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Marc Ecko`s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure Review for Xbox |
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| Thursday, April 06, 2006 |
| | Title:
Marc Ecko`s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
Action
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Publisher:
Atari
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Developer:
The Collective
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Release:
9/13/2005
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
M
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Every now and then, a game comes along which ends up creating a new subgenre in gaming; the Tony Hawk and Grand Theft Auto franchises are a good example of this phenomenon. Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure may end up creating a tagging subgenre in gaming one day, but there are a few things which need to be fixed first.
Tagging?
Let's get one thing straight: this isn't Jet Grind Radio. While Jet Grind may have been the first highly successful game to feature graffiti, it didn't capture the true essence of tagging like Contents Under Pressure does. For real life taggers, spray painting isn't only a hobby—it's a way of life. Since the early pioneers of tagging in the 1980's, the art has grown by leaps and bounds, incorporating many aspects of other cultures (such as hip-hop music) into it. Because of the reliance the game places on the tagging culture, it may help gamers if they were to rent films like "Beat Street" before playing. It's not totally necessary, however, as the designers did a great job slowly initiating the player into the world of tagging.
Gameplay
In Contents Under Pressure, you play the role of Trane, a young man with dreams of becoming a tagging legend. The game's designers decided to opt for the Tarantino-style opening (where it shows the end first and you backtrack throughout the game trying to figure out how exactly the character found himself in that situation), so you'll find yourself quickly drawn in to the story, wanting to see what kind of crazy events can lead to a graffiti artist hanging off of a flying ship.
The game takes place in a city known as New Radius. From the name alone, it's fairly easy to deduce the name is a play on New York. The designers knew that having the game take place in a normal city wouldn't be very fun for most players, so they decided to spice things up by making New Radius a totalitarian state of sorts. Police officers (known as the CCK) are fascists, and there are rival gangs galore; think of a mixture of a Terry Gilliam film and a George Saunders story.
Trane also has to watch out for rival artists and gangs. In many of the missions, you'll find yourself confronting (at one point or another) other writers or the CCK—and they don't exactly like Trane. When this happens, there are two options usually available to deal with them: stealth kills, and all-out fighting.
For a game which focuses on graffiti and platforming, the fighting aspect is done fairly well. At first, you may find yourself bored with the limited repertoire of moves and basic enemy AI. After time, though, you learn new styles and the enemies get stronger. It's also scaled incredibly well; once you start finding fighting tedious, it picks up again. However, the game does suffer from button-mashitis, wherein it's possible to win many fights simply by hitting buttons extremely fast. It can take away from the game at times, but in a game where fighting isn't a primary focus, it's done well overall.
As mentioned, the game isn't about fighting—it's about the art of tagging. How it works in the game is simple. In each mission, you'll have a few objective spots you need to paint. When you find these, your design will be highlighted on the wall. You then go up to it, and begin painting (with a variety of objects ranging from the traditional spraypaint can to markers). Trane will need to move his arm every now and then to avoid drips (and look around to watch out for the CCK and gangbangers), but it's fairly simple to pick up.
One of my few complaints about the game is that at times it may be too simple to tag. In the future, it would be awesome to have a mode (or difficulty) requiring you to do more than just move the stick around a few times. With the next generation of consoles coming out, it may be possible to even make it so you have to paint the designs yourself using the analog sticks or a special controller. It would also be nice to see the ability to mark any wall or surface, rather than just the decided ones for the missions, or even create your own designs.
Graphics
The graffiti looks great. The city looks great. The characters look great. For a PS2/Xbox generation game, the graphics are done very well, but that's expected this late in the life of that generation of consoles.
One nice move by the graphics team was letting real graffiti artists design the marks in the game. Unlike some of the more ludicrous designs in Jet Grind Radio, in Contents Under Pressure you can tell that these designs all portray the essence of the artist, rather than just "look cool." Anyone who denies graffiti tagging can be an art form need only to look at some of the designs which will show up in Trane's black book (the book where a tagger keeps designs), and they may change their mind.
While the graphics for the game itself are good, they're not the end-all of PS2 and Xbox games. However, the textures of the objects and buildings in the gritty city are done very well compared to other PS2 and Xbox games, and look very realistic. While the city is called New Radius, some of the designs give even more credence to my belief that Ecko had New York in mind when creating the game's world.
Sound
I can't even remember the last time I played a game where the sound was the best aspect—and the game wasn't garbage. This is why I was so surprised to find out how well done the audio is in Contents Under Pressure.
The voice acting in Contents Under Pressure is (for the most part) incredible. How incredible? For one thing, Talib Kweli is the voice of Trane. The game also features the voices of Adam West, Charlie Murhpy, Puff Daddy (I refuse to call him Diddy) and MC Serch (as Trane's rival). Tagging legends also pop up throughout the game to offer tips and advice. While that is the one weakpoint (a few of the legends sound like they're reading a script in the middle of class), it's very minor and the impact of having the legends present far outweighs the sub par voice acting of a very small portion.
The voice acting isn't the only good thing about the game's audio. Contents Under Pressure's soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks in recent video games. Like a film, much of the music was made with the game in mind, adding to the story and driving home some of the cutscenes, and the music not made specifically for the game fits well within the tagging culture. The game features music by hip-hop artists such as Talib Kweli, Rakim, Eric B., Mobb Depp, RZA and Rhymefest. There are also songs produced by RJD2 and Sean "I won't call him Diddy" Combs. In short, the soundtrack fits perfectly with the tagging culture and the theme of the game, and many hip-hop fans will fall in love with it.
Overall
Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure is a great game in a good package. The idea of the game is great, and the way it teaches people about the tagging culture is incredible. However, there are a few minor issues that need to be worked out in order to make the game a true gem. A few bad camera angles, an ability to do more than paint in a few designated spots in each level, and a simplistic and repetitive painting mode detract from what otherwise could be a great game.
The game itself is also relatively short (it will take most people around 15 hours to beat) and has only average replay value, making it a game which some may not want to purchase, and instead rent. The addition of a free roaming mode (like the GTA games) would have done wonders for replayability.
However, for anyone who is interested in the tagging culture—or anyone who wants an immersive way to learn about it—this game is a must buy. I'd also encourage anyone who buys it to look for the limited edition. It's only $10 extra, and it comes with a great documentary on tagging as well as an incredible soundtrack.
| The Core Score |
Overall
8 |
| Fun |
|
9 |
| Gameplay |
|
7 |
| Graphics |
|
8 |
| Audio |
|
9 |
| Replay |
|
7 |
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