I bought The Getaway, and once the novelty of driving past bits of London I travel through daily wore off, I decided I really didn’t like it. I plan to exchange it if I can, but I’m not sure what for, since I can be quite picky.
I have the two PS2 GTA games and love them to bits. I quite enjoyed Hitman 2 and Medal of Honour. I don’t really go for “plain” driving games, sports games (since I don’t have a second controller for two-player action) or swords-n-sorcery epics.
What can you recommend? I tend to like games with freedom to roam; violence is always good after a hard day at work, preferably with large firearms. Strategy is another favourite, but obviously not ideal for a PS2. The only vague ideas I’ve had are Timesplitters 2 (but looks a bit cartoon-y), Red Faction 2 (but I’ve heard it doesn’t have a life beyond the storyline missions, i.e. not much repeat value) and Half Life (don’t know much about). Ideally I want something as enjoyable as Halo on the X-box.
You lucky bastard! The Getaway doesn’t come out in the US for a couple weeks yet. Although your assessment does echo what I’ve heard from gaming sites.
Half Life is a good shooter, and should be pretty cheap by now (it’s been out a while).
SOCOM, maybe? I’ve heard that’s a good game, even if you don’t play it online. I’ve also heard good things about Timesplitters 2.
MGS2 is also a good suggestion for the price–it’s short, but it is a great game and (in the US anyway) costs only $20.
The Getaway in a nutshell: very dark and gritty plot (hope you like swearing!); excellent degree of realism; fun to see real shops, landmarks and vehicles in a game; wide range of missions and characters.
Down side: very poor out-of-vehicle controls; nightmarish difficulty level; lack of side and rear views when driving; realistic car performance usually means realistically slow, awkward vehicles; nightmarish difficulty level; long cut scenes that can’t be skipped; lack of a free roaming mode until you’ve completed the game, which has a… nightmarish difficulty level!
I liked the style of MGS2, but not the tedious cut-scenes, messy plot and lack of “free roaming”. I like mission-based games within a less time-pressured framework - I prefer games I can complete at my leisure, rather than with a clock ticking constantly.
If I ever have to recommend one PS2 game to anyone, it’s Ico. Stunningly beautiful game, with streamlined gameplay that’s perfectly integrated into the story. But if may be too “slow” or puzzle-based for someone who’s just looking for action.
So that leaves Devil May Cry, which is so laughably over-the-top Japanese gothic horror/action that it’s hard not to find it interesting at the least. And using a pistol in each hand to juggle zombie puppets in the air while the screen yells “Bravo!” is one of the most satisfying things in any game. It’s as if they translated a wacky mid-80’s Hong Kong fantasy action movie directly into a videogame.
Sounds to me like Half-Life is the ticket. I’ve only played the PC version, not the PS2, but the PC version pretty much redefined the first-person shooter to actually have genuine content. And Halo is more or less the direct “spiritual successor” to Half-Life, from the format right down to the presentation (e.g., chapter titles at each way point).
BloodRayne. It’s superficially similar to Tomb Raider, but the main character is a vampire with big knives who swears like a sailor and violently kills everything. It’s actually a really good game.