London gangs and crime scenes feature in this gangland thriller... Anna Sky Hulton had a run round London...

Set two years after the first game, The Getaway: Black Monday gives gamers a chance to speed around an even more realistic London.

Taking place over 48 hours, players are able to take control of each of the game's three main characters as they advance through each of the 22 missions. You start off playing as Sergeant Mitchell on his first day back working for the Met, when he is called out to a dawn raid on a council estate. It is a day he will never forget.

Later on, and on the other side of town there is Eddie O'Connor, a boxer, who after a bank job went drastically wrong, is receiving a beating. The final character is Sam, a thief who would rather be nicking hi-tech laptops than getting involved with violent crime.

As the game loads you are treated to what many would mistake as the titles of a film. An excellent mixture of music and graphics introduces the game with the 'cast and crew' and scenes of London as the camera speeds along the streets.

The graphics throughout the game are excellent, not just during the cut scenes but also during the general gameplay. Actors voicing the game acted out many of the cut scenes which were motion captured. Combining this with "Talking Heads" which is used to create real time facial animations, there are times you have to look twice to check you are still playing a game.

The streets of central London are mapped in incredible detail. Driving around London the familiar landmarks of Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament are easily recognisable. The detail is amazing, even the congestion markings are on the roads and there is a total of 25 square miles that have been mapped in this way.

This time some of London's tube system is also mapped in detail giving players the opportunity to fully explore the realistic looking London.

Although the graphics and audio are excellent you can't help but feel you would like a little more freedom over what you can do. It would be unfair to compare it to the huge hit of San Andreas but there are some similarities that are bound to be drawn and even on a lower level, comparing the general driving and combat San Andreas wins.

The Getaway: Black Monday was a long awaited sequel to a great game, but it doesn't really bring anything new. Due to the large number of missions you could definitely donate a lot of time to it, but due to the linearity of the gameplay those who get frustrated on one mission can't attempt any others.

The Getaway 2: Black Monday is rated 18.