Parents' Guide to

The Getaway: Black Monday

By Raffi Kevorkian, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Stay away -- it's bloody and boring.

Game PlayStation 2 2005
The Getaway: Black Monday Poster Image

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What’s It About?

You play THE GETAWAY: BLACK MONDAY as three characters: Sergeant Mitchell, a troubled cop with a dark past; Eddie, a small time thug who uses his fists as well as weapons; and Sam, a female hacker and gymnast who accomplishes missions by stealth. The game begins with Sergeant Mitchell pursuing the Latvian mob and trying to rescue a reporter

After eight or so missions you play as Eddie (with Sam leading you), involved in a failed bank heist and then up against the Russian mob and a London gang, and then you play as Sam in a game of infiltration, after which you once again play as Eddie with the option of leaving or helping Sam. There are a total of four endings based on whether or not you helped Sam and/or rescued the reporter as Mitchell. While the various endings of the game are innovative and support the movie-like feel, the storyline gets lost.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (4):

The dreary, rainy London backdrop is well-drawn, and the dialogue of the cut scenes is impressive, despite often incomprehensible British slang and excessive use of the F-word. But the linear gameplay grows boring, and the characters must be "steered" using a limited camera swivel that can make you nauseous. Enemies are easily dispatched with very little skill. And like a movie, the action feels far away.

The killing is not the kind of close-up goriness found in first-person shooters, but the game combines mature themes. There is nudity (bare breasts) and sexual suggestion; characters smoke cigarettes; and the cussing includes use of the F-word, C-word, and other genitalia references. Overall, though the novelty of multiple plots and the blurring of lines between video games and movies are compelling innovations, the mature material makes this a bad choice for young players -- and even older teens will be bored.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about moral choices. One of the characters is given approval by his superior to carry out missions that result in the deaths of criminals and innocents alike. Does the approval of superiors justify certain kinds of behavior? Do the ends ever justify the means?

Game Details

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