The Getaway

The Getaway PS2 is a single-player, third-person action-adventure game developed by Team Soho and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It arrived in Europe in December 2002, with the North American release following in January 2003. Set in a detailed contemporary London, the game builds a crime story around driving, on-foot action, and cinematic mission sequences rather than a collection of disconnected challenges.

The story begins with Mark Hammond, a former bank robber who has tried to leave crime behind. After a devastating attack on his family, a London gang leader exploits Mark’s son’s abduction to force him into dangerous jobs across the city. Mark is also a suspect in the killing, so his effort to reach his son takes place under pressure from both the criminal world and the police. The campaign later adds Flying Squad officer Frank Carter, whose investigation overlaps with Hammond’s ordeal and reveals the other side of the conflict.

Missions move between foot pursuits, shootouts, close-range confrontations, and driving assignments. On foot, players can run, roll, draw weapons, aim, fire, reload, and take hostages in appropriate situations. Cars are just as central: Mark and Frank use London traffic, streets, and recognizable vehicles to reach objectives, escape trouble, or pursue leads. The game’s city is not merely a backdrop for cutscenes; missions send players through its roads, estates, commercial areas, and dockland locations as the two stories unfold.

The Getaway uses an intentionally sparse interface to support its film-inspired presentation. It does not place a conventional map or health display on screen. While driving, direction cues come from a vehicle’s indicators and hazard lights, and the characters’ physical condition communicates damage during gunfights. Ammunition is likewise signalled through animation when a weapon is empty. That approach makes following the road and reading the situation part of the PlayStation 2 game’s moment-to-moment play.

London was a major part of Team Soho’s design. The game recreates a sizeable area of the capital and lets players travel it on foot or in licensed cars, with missions connecting the city’s locations to the plot. Completing Hammond’s portion of the campaign also unlocks a Free Roam option for his character, allowing exploration without a mission objective or time limit. The emphasis on a specific British setting, criminal underworld plot, and parallel protagonists distinguishes The Getaway from more abstract arcade-style driving and shooting games.

The Getaway launched as a PlayStation 2 exclusive during an era when cinematic, story-led action games were becoming increasingly prominent. Its British gangster-film influences are apparent in the London setting, dialogue-driven narrative, and the way it alternates between Hammond’s coerced criminal work and Carter’s police investigation. Team Soho returned to the series with The Getaway: Black Monday for PlayStation 2 in 2004, while the original remains the introduction to its version of London crime drama.