The Getaway: Black Monday
Black indeed; there's so much wasted potential here.
Published: January 30, 2005
The original Getaway is still a pretty monumental achievement in recreating a real-life locale with the kind of detail that games haven't really attempted yet, and while I'm more inclined to think that Team Soho's ambition is probably better reserved for something on the level of a racing game than a full-fledged free-roaming action game, it's still nice to see developers trying to do something like this.
Unfortunately, as impressive as the effort still is, the bottom line is that this is still a rather weak series from a gameplay standpoint. The storyline in Black Monday is more tightly interwoven, offers better characterization and is simply better executed than the first effort, but the gameplay is just as busted as before, despite trying to offer more variety. The technology in place is admirable, but if the developers can't even get a handle on the controls, it's hard to take either game as anything but a painfully flawed attempt at a film-like presentation.
Black Monday takes place two years after the events of the first game, where an all-out gang war nearly tore London apart. Told through the meandering perspectives of three characters (Met cop Ben Mitchell, East End amateur boxer Eddie O'Connor and spunky teen hacker Sam), the game's tale of a botched bank robbery and the characters linked to it offers a Guy Ritchie-esque take on a simple storyline and the threads connecting seemingly unrelated characters.
It's hard to delve into the story without ruining anything since it really is a compact set of events, but the pacing of the storyline and the ramp up to the conclusion, despite the flawed gameplay in between, is one of the best examples in recent memory of how a cinematic approach to storytelling really does work well in games. The language, tone and direction of the cutscenes make the game, and like some kind of digital WonderBra, help coax a sort of sexy-yet-naughty kind of seduction from gameplay where it'd normally be absent.
Let me be clear here, Black Monday isn't without actual gameplay merit, but it's a constant struggle to overcome the controls and, at times, camera instead of actually using them to accomplish the game's objectives. The developers have made a modicum of progress, improving the in-vehicle controls to the point where getting around the choked streets of London can actually be done fairly well by using the d-pad (the analog sticks still feel far too sloppy) and boosting vehicle damage resistance so you're not constantly trying to procure a new ride after three minutes of driving, and characters have been given a finite amount of health specific to each mission as well as available med kits so constant wall-resting is out.
However, the on-foot controls still feel lagged, the camera is still a chore in open areas and the auto targeting still tends to focus on enemies off in the distance rather than prioritizing things so that the goon standing three feet away popping you in the face takes precedence. There's also not enough direction in where you need to go next, leading to a lot of aimless wandering or trial-and-error sections where you figure out the exact order that the developers want you to do things in or what pre-chosen parts of the environment you can interact with. This can lead to sections of the game that take dozens of retries to accomplish what actually requires all of a few seconds to do properly.
It's incredibly frustrating, because with a re-worked vehicle physics and control scheme, the ability to actually rotate the camera -- even a little more -- with the right analog stick, the game could be a lot less difficult. And really, it's not that hard and does a far better job this time of mixing things up. Mitchell plays identically to the first game's two main characters, and for the most part Eddie is the same way, though Team Soho did add in some basic grappling moves and unarmed boxing-style combat, but it feels more like a pasted-on set of moves than anything that works in favor of the gameplay. Sam's scant few levels are the most interesting, simply because they're more stealth-driven and use more of the environment (albeit in pre-defined ways that you have to more or less piece together, yet again highlighting the game's incredibly linear approach to level design).
The engine in place is also starting to show its age. It would be foolish, of course, to not use all the assets from the first game, and it's still impressive to see a freely-explorable London, but the texture detail in PS2 games has risen rather sharply, and the game's constantly-chugging framerate merely adds to the overall feel of overreaching the hardware's capabilities. Fortunately, the team did do a good job of expanding on the variety of environments. The interiors -- particularly the modern architecture and décor of the Skobel building where the main heist takes place -- are quite well done, they just suffer from the same general lack of interactivity aside from pre-selected zones.
The direction during cinemas is also markedly improved. The motion capture work is more fluid and offers better interaction with the environment, the facial expressions do get you emotionally involved with the characters. Heavy depth of field blurs and focus, light blooms and some great, fluid camera work all add up to one of the most film-like presentations on the PS2, but like most of the plusses in the game, they work in spite of the negatives. The texture detail on the faces often leaves skin a sickly, mottled mess of color during close-ups, and the articulation on hands when interacting with objects can still look oddly inaccurate.
The addition of ragdoll physics helps lessen the rigidity of the characters, but it's used to very basic effect and often comes off as more humorous than intended. Slamming into an object while on a bike or getting hit by a car usually yields a wholly unrealistic effect where parts of the body are stiff while the rest freely tumble. I can appreciate the effort of trying to move away from pre-defined animations, but when you see a guy crumple to the ground then spaz out and jitter through the floor due to a clipping bug it tends to offset the rare moments where you cap a baddie firing from above you and then watch them tumble realistically from their perch.
The music in the game has an interestingly dichotomistic/melded approach. The cutscenes were scored and played with an orchestra along with a few more modern percussion effects, and then those themes were remixed by a handful of artists for the main game music. It works well, although you don't quite get the same cohesive feel to the audio as in the first game. The audio queues for stuff like picking up a gang tail or running out of time don't punch through with the same kind of informative resonance, which is a shame.
The effects work, on the other hand, feels pretty in line with the first game. Most of it is rather bland, with flat gunfire and squealing tires. Even the shattering of glass somehow got knocked down a few pegs after games like Burnout 3 really helped up the bar on how the crunch of metal and composite with shattering glass. The effects aren't really lacking, they just don't have the kind of punch I wish they did. Luckily, the tradition of fantastic voice work helps bolster things nicely. Black Monday is one of the best acted games I've ever played, not just in terms of the motion capture data (although that approach to handling the cutscenes makes a huge impact) but in the voice work as well.
At the end of the day, this is a game that offers a honest-to-goodness cinematic approach to storytelling, but the march of technology and the inability to update the deeply flawed parts of the game just make those first-time errors all the more glaring in the sequel. If more time had been paid to making the game a bit easier to control, it could have elevated the sequel to the realm of being one of those examples of where game design is nearing Hollywood-level sophistication.
Unfortunately, this Brit crime epic only manages to show how a few bright spots keep it from being a total dud. I have high hopes for a PS3 continuation of the series, but if the design team doesn't focus on fixing the problems that didn't get cleaned up after the first game, all those busted digital cameras and those terabytes of assets will go to waste on yet another failed attempt to show us how attractive the seedy underbelly of London can really be.
Unfortunately, as impressive as the effort still is, the bottom line is that this is still a rather weak series from a gameplay standpoint. The storyline in Black Monday is more tightly interwoven, offers better characterization and is simply better executed than the first effort, but the gameplay is just as busted as before, despite trying to offer more variety. The technology in place is admirable, but if the developers can't even get a handle on the controls, it's hard to take either game as anything but a painfully flawed attempt at a film-like presentation.
Black Monday takes place two years after the events of the first game, where an all-out gang war nearly tore London apart. Told through the meandering perspectives of three characters (Met cop Ben Mitchell, East End amateur boxer Eddie O'Connor and spunky teen hacker Sam), the game's tale of a botched bank robbery and the characters linked to it offers a Guy Ritchie-esque take on a simple storyline and the threads connecting seemingly unrelated characters.
It's hard to delve into the story without ruining anything since it really is a compact set of events, but the pacing of the storyline and the ramp up to the conclusion, despite the flawed gameplay in between, is one of the best examples in recent memory of how a cinematic approach to storytelling really does work well in games. The language, tone and direction of the cutscenes make the game, and like some kind of digital WonderBra, help coax a sort of sexy-yet-naughty kind of seduction from gameplay where it'd normally be absent.
Let me be clear here, Black Monday isn't without actual gameplay merit, but it's a constant struggle to overcome the controls and, at times, camera instead of actually using them to accomplish the game's objectives. The developers have made a modicum of progress, improving the in-vehicle controls to the point where getting around the choked streets of London can actually be done fairly well by using the d-pad (the analog sticks still feel far too sloppy) and boosting vehicle damage resistance so you're not constantly trying to procure a new ride after three minutes of driving, and characters have been given a finite amount of health specific to each mission as well as available med kits so constant wall-resting is out.
However, the on-foot controls still feel lagged, the camera is still a chore in open areas and the auto targeting still tends to focus on enemies off in the distance rather than prioritizing things so that the goon standing three feet away popping you in the face takes precedence. There's also not enough direction in where you need to go next, leading to a lot of aimless wandering or trial-and-error sections where you figure out the exact order that the developers want you to do things in or what pre-chosen parts of the environment you can interact with. This can lead to sections of the game that take dozens of retries to accomplish what actually requires all of a few seconds to do properly.
It's incredibly frustrating, because with a re-worked vehicle physics and control scheme, the ability to actually rotate the camera -- even a little more -- with the right analog stick, the game could be a lot less difficult. And really, it's not that hard and does a far better job this time of mixing things up. Mitchell plays identically to the first game's two main characters, and for the most part Eddie is the same way, though Team Soho did add in some basic grappling moves and unarmed boxing-style combat, but it feels more like a pasted-on set of moves than anything that works in favor of the gameplay. Sam's scant few levels are the most interesting, simply because they're more stealth-driven and use more of the environment (albeit in pre-defined ways that you have to more or less piece together, yet again highlighting the game's incredibly linear approach to level design).
The engine in place is also starting to show its age. It would be foolish, of course, to not use all the assets from the first game, and it's still impressive to see a freely-explorable London, but the texture detail in PS2 games has risen rather sharply, and the game's constantly-chugging framerate merely adds to the overall feel of overreaching the hardware's capabilities. Fortunately, the team did do a good job of expanding on the variety of environments. The interiors -- particularly the modern architecture and décor of the Skobel building where the main heist takes place -- are quite well done, they just suffer from the same general lack of interactivity aside from pre-selected zones.
The direction during cinemas is also markedly improved. The motion capture work is more fluid and offers better interaction with the environment, the facial expressions do get you emotionally involved with the characters. Heavy depth of field blurs and focus, light blooms and some great, fluid camera work all add up to one of the most film-like presentations on the PS2, but like most of the plusses in the game, they work in spite of the negatives. The texture detail on the faces often leaves skin a sickly, mottled mess of color during close-ups, and the articulation on hands when interacting with objects can still look oddly inaccurate.
The addition of ragdoll physics helps lessen the rigidity of the characters, but it's used to very basic effect and often comes off as more humorous than intended. Slamming into an object while on a bike or getting hit by a car usually yields a wholly unrealistic effect where parts of the body are stiff while the rest freely tumble. I can appreciate the effort of trying to move away from pre-defined animations, but when you see a guy crumple to the ground then spaz out and jitter through the floor due to a clipping bug it tends to offset the rare moments where you cap a baddie firing from above you and then watch them tumble realistically from their perch.
The music in the game has an interestingly dichotomistic/melded approach. The cutscenes were scored and played with an orchestra along with a few more modern percussion effects, and then those themes were remixed by a handful of artists for the main game music. It works well, although you don't quite get the same cohesive feel to the audio as in the first game. The audio queues for stuff like picking up a gang tail or running out of time don't punch through with the same kind of informative resonance, which is a shame.
The effects work, on the other hand, feels pretty in line with the first game. Most of it is rather bland, with flat gunfire and squealing tires. Even the shattering of glass somehow got knocked down a few pegs after games like Burnout 3 really helped up the bar on how the crunch of metal and composite with shattering glass. The effects aren't really lacking, they just don't have the kind of punch I wish they did. Luckily, the tradition of fantastic voice work helps bolster things nicely. Black Monday is one of the best acted games I've ever played, not just in terms of the motion capture data (although that approach to handling the cutscenes makes a huge impact) but in the voice work as well.
At the end of the day, this is a game that offers a honest-to-goodness cinematic approach to storytelling, but the march of technology and the inability to update the deeply flawed parts of the game just make those first-time errors all the more glaring in the sequel. If more time had been paid to making the game a bit easier to control, it could have elevated the sequel to the realm of being one of those examples of where game design is nearing Hollywood-level sophistication.
Unfortunately, this Brit crime epic only manages to show how a few bright spots keep it from being a total dud. I have high hopes for a PS3 continuation of the series, but if the design team doesn't focus on fixing the problems that didn't get cleaned up after the first game, all those busted digital cameras and those terabytes of assets will go to waste on yet another failed attempt to show us how attractive the seedy underbelly of London can really be.
