Gangs of London (video game)

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Gangs of London
Developer(s)London Studio
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s)PlayStation Portable
Release
  • EU: 1 September 2006
  • AU: 7 September 2006
  • NA: 3 October 2006
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Gangs of London is an action-adventure open world video game released in 2006 for Sony's PlayStation Portable console. The third installment in the The Getaway franchise following The Getaway (2002) and Black Monday (2004), it was developed by London Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.[1] The player has the choice to play as five different gangs in London, with different ethnicities and outfits.

Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery created a television adaptation of the game starring Joe Cole, Sope Dirisu, and an ensemble cast, which debuted on Sky Atlantic and AMC in April 2020, from which a spin-off graphic novel, Ghosts, was released in December 2022, written by Corin Hardy and Rowan Athale and illustrated by Ferenc Nothof.

Gameplay

During the course of story mode, the player is given a wide variety of objectives. One objective may require entering a nightclub armed with a jackhammer, while another may involve trying to run the enemy off the road, or them trying to run the player off the road. There are also kidnapping missions, stealth missions, and race missions. Once the story mode is complete, a cliffhanger ending ensues. Outside of missions, the player can free roam the game's environment and complete minigames such as taking photos of London landmarks or running over pedestrians. The game also has "bar" style mini-games, accessed from a pub. The four pub games are darts, skittles, pool, and an arcade game, which is similar to Snake.[citation needed]

Premise

At his country estate, Morris Kane, a veteran cockney gangster and leader of his own firm, breeds pigeons in preparation for an upcoming competition. The next morning, he is horrified to find out that all the pigeons have been slaughtered. Kane soon vows to take over the city.

In Westminster, Russian crime lord Vladislav Zakharov is planning to purchase a Fabergé egg to add to his collection. Returning home, Zakharov finds that his mansion is torched. Enraged by the loss of his paintings and silver, he vows to make London suffer.

Mason Grant, leader of the Jamaican yardie gang EC2 Crew, is out on a date with his girlfriend Chantel. She is later assassinated by an unseen sniper while at a cafe with Grant. He vows revenge in response to her death.

Inside a gambling den, two Water Dragon Triads are intimidated by another who will do whatever it takes to win a game of Mahjong. During the game, a bomb goes off; killing the Triads. Triad leader San Chu Yang declares war on the other gangs.

Indian-British gangster Asif Rashid, who leads the Talwar Brothers, learns that his brother has been set up and arrested by armed police (SCO19). Determined to bail his brother, Rashid assembles his gang to take over London.

The Gangs

The player can choose any one out of five playable gangs -

  1. Morris Kane Firm
  2. EC2 Crew
  3. Talwar Brothers
  4. Zakharov Organisation
  5. Water Dragon Triad

Apart from these gangs there are other unplayable gangs which form some parts of the game's storyline:

  1. Steele Associates: A white-collar criminal group run by a criminal businessman named Andy Steele. The gang plays a major part in the storyline. Its territory is located in central London
  2. The North London Albanian Gang
  3. The Globe Road Gang – a gang made up of prostitutes
  4. Rahman's Gang – an Indian-origin gang
  5. The Yakuza gang – it is run by a Japanese gangster named Kanesaka
  6. The Italian Naples Mafia

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic52/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge3/10[3]
EGM2.83/10[4]
Eurogamer5/10[5]
Game Informer6/10[6]
GameProStarStarStarHalf star[7]
GameRevolutionC−[8]
GameSpot5.5/10[9]
GameSpyStarStarStarHalf star[10]
GameTrailers5.3/10[11]
GameZone5/10[1]
IGN(UK) 5.2/10[12]
(US) 4.5/10[13]
OPM (US)4/10[14]
The Sydney Morning HeraldStarStarStar[15]

The game received "mixed" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[2]

Adaptations

Television series

Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery created a television adaptation of the game starring Joe Cole, Sope Dirisu, and an ensemble cast, which debuted on Sky Atlantic and AMC in April 2020,[16][17] with Dirisu portraying Elliot Carter / Finch, a character loosely based on Frank Carter, and Colm Meaney portraying Finn Wallace, a character loosely based on Andy Steele.

In an interview with Sky News in April 2020, Evans stated that while initially hired to "make a film franchise" of Gangs of London, he had felt like if we were going to do a film franchise, we would have two-thirds of our running time focused purely on our central characters, and then only a third left to explore the side characters that populate that world", and so on deciding that "we wouldn't do justice to the myriad of different diverse cultures and ethnicities that make up the city [I then] pitched it back saying this should be a TV show because you can afford to go off and detour for 10 to 15 minutes and spend time with other characters, and learn about them in more detail."[18]

Graphic novel

In December 2022, a Gangs of London graphic novel, set between the first and second series of the television adaptation and titled A Gangs of London Story: Ghosts, written by Corin Hardy and Rowan Athale and illustrated by Ferenc Nothof, was released digitally to the news aggregator Den of Geek, ahead of a physical release.[19]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Hopper, Steven (September 28, 2006). "Gangs of London – PSP – Review". GameZone. http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/gangs_of_london_psp_review. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Gangs of London for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/gangs-of-london/critic-reviews/?platform=psp. 
  3. Edge staff (October 2006). "Gangs of London". Edge (167): 94. 
  4. EGM staff (November 2006). "Gangs of London". Electronic Gaming Monthly (209). 
  5. McCarthy, Dave (September 7, 2006). "Gangs of London". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_gangsoflondon_psp. 
  6. Helgeson, Matt (October 2006). "Gangs of London". Game Informer (162). http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200610/R06.0929.1658.05319.htm. Retrieved July 10, 2015. 
  7. Long Haired Offender (October 4, 2006). "Review: Gangs of London". GamePro. http://www.gamepro.com/sony/psp/games/reviews/83119.shtml. 
  8. Dodson, Joe (October 6, 2006). "Gangs of London Review". Game Revolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/gangs-of-london. 
  9. Navarro, Alex (October 3, 2006). "Gangs of London Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/gangs-of-london-review/1900-6159248/. 
  10. Turner, Benjamin (September 29, 2006). "GameSpy: Gangs of London". GameSpy. http://psp.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/the-getaway-gangs-of-london/736574p1.html. 
  11. "Gangs of London Review". GameTrailers. December 6, 2006. http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/229lts/gangs-of-london-review. 
  12. Vanderblast, Stretch (August 15, 2006). "Gangs of London Review (UK)". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/08/15/gangs-of-london-review-2. 
  13. Haynes, Jeff (October 13, 2006). "Gangs of London Review". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/10/14/gangs-of-london-review. 
  14. "Gangs of London". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 120. November 2006. 
  15. Hill, Jason (September 9, 2006). "Gangs of London". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/game-reviews/gangs-of-london/2006/09/06/1157222169454.html. 
  16. Beckwith, Michael (April 24, 2020). "Gangs of London is actually based on a video game – here's what it was like". Metro.co.uk. https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/24/gangs-london-wait-based-game-12605536. 
  17. Basotia, Jyotsna (September 30, 2020). "Did you know Template:‘Gangs of London' was inspired by an old PSP game? Here's all about the action-packed adventure". Meaww. https://meaww.com/gangs-of-london-true-story-real-facts-video-game-psp-sony-gareth-evans-cinemax-sky-atlantic-uk-us. 
  18. Peplow, Gemma (April 23, 2020). "Gangs of London: 'We spent time with undercover police – I have to be careful'". Sky News. https://news.sky.com/story/gangs-of-london-we-spent-time-with-undercover-police-i-have-to-be-careful-11969991. 
  19. Fletcher, Rosie (December 15, 2022). "Gangs of London Comic Book Tells the Story of Elliot's Year. Read it Exclusively Here.". Den of Geek. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/gangs-of-london-comic-book. 
  • Gangs of London on IMDb
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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