THE GETAWAY. Pub: SCEE. Format: PS2. Price: £44.99 - SONY has been forced to change one of its top titles following complaints from British Telecom.

The Getaway has been described as one of the most ambitious ever produced and is said to have cost Sony more than £5m to develop.

One task players are asked to perform is to steal a BT van and, dressed as a BT engineer, attack a police station.

Now Sony has agreed to change parts of the game, which carries an 18 certificate, because of its violent conduct, after BT complained that it had damaged its image and put engineers at risk.

Sony had failed to ask for permission to use BT's logo in the game and the company had therefore contacted the game maker asking for it to be changed, said a spokesman for the telecommunications giant.

"We recognise it's a small part of the game, but nevertheless it is there. We contacted them and said we were not happy," he said.

Sony agreed to removing the logo and an amended version of the game was expected in the near future, BT said.

Embarrassments aside, The Getaway is one of the most highly anticipated (and much delayed) games since the PS2 arrived on UK shop shelves.

How ironic then that now it has finally made it, the game finds itself in the shadow of another adult title with a gangland theme, namely GTA: Vice City.

The Getaway is clearly the more technically accomplished title; the visuals are beautifully done, each car is accurately modelled down to the interior light that comes on when your character climbs inside and the London exteriors are grimily authentic.

The plot sees your character seeking revenge for the murder of his wife only to be coerced into working for the bad guys who have also snatched your son.

This leads to much mission-based mayhem in London on foot and (mostly) behind the wheel of a car. Just like GTA, you can leave your motor at any time, flag down a passing motorist and hi-jack new wheels. The cops also pursue you and when you're cornered it's a good idea to get out of your car and try to shoot your way out of trouble.

There's a bit of jerkiness when a lot is going on (early demos of The Getaway were much worse in this respect and I'd guess the major reason for the game's long delay is down to fine tuning of the code in a bid to reduce the slowdown) and the PS2 hardware doesn't allow for a densely populated sidewalk at the same time as a teeming highway. Only a handful of pedestrians are ever on-screen at the same time, lending the London locales a strange deserted feel. It's a bit like John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids after everyone has been blinded by meteorites.

In case you haven't guessed, The Getaway isn't a game for kids. Major characters spend much of the time swearing at each other and some of the violence is quite graphic. As with all good cop movies, however, the baddies are pretty poor shots while your character seems able to pick 'em off with ease - even when he's using a small pistol.

Is it better than GTA? Probably not, for whereas Vice City never takes itself too seriously, The Getaway is generally played straight. Still, if you enjoyed the mayhem on offer in GTA this game has to be top of your post-Christmas wants list.

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Published: 10/01/2003