London Fury

London Fury is a 2007 action-adventure game developed and published by. Directed by, it is his first and only attempt to work on a video game outside of the book franchise. Set in 1997 within London, the single-player story follows three protagonists—retired bank robber Conor Smith, street gangster Cassius Stone, and drug dealer and gunrunner Tom Anderson—and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam London.

The game is played from either a third-person or first-person perspective, and its world is navigated on foot and by vehicle. Players control the three lead protagonists throughout single-player and switch among them, both during and outside missions. The story is centred on the heist sequences, and many missions involve shooting and driving gameplay. A "wanted" system governs the aggression of law enforcement response to players who commit crimes. London Fury: Online, the game's online multiplayer mode, lets up to 30 players engage in a variety of different cooperative and competitive game modes.

The game's development began around the time of 's release in 2004. Much of the development work constituted the open world's creation, and several team members conducted field research around London to capture footage for the design team. The game's soundtrack features an original score composed by Hervé Lavandier, Ramon Pipin and Pure West. It was released on 22 June 2007 for Microsoft Windows, Linux and macOS, in 27 July for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and 6 August for PlayStation Portable.

Extensively marketed and widely anticipated, the game broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning £750 million in its first day and £1 billion in its first three days. It received widespread critical acclaim, with praise directed at its multiple protagonist design, open world, presentation and gameplay. However, it caused controversies related to its depiction of violence and women. Considered one of seventh and eighth generation console gaming's most significant titles and among the best video games ever made, it won year-end accolades including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. It is the third best-selling video game of all time with over 140 million copies shipped, and as of April 2015, one of the most financially successful entertainment products of all time, with about £6 billion in worldwide revenue.

Gameplay
London Fury is an action-adventure game played from either a third-person or first-person perspective. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. Outside of the missions, players may freely roam the open world. It may be fully explored after the game's beginning without restriction, although story progress unlocks more gameplay content.

Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, and may run, jump, swim or use vehicles to navigate the world. To accommodate the map's size, the game introduces vehicle types such as fixed-wing aircraft. In combat, auto-aim and a cover system may be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter will gradually regenerate to its halfway point. Players respawn at hospitals when their health depletes. If players commit crimes, law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a "wanted" meter in the head-up display (HUD). Stars displayed on the meter indicate the current wanted level (for example, at the maximum five-star level, police helicopters and SWAT teams swarm to lethally dispatch players). Law enforcement officers will search for players who leave the wanted vicinity. The meter enters a cool-down mode and eventually recedes when players are hidden from the officers' line of sight that displays on the mini-map for a period of time.

The single-player mode lets players control three characters: Conor Smith, Tom Anderson and Cassius Stone—criminals whose stories interconnect as they complete missions. Some missions are completed with only one character and others feature two or three. Outside the missions, players may switch between characters at will by a directional compass on the HUD, although this feature becomes restricted at various points throughout the story. The game may switch characters automatically during missions to complete specific objectives. A character's compass avatar will flash red if he is in danger and needs help, and flash white if he has a strategic advantage. Though players complete missions as any of the three protagonists, the more difficult heist missions require aid from AI-controlled accomplices with unique skill sets like computer hacking and driving. If an accomplice survives a successful heist, they take a cut from the cash reward and may be available for later missions with improvements to their unique skills. Some heists afford multiple strategies; in a holdup mission, players may either stealthily subdue civilians with an incapacitating agent or conspicuously storm the venue with guns drawn.

Each character has a set of eight skills that represent their ability in specific areas such as shooting and driving. Though skills improve through play, each character has a skill with expertise by default (e.g. Tom's flying skill). The eighth "special" skill determines the effectiveness in performing an ability that is unique to each respective character. Conor enters bullet time in combat, Cassius slows down time while driving, and Tom deals twice as much damage to enemies while taking half as much in combat. A meter on each character's HUD depletes when an ability is being used and regenerates when players perform skilful actions (for example, drifting in vehicles as Cassius or performing headshots as Conor).

While free-roaming the game world, players may engage in context-specific activities such as scuba diving and BASE jumping. Each character has a cell phone for contacting friends and starting activities, as well as accessing an in-game Internet when on Internet cafe. The Internet lets players trade in stocks via a stock market. Players may purchase properties such as garages and businesses, upgrade the weapons and vehicles in each character's arsenal. Players may also visit places such as cinemas and strip clubs. Players can also customise their appearance by purchasing outfits, haircuts and tattoos.

Plot
In June 1989, Conor Brailsford, Tom Anderson and Stanley Bellingham partake in a failed robbery in Threadneedle Street, resulting in the first being presumed dead. Seven years later, Conor lives with his family in London under the alias Conor Smith, having made a secret agreement with the MI5 agent Henry Russell to stay hidden. Across town, gangster Cassius Stone is working for a corrupt car salesman and meets Conor while attempting to fraudulently repossess his son's car. The two later become friends. When Conor finds his wife, Amayah, sleeping with her tennis coach, he and Cassius chase the coach to a mansion, which Conor destroys in anger. The owner of the mansion, drug lord Aloysius Gordon, demands compensation. Conor returns to a life of crime to obtain the money, enlisting Cassius as an accomplice. With the help of Conor's old friend Christopher Sweeney, a disabled hacker, they rob a jewellery store to pay off the debt. Meanwhile, Tom, who lives in squalor on the outskirts of London, hears of the heist and realises it was Conor's work; Tom had believed Conor was killed in the Threadneedle Street heist. Tom finds Conor and reunites with him, forcing Michael to reluctantly accept him back into his life.

As time goes on, the lives of the protagonists spiral out of control. Conor's criminal behaviour prompts his family to leave him. When he later becomes a film producer, he comes into conflict with Dick Hopkins, a billionaire venture capitalist and corporate raider, who attempts to shut down Conor's studio. Conor thwarts his efforts and inadvertently kills his assistant, causing Hopkins to vow revenge. Meanwhile, Cassius must rescue his friend Theodore Murray from his former friend and rival gangster Elliot "Stereo" Smith, who attempts to kill them to prove himself to his new gang. Concurrently, Tom attempts to consolidate his control over various black markets in the county, waging war against The Kingsmen outlaw motorcycle club, African American street gangs, rival meth dealers, private security firm Westcountry, and triad kingpin Gong Qigang.

Having broken his agreement with Russell by committing heists again, Conor is coerced by Russell and his superior, Bobby Atkinson, to perform a series of operations alongside Cassius and Tom to undermine the Federal Bureau of Security (FBS). Under Bobby's direction and with Sweeney's help, they attack a convoy carrying funds for the FBS and steal an experimental chemical weapon from an FBS lab. As Bobby comes under increasing scrutiny, he forces Conor and Cassius to erase evidence against him from the MI5 servers. Conor takes the opportunity to wipe the data on his activities, destroying Bobby's leverage over him.

After reconciling with his family, Conor starts planning his final heist with Tom, Cassius, and Sweeney: raiding the Bastion Bank's gold bullion reserve. However, Tom discovers that Bellingham was not imprisoned as he was led to believe, but killed during the Threadneedle Street heist and buried in the grave marked for Conor. Deducing that he was supposed to be killed in Bellingham's place, Tom feels betrayed, causing friction within the group and threatening to undermine their plans. Meanwhile, Bobby betrays Conor and Russell, and they become caught in a Mexican standoff between the MI5, the FBS, and Westcountry. Tom aids Conor and Bobby, feeling only he has the right to kill Conor, agreeing to perform the Bastion Bank heist with the latter and part ways afterward.

The heist is successful, but Cassius is afterwards approached by Atkinson and Bobby, who contend that Tom is a liability, and Hopkins, who seeks revenge on Conor. Cassius has three choices: kill Tom, kill Conor, or attempt to save both in a suicide mission. Should Cassius choose to kill either Conor or Tom, he ceases contact with the man he spares and returns to his old life. Otherwise, Conor and Tom reconcile and the trio, aided by Theodore and Sweeney, withstands an onslaught from the FBS and Westcountry before going on to kill Gong, Stereo, Atkinson, and Hopkins. The three protagonists cease working together but remain friends.