Gangs Of London

Gangs of London is a action-adventure video game that centers around Gang life in London. The game was released September 1, 2006 exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. It was developed by Team SOHO and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Despite having the same developers and setting as The Getaway series, it has nothing in common story-wise with the aforementioned series.

The player has the choice to play as 5 different gangs in London, all with different ethnicites and colours.

Gameplay
During the course of story mode, you will be given a wide variety of objectives. One objective may have you entering a nightclub armed with nothing but a jack hammer, while another may have you trying to run the enemy off the road, or them trying to run you off the road. There are also kidnapping missions, stealth missions (where you're armed with a knife while trying to sneak into a hideout), and even a race mission. Once story mode is complete, a cutscene will pop up and a cliff hanger ending ensues.

As well as the story mode, there are also mini-games under the "Free-Roaming" heading, including "Free Drive" (just driving and exploring London while watching for gangs), "London Tourist" (where the player, who appears as an American tourist, has to take pictures of various landmarks in London), "Cause Havoc" (where the player, a gang member with various weapons, has to earn points by killing pedestrians and blowing up vehicles), "Speed Trap" (where the player has to drive at a certain speed to prevent a bomb inside the vehicle from exploding), "Riot Control" (where the player, as a London police officer, has to "neutralise" (kill or handcuff) rioters on the street), "Get Away" (where the player has to survive against the police pursuit for a certain time), "Four Weeks Later" (where the player has to defend himself or his gang boss from zombies rising from the ground) and "The Knowledge" (a taxi driver mission).

This game is the first in the series to represent different times of the day and therefore night sequences. The player can now switch to a cockpit view with every vehicle (a mandatory view for bigger vehicle in the previous games) that includes the two indicator lights for directions. Bikes introduced in The Getaway: Black Monday are no more part of the vehicles' list.

This game also has "bar" style mini-games, which you can visit in the pub. Once you access the main menu, the bar icon will show, and from there you may select one of five "pub" games. These include Darts, Skittles (a British version of Bowling), 8-ball (both the British and US version), and an Arcade Game, which is similar to Snake; however, as the levels get harder, things will change. Sometimes you must control two snakes, have the snakes change speed on their own, etc.However, this game does not features officially licensed vehicles as in The Getaway series. Although the vehicles are fictional, some do resemble real vehicles. Most notably a Toyota Mega Cruiser, Ferrari 360, Kia Magentis and the Renault Laguna 2

The Talwar Sword Brothers
In 1995, Asif Rashid started to organize the Talwar Sword Brothers (TSB) and they began working in the local vice scene. Asif’s leadership led to the acquisition of numerous properties around the area. The gang expanded and is now a dominant force in London organized crime. The Talwar Brothers are a young, confident, and dangerous group. They lovingly modify all their cars to the same high specifications. Some say they love their cars even more than a good fight. The Talwar Sword gang is a newcomer to the London gang scene, but it is quickly making its mark. Their rivals may soon find that London’s underworld belongs in the hands of a new younger generation.

STARTING TERRITORY: Goodge (HQ) –Marylebone –Wigmore –St. Pancras –Bloomsbury

KNOWN ASSOCIATES AND MEMBERS: Asif Rashid – Hassan Hashemi –Mansoor Khan – Rìz Kashani – Sahid Muhammad – Abid Ghazali – Nadir Hamadani –Omar Isfahani – Ahmed Kermani – Rasheed Khorasani – Ebrahim Mir – Said Montazheri – Abid Mengal – Jamal Noorani – Abid Qizilbash – Amir Ansari – Asif Omar - Abid Sabzvari – Firoz Qasim – Abid Siddiqui – Ali Abbasi – Abid Syed – Arshad Farooqi – Faiz Khosa – Azhar Alavi – Hafiz Hassani – Bashir Hussaini – Fareed Paracha – Abid Gilhani – Fahim Abbas – Fajahat Osmani – Abdul Mughal –Imzy Surroop

The Water Dragon Triad
Formed in Hong Kong, more than 50 years ago, the Water Dragon Triad is one of the most powerful Asian gangs operating in the UK. San Cho Yang eventually rose to leadership of the London enclave. Since then, he has expanding their operations in every direction, from human trafficking to extortion. Anyone who crossed them was punished without mercy. The citizens of London know better than speak of the Water Dragon Triad. Covered by a strict code of loyalty, they have been untouchable by London authorities and are feared throughout the city.

STARTING TERRITORY: Mayfair (HQ) – Hyde Park – Buckingham Palace – Bond Street – Green Park

KNOWN MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES: San Cho Yang – On To – Tang Sum – Hong Mang – Wai Lo – Tsu Fan – Fai Kwok – Li Ngau – Mark Tso – Lok Tang – Mai Sek – Fat Cheng – Patrick Lam - Liang Fong – Lan Sho – Wai Ma Yam – On Heung – Pho Gao – Lu Chun – Ho Pak –

Zakharov Organization
Vladislav Zakharov was one of the “Thieves in Law” in what is commonly referred to as the Russian Mafiya. Posing as an international entrepreneur, he was able to build up a profitable, legitimate shipping business in the UK. Vladislav then encouraged other Russians to come to London, where they assisted in the formation of the criminal side of his organization. A military-style operation combining the latest technology with old-style ruthlessness, the Zakharov Organization benefit from access to high-tech weaponry. The members of this organization follow orders with a fierce determination and an unquestioning obedience to their superiors. Armed with the latest weaponry, they are merciless in taking over London.

STARTING TERRITORY: Parliament (HQ) – Westminster – St. James Park – Waterloo – Vauxhall Bridge

KNOWN MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES: Vladislav Zakharov – Yaroslav Dimitrievski – Stepan Pastukhov – Leonid Riazanev – Rurik Papanov – Yuri Volkov – Anton Khabenski – Mikhail Sodev – Semyon Kuznetsov – Soyka Tolstin – Andrei Mironov – Nikolai Petrov – Ivan Portniev – Dimitri Dobrolubov – Kirill Rozhdestvenski – Alexei Popov – Boris Checkov – Ruslan Demidovski – Pyotr Moskvin – Anatoli Zharoviev – Grigori Sidorov – Sergei Bogolubov – Rodislav Kravchenko – Iosif Leonidev – Igor Voskresenski – Azamat Baranov – Sasha Boyarski

The Morris Kane Firm
Run by an angling old-school cockney gangster, the Morris Kane Firm is a tough, well-respected gang of hardened cockney criminals. The Firm was formed in the early 1970s and has had mixed success ever since, with most members having spent time behind bars. Protection rackets and armed robberies were the backbone of the gang’s income for many years, but changing times have forced them to expand their interests into other, more lucrative areas. Some say they are past their time, but there isn’t much they don’t know about organized crime. Even though they are in their 30s and 40s, these boys still terrify Londoners, and with very good reason.

STARTING TERRITORY: London Bridge (HQ) – Bank – Tower Bridge – Borough – Southwark

KNOWN MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES: Morris Kane – Benjamin Hawkins – John Bishop – Robert Powell – Lenny Cole – Paul Beechcroft – Malcolm Schofield – Dave Stanton – Peter French – James Jeavons – Thomas Cox – Richard Lynch – Chris Heppell - Ben Brighouse - Alan Blackwell – Stuart Hardwick – Dan Thompson – Frank Saint John – Kevin Ashington – Andrew MacDonnell – Gerald Doyle – Stephen Derrick – Harvey Palmer – Hugh Oxley – Michael Jefford – Albert Cork – Thomas Hudson - Gregory Scott -

The EC2 Crew
One of a number of Yardie gangs at large in London. Mainly of Jamaican origin, members are fearless and demand respect. 30-years-old Mason Grant came over to the UK for a “holiday” over 10 years ago and soon realized there was a lot of money to be made outside the law. He assembled a formidable gang, and the Crew soon earned a reputation for violent retaliation, which encouraged rival gangsters to keep their distance. Hard as nails, and completely fearless, the EC2 Crew are quick to gain respect and quicker to repay the lack of it.

STARTING TERRITORY: St. Luke's (HQ) – Barbican – Broadgate – Finsbury – Clerkenwell

KNOWN MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES: Mason Grant – Tyrell Davis – Leon Martin – Otis Hall – Eddie Parker – Marvin Williams – Zack Garvey – Antoine Wright – Luke Thomas – Nathan Miller – Maurice Wallace – Reece Robertson – Dan Green – Jamal Mayfield – Floyd Baker – Lou Young – Samuel Walker – Warwick Campbell – Al Ward – Tony Brooks – Michael McCoy – Kane Lewis – Basil Thompson – Bapo Wilson – Ryker Jackson - Curtis Reed –

Unplayable gangs
Beyond the five playable gangs, during the story mode, many other crime syndacates appear:

- the Andy Steele Associates, a white-collar English criminal group;

- the North London Albanian Mob or Vulaj gang;

- the Kanesaka Yakuza family,

- Mr. Rhaman's Organization, an Indian gang;

- Globe Road Gang, made by prostitutes;

- the Pozzi Camorra crime family.

Reception
The game was met with mixed, generally mediocre reviews, with a 57% at Game Rankings. Despite its reviews, it came to be one of two of the best selling PSP titles of 2006, alongside the game Lemmings. Both were certified as platinum titles.

Trivia

 * The gangsters on the front cover of the Gangs Of London box bear much resemblance to the cast of the 2000 British gangster movie Snatch.
 * In the "London Toruist" mini-game, some of the responses to the player by pedestrians throughout London include: "Are you Mark Hammond?" or "Are you Eddie O'Connor?", referring to the two anti-hero protagonists of The Getaway and The Getaway: Black Monday.