You've got to love the British. On the heels of successful games such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Max Payne, and the Guy Ritchie film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, United Kingdom game developer Team Soho gives us The Getaway.

Set in beautiful and accurately rendered areas of London, The Getaway makes no apologies for its "Mature" rating and pulls no punches in delivering the goods to its players.

Moments after pressing the power button, players are introduced to the standard gangster plot, and to Mark Hammond, the main character in the game.

In the game, Hammond has just seen his wife shot and his son kidnapped by his former employer. He is forced to work for his old boss if he ever wants to see his son alive again.

The game mixes aspects of Vice City and Max Payne, but it takes both of the games to a different level.

The out-of-car experience and gameplay is much more in-depth and entertaining than Vice City, while the car chases give the game a dimension Max Payne couldn't offer.

There is a downside to these new twists, though. If patience is a virtue, then players of the The Getaway will need this quality in spades. The controls are awkward at first, which could make newcomers to the game shy away from playing it. But with a little bit of time and practice, it soon becomes second nature.

What really sets The Getaway apart from its predecessors is its visuals. They are not only eye candy, but they also help make the game a cinematic-like experience.

There is nothing on screen to indicate Hammond's health, and no gauges to display the amount of bullets left in his gun. Players are only given Hammond's on-screen demeanor to indicate his health, and only the sound of a hollow "click" to indicate a lack of ammunition.

Fans of crime games and films will enjoy this fresh new offering, but others with less interest or short attention spans may want to pass on it.

-- Reviewed by Jay Barimani