The Getaway is an action-adventure game played from third-person view in which the player controls the two lead characters in an open world as they carry out their missions for game progression. Both of the characters can perform a series of physical tasks such as walking, sprinting, rolling, shooting, and taking cover during a gunfight. Once Mark Hammond's missions are completed, free-roaming is unlocked for his character,[3] which allows the player to roam around the City of London and Central London without mission objectives or time limits. Due to similarities to the Grand Theft Auto series, it is often labeled as a Grand Theft Auto clone.[4][5][6]
The game features a number of licensed vehicles from automobile manufacturers that the player can control, unlike those seen in Grand Theft Auto, which are fictional. The majority of the vehicles in the game are made by MG Rover Group, Jensen Motors, Saab, PSA Peugeot Citroën,[7][8] Fiat, and Lexus,[3] along with a number of others. Firearms and weapons available to the player include the Glock 17 pistol, AK-47 assault rifle, Remington 870 pump-action shotgun, and Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun; other weapons include a meat cleaver and crowbar, among others.
A major feature of the game is its approach to being "movie-like" and immersive, which was achieved by excluding features that are present in most games; there is no HUD or map system, players driving in a car are guided to a destination by the car's indicators and hazard lights blinking, running out of ammunition is signalled by the character dropping their weapon, health points are represented by how badly the character is bleeding and limping, and recovery to full health is done by resting against a wall.
