I too enjoyed The Getaway immensely. The emphasis on cinematic presentation made GTA look childish in comparison. Sadly, even then the game felt super clunky in the moment-to-moment action, which is the main thing that ultimately sunk it. I mean, the game came out at the height of the Guy Ritchie British gangster era, so I don't think the setting limited its appeal in America. But a new Getaway game with modern graphics and capable controls would be amazing. Sony, take note.

I fucking loved this game. I still do. I remember every mission vividly. I loved how realistic it was and how honest to the setting it was, I thought the story was surprisingly mature and gritty for the time, I loved the soundtrack, I loved how barebones the UI was and just the overall style. The gameplay was definitely frustrating in places but I felt like the game had heart. It was a game I could truly identify with as somebody born and raised in the UK, it was a real oddity. It's a shame that it doesn't get the respect it deserves.

That being said, I think that a reboot or a remake would ruin the "magic" (if that's what you want to call it) that this game has going for it. It's a product of its time.

I loved the first game, it was definitely clunky, but something about it felt really cool, like a gangster action movie.

The way the guns would auto target, and you'd swap guns instead of getting more ammo, making use of cover because you were very vulnerable, in concept it was cool, and when it worked it felt great.

I never did play Black Monday though, I tried a demo disc of it and it felt like a better game in the controls department, I just never got around to actually getting it.

It's a pretty solid game and I certainly had a good time with it for the most part. The shooting while clunky, was much more playable than the really finicky and unforgiving gunplay of GTA3 and Vice CIty. The graphics and the detail of the city was absolutely remarkable at the time, though I wouldn't call any open world fully functional. The script felt very gritty and filmic, especially with all the characters being played by real British actors. You can definitely see Brendan Mcnamara's direction when you consider his other baby, LA Noire.

I would disagree with a few things though. First, the lack of mini map or gps did cause frustrating problems, specifically in couple missions when you were either under a clock or chasing a vehicle. The signal light mechanic is both elegant and unique but kinda fucked you over at complicated intersections. If you guessed wrong at an intersection that, lets say had five legs, most likely you'd fail the mission and start over from the beginning. Also the game was marketed fairly well. I remember seeing commercials and even remember seeing the game on CNN because of the hype and ridiculous production value this game commanded. Everyone was hungry for more GTA style sandbox games and the press and game audiences were quite excited for this game. The franchise is dead because the game didn't sell well due to poor reviews.

Yea, I loved it, but as others have said, the tail lights hurt you more often than they helped you, and the sense of urgency in certain missions would be dramatically undercut by moments when you were so injured you needed to rest against a wall for upwards of five minutes before it was safe to continue. Lack of clear cut health indicators other than the blood on your shirt also meant you'd sometimes die without expecting it which was pretty frustrating when most of the levels didn't involve much checkpointing, and several I recall beginning with twenty minute drives to the actual location.

That said, the realism of it was really great. I still remember the warehouse fight, getting into that police station, and actually generally enjoying the thrill of the police chases in general even if it sucked you had to obey traffic laws SO faithfully in a game that was mission rather than truly open world based.

The thing I took away from The Getaway when I played it back then (and still have it actually) is that the game has alright visuals, good voice work (though filled with swear words), and what I thought was great player character animations. I got close to finishing it, but didn't. I remember always feeling that the on foot controls sucked. I did like enough of what I played though to be interested in the sequel, but I never played it. I have no idea what the story is about, I don't remember (though okay, it's about his son being taken. I remember now). I think the theme song from what I remember was okay, but otherwise it was generic sounding music. Also... That comparison image looks to be doing The Division a disservice. I don't know, I really liked the setting in The Division beta. I have yet to play the final game.

I enjoyed the Getaway a lot at the time, but it was ultimately just too clunky for me. I fell in love at first, but overtime soured on it slightly. In fact, I replayed a bunch of it a few years ago, and felt much the same: impressed, but, a little annoyed at actually playing it. I Never quite finished the game, though I came close. Great cinematic presentation, top-notch voice-acting and like you said OP, many unique aspects in its design. A very minimal game, by any standard.

The sequel is mechanically stronger but frankly I hated it. Just wasn't the same to me. Felt like a different thing vs a sequel.

The main thing I remember from this game was the left/right turning signals on the car. The signals would blink left or right depending on where you were supposed to go for your next objective. I was pretty young at the time but even then I thought that was a very interesting way to direct you. Other than that I also thought the game was clunky and extremely frustrating. I remember trying to play this game every so often because it had a lot of what I wanted from a game at the time, only for it to fall flat because I would get too frustrated trying to get past certain points.

man I forgot the Getaway didn't have a HUD. I wish more games did that. I turn off the HUD whenever possible in open world games, it's interesting how much that changes how I play the game . When I'm in an open world I want to see all the cool stuff, not just stare at the minimap to get around.

My feelings are similar to @geraltitude's , there's definitely something to the Getaway but the sluggish controls and tedious mission design definitely got in the way of the experience.

I really liked the accents.

I really dug this game when it came out. I played through it two times back to back in a matter of a week. I thought it was really good. I don't think I could go back and play this now however. It would probably suffer from nostalgic colored vision. I would find it clunky and cumbersome and end up hating it.

I'm happy to see so many people also really liked this game! I have to agree with many of the comments here though. The games does feel very clunky. The on foot stuff I have no problem with and think it actually holds up better than older GTA games. But the driving is super rough. Couple that with the indicator system which is super clever but creates unnecessary problems most of the time. Even being able to pause and look at where I'm supposed to go would help massively and not ruin the gorgeous presentation the game has. The voice work and story is still fantastic though.

I remember this being a cool game back in the day. Didn't the company get sued by BT for having their vans in a mission or something?

I remember liking this game a lot, but really hating the driving and thinking the shooting was a bit rough. I think i stopped the game at some point in the middle and never finished, i wouldn't mind a reboot with modern controls or something but not sure if i could go back to it.

I fucking loved this game back in the day. I haven't thought about it in so long.

I remember some bizarre checkpointing decisions and a lot of clunkiness but boy was I in love with this game back in the day. I remember thinking the main hero, Mark something... was like the coolest guy ever. The way your clothes got all bloody and stayed that way until you died was also pretty awesome at the time. After reading the OP I think another strong thing the game had going for it was the complete lack of a HUD. Wish I had a backwards compatible PS3 so I could play it today.

I, too, remember really liking this game. I haven't thought about it in years though. I remember hating the mansion with all of the laser tripwire bullshit though. I also liked how the story had two sides; where you got to play as the police officer tracking the main character throughout the game and seeing how he got to the end of the game.

The Getaway, Manhunt, and Black were probably some of my favorite "non-classics" on the PS2.

The Getaway is a bad game but I can see why you like it. I liked it; still a bad game.

I definitely admired everything they were going for. The attention to detail in crafting the city and the overall tone of the game making GTA seem cartoonish in comparison. The setup was there but the execution was extremely flawed. The driving was really clunky and I don't remember loving how the shooting handled. The game's claim to fame, the lack of any HUD, was admirable but could have been handled better.

I was a big fan of the TV show "The Bill" back then, which if you don't know was a police drama set in London, so this game blew my mind. Great memories of it, doubt I could replay it now and love it though.

@fibabanchi: Yes! You sneak into a police station dressed as a BT phone repair man. BT didn't want to be associated with this so they removed all BT logos from future games but the old games still have it.

@pinner458: Mark Hammond is a great protagonist with fantastic motivation.

@omgfather: Me too. I miss that show. It is definitely rough to play in 2016 but nostaglia is doing wonders.

I really liked this game alot! I remember spending hours long after beating the story scouring london looking for all the hidden stuff. like hidden super cars and a go kart!

The Getaway was a huge leap in cinematic storytelling in games. I mean the entire concept of an in engine cinematic taking place inside of a car was mind blowing. Nothing had that much detail back then.

@devil240z: I did the same! Loved finding the secret cars. Wish they had given more of a reason to explore the brilliant world they created.