Mark Hammond is a former member of the criminal underworld who now wishes to put his past behind him and lead a simple life with his wife and little boy. When the most terrible crime in London, the organized crime lord Charlie Jolson, decides that he needs Mark’s services and obtains them in a perverted and brutal way, everything goes wrong: Mark’s wife is murdered, he is blamed for this murder, and his child is kidnapped.
Jolson makes it quite apparent that the youngster will be killed if Mark does not do what he instructs. Jolson sends Mark on suicidal missions as part of his plan to bring down other criminal organizations in the city. During these missions, Mark is faced with three terrible choices: he can either walk away and lose his son, get killed in a battle against overwhelming odds, or help Jolson get rid of his opponents all by himself. Jolson is using the helpless man as part of his plan.
A new scenario will become available as soon as the player finishes Mark Hammond’s story. In this scenario, the player will take control of Frank Carter, a vigilante cop who won’t rest until he puts Charlie Jolson to justice. The occurrences in Frank’s scenario are similar to those in Mark’s. However, Frank provides further context for some of the happenings in Mark’s scenario that aren’t fully described.
The gameplay of The Getaway is a cross between a third-person shooter and a driving game, and it is conceptually comparable to Grand Theft Auto III. This game features a digital recreation of London, which the user is free to explore on foot or by driving a vehicle anywhere they like within the game world. In contrast to GTA III, the missions are sequential and follow one another as determined by the story. The game focuses on the narrative, and there are no free-roaming or open-world elements. Most of the driving segments have a time constraint, limiting the amount of free exploration you can do.
The gameplay for each mission often consists of two parts: a third-person shooter segment, followed by a driving piece of some kind, and an ambitious segment that comes after the third-person shooter segment. The driving segment involves the player driving to a specific destination, sometimes while chasing another car or being pursued by adversaries. The protagonist regularly runs into trouble with the law or other gangs. The player has the option of walking or stealing any automobile or bus that is found on the streets.
Compared to the similar sections in GTA III, the third-person shooter segments in GTA V are both lengthier and more heavily featured. The main character can access various abilities, including sneak, crouch, roll sideways, etc. There are a few objectives that place an emphasis only on stealth and will be failed if the antagonists spot the player character. Using the butt of the gun as a melee weapon is possible, and the player character can even grab hostages to prevent the police from shooting at them.
The game is distinguished visually by the complete lack of any visual interface or text feedback on the screen at any time. Instead of checking a map, the player simply needs to pay attention to the flashing lights on the car to arrive at the correct location. It is clear that the protagonist has sustained some kind of injury because his posture has changed, he is moving more slowly, and there is blood on his clothing. Resting (leaning against a wall) is the only way to restore lost health; no health kits are sprinkled throughout the environment. The main character can only hold a maximum of two smaller weapons or one more significant weapon at once.
