and run through London on foot. For the shooting parts, there is a variety of moves you can perform: sneaking, hiding, crouching, rolling to the sides, etc. You can knock your enemies down by using your gun’s butt as a melee weapon or take pedestrians hostage to prevent the policemen from killing you. Eddie also has unarmed boxing moves to help you fight your way out of trouble, and Sam has the ability to get out of trouble by climbing out of the way, or sneaking under objects to hide.