Hands on with Gangs of London on PSP. Knuckledusters at the ready!
Sony's painting London red with its portable driving-and-shooter shocker
When it comes to turning London's mean streets into something even more extreme, there's no-one better (or should that be worse?) than Sony's Soho team. And it's certainly pulling out all the stops to paint the town with criminal claret in its latest driving-and-shooting romp Gangs of London.
Building on the notoriety – and the A-Z accuracy – of the PlayStation 2's The Getaway, Gangs of London ditches that series' linear storyline to present you with a more freeform mission-based experience.
Firstly, you choose a gang. You have various options here, from cockney thugs such as the Kane firm, to arch-rivals the Yardies, the Triad and the Russian mafia.
On one level, the choice is just for fun; each band of brutal brothers has its own characteristic vehicles and weapons, but those differences are basically cosmetic, and don't seriously affect gameplay.
Crucially, however, the missions set for the gangs are different, so you'll want to play through the game as more than just one gang to get a feel for the whole scope of Gangs of London.
As for the missions, punchy graphic-novel-style panels are used to explain the set-up, whether it be a straightforward hit or trying to rescue a hostage from the other side, and like The Getaway games, most missions consists of driving elements, which in the ones we've played involved chasing and ramming enemies until they stopped. The game then switches into a third-person perspective for some good old-fashioned shooting.
One neat touch already apparent is the ability to constantly switch between your gang members, with the game's artificial intelligence taking over characters you're not playing. The controls are pretty smooth too, with the right shoulder button used for strafing and a tight auto-aiming system making it easy to wipe out the opposition. Even the driving mechanics are much more arcade-style and fun than the rather clunky ones in The Getaway.
In fact, our only concern about Gangs of London right now is its rather dreary graphics. Everything looks a little grey at the moment, but considering the amount of detail and random pedestrians wandering around, that's perhaps not surprising. Equally, the sheer scale of the game and the variety of different modes – from the tourist mode, to pub games and the tactical Gang Battle – is undeniably impressive.
This promises to be one huge title that you'll want to keep your mince pies peeled for. Use our handy "Track It!" button above to stay in touch.
