The Getaway 2: Black Monday

(Herald rating * * *)

In the animated opening scene of The Getaway 2: Black Monday, a bald, foul-mouthed police officer tells his squad how he wants a drug bust to proceed: "It's to go like clockwork, not Clockwork bloody Orange."

That sets the scene for the carnage ahead — gun-fights in gloomy boxing clubs and back alleys and high-speed car chases where little respect is paid to life or property.

In other words, Black Monday is a lot like its predecessor, The Getaway, which tried to ride on the success of violent London gangster movies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

The script is excellent and the well-edited animated movie sequences are witty with realistic dialogue. The story is told from three perspectives — Mitchell the troubled cop, the seasoned ex-boxer Eddie and the Sam the thief.

Arriving amid a deluge of violent role-paying games set in generic, futuristic cities, it's refreshing to have a realistic setting to blast away in.

But Team Soho, the makers of Black Monday, haven't done much to overhaul the in-game graphics. The buildings and characters have the same look, although the London Underground looks fantastic. The driving sequences blend into one, even though there are 17 new landmarks and more of the Thames included.

While the scenery in Black Monday has been painstakingly assembled — right down to the graffiti covering the walls of run-down housing estates — little new ground is broken in terms of design.

More disappointing is the frustrating game play. Getaway was a difficult game to play, and while some attempts have been made to simplify the controls in Black Monday, something as simple as pointing and aiming your weapon can be a mission in itself. The camera angle tends to spin around you allowing assailants to attack in close quarters, and aiming and shooting at long distances is haphazard.

You'll find yourself relieved then when the story asks you to take to the streets of London, giving you free reign to mount the footpath, knock over traffic cones, steal cars and perform your own demolition derby on the banks of the Thames.

The driving controls are less sensitive and more cars have been added, including motorbikes. But if driving is your main passion, then Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be more up your street.

Black Monday's richness of detail and focus on story is impressive, but the game fails to correct the faults of the earlier version and change the formula enough to keep us playing.

R18, $100