Sony's E3 efforts continue apace today with word that The Getaway: Black Monday has been officially confirmed for a winter 2004 release date, and is currently being created in London by the original's creator Team Soho. Seventeen new locations have been added in the sequel, and over twenty-five square miles of London has been lovingly mapped in the process. Even the London Underground will be represented in the game world, as Team Soho attempt to create yet more 'gangsterish' atmosphere.

Three new characters will star in Black Monday: Eddie, Mitch and Sam - all with their own motivations and believable character traits - and all taking part in the new broad variety of missions promised, which will be both on-foot and of the driving variety. Not only will a diverse selection of missions be available to choose from, so the prospect of GTA-esque 'free-roaming' gameplay is also on offer, all bound together with a loosely-evolving plotline.

Said plotline will be at the centre of the game experience, it would seem, and is actually split in two, and told from the perspective of our three protagonists. How very post-modern of them. As they progress, players will see the fragmented shards of the story coming together to reveal a cohesive whole, whilst simultaneously making key decisions and building up to a showdown with London's 'newest' crime chief. Sounds more than a tad Guy Ritchie to us.

"Team Soho has reached new heights in The Getaway: Black Monday with its unique cinematic narrative and realistic portrayal of London," enthused Entertainment America's Ami Blaire. "Building on the success of the critically acclaimed original, The Getaway: Black Monday gives players the ambiance and realism of film combined with the excitement of and driving gameplay that plunges deeper into the seedy back alleys and crime circles of London." An 'authentic' feel is promised with the interspersion of digital cut-scenes throughout the gameplay, and the use of twenty motion-capture actors to bring these dramatic scenes to vivid life.

Some twenty-two missions will feature in total, whilst the city of London will be brought to life in rich, seamless detail as never before; whether you're moving in or out of buildings. A better control system is also mooted, allowing more intuitive freedom, and a full range of vehicles including bikes and taxis will be available for the pinching. Rag-doll physics and custom-designed facial animations are on the cards, and we're also told to expect great things of the game's script.

Indeed, the influences of the series upon Team Soho's latest pervade this new Getaway game which will not only offer the choice of driving or on-foot, but also a range of missions and side tasks, and even the prospect of influencing how the plot progresses. "Three playable characters provide a variety of gameplay options and scenarios where interior, exterior and narrative sequences blend together seamlessly in one continuous experience," we're reliably informed. Once again, we're promised a game that will blur the lines between cinema and games more than ever before, and if Black Monday lives up to Sony's lofty hyperbole, then I think it's safe to say we're all going to be suitably impressed when the evening's begin to draw-in later this year.

"With The Getaway: Black Monday, we are pushing the concept of cinematic gameplay to new heights through blending a compelling sophisticated narrative with an unprecedented depth and quality of gameplay into a single, consistent piece of entertainment," commented game director Naresh Hirani. "The Getaway: Black Monday represents a significant milestone in the path toward a fully dynamic game experience by offering the ability for players to shape and control their destiny. Players will no longer be a slave to the narrative."

By Luke Guttridge