Grand Theft Auto on the mean streets of London? Well, almost.

The comparisons were inevitable. Both The Getaway and Grand Theft Auto are concerned with cars and crime, and both merit their “18” certificates. But where Grand Theft Auto allows you to cruise round a stylised downtown USA, The Getaway is set in the Big Smoke and has a much more linear narrative.

Your character, cockney crim Mark Hammond, is forced to do a series of dirty jobs for a gang boss – or his kidnapped son gets it. Later, the story switches perspective – and you play maverick cop Frank Carter. Rest assured, there's mayhem aplenty. But there's also a good dose of Metal Gear Solid-style sneaking around.

It's largely a well-crafted game. Especially refreshing is the lack of on-screen clutter. Instead of a being indicated by a meter, your character's health is represented by his state – increasingly bloodied with every bullet hit.

While London has appeared in games before, The Getaway has a very specific sense of place, as if it's been shot on location. Well, sort of. The developers have cheated, doing away with numerous side roads – don’t bother with an A-Z.

If you fancy yourself as a Long Good Friday or Lock Stock type, this'll do you. A larf, you mugs. Daniel Etherington 12 December 02

The Getaway, released 11 December 02 by Sony.

useful link: www.thegetaway.co.uk