Later outings featured tougher driving segments, and also introduced some stealth elements. As in Grand Theft Auto, many cars can be stolen with the press of a button. The driving model is a bit stiff, but not terribly so; it suffices. Stealth works well too. A crouch-walk lets you move quietly, and once you're close enough you can either go for a quick kill or take a hostage.

After a good six or seven missions, we finally succeeded in assassinating Yang, the leader of the Water Dragon Triad. Vodka and caviar flowed freely, but our celebration was only temporary; several more nasty gangs still stood between us and our rightful role as lords of London's underworld. Setting the Grey Goose aside, we resumed our nefarious plotting. Tomorrow would be the first of a series of very bad days for the Talwar Brothers.

Chillin' wit' da Villainz

All work and no play can take the thrilling from the killing, so Gangs of London has a ton of alternate game modes for when you want a break from being all territorial. Free-roaming mode features a plethora of alternate activities, ranging from sight seeing and picture taking to enforced speed challenges (ever see the movie Speed?) to a "four weeks later" scenario versus hordes of zombies. There's even a cabbie mode, but I'm not really a big fan of feeling completely lost. Perhaps real-life London natives will take to that.


There's also The Pub -- a mini-game hub featuring simple arcade games, darts and multiple variations on pool. You can even beam a Gangs of London demo to a friend's PSP, which will generate a random single-player adventure based on their system's serial number. Given the random nature, you might want to have someone beam it to you.

Gangs of London gives you lots of ways to get your hands dirty, and its execution seems surprisingly even across the board. The game ships at the end of September, so tell your boys to be on the lookout for our review around then.