Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure - Australian Preview (Preview)

Chris Stead, GamePro Australia

13/09/2005 12:54:12

What came first, the aerosol can or the destructive juvenile? Perhaps it's simply a case of parallel evolution and regardless of whether you see the creative combination of dejected youth and pressure-propelled paint as an urban plague or metropolitan makeover, there is no doubting the sheer talent that's out wandering our streets. Indeed, graffiti is often much more than simply vandalism and is instead a statement of personality and a palette for political condemnation and it should make for one unique, but thoroughly enjoyable gaming experience.

It certainly has an intriguing set-up. The action takes place on a future Earth in the mythical city of New Radius, where a tyrannical government as suppressed all avenues of creative expression. When it becomes apparent that New Radius has fallen under the reign of a fascistic Major, young rapscallion Trane (that's you gamers) takes it upon himself to break the shackles of oppression and return his neighbourhood to the people. Naturally, the best way to go about this is to tag the most exposed and hard-to-reach areas of New Radius as giant advertisements to the bogus nature of the wretched Major. It's like an extreme version of engraving 'The Teacher Smells' on your school desk.

But it's the way this interesting story translates into gameplay that has us most intrigued. When you begin the game you are simply a Toy (terminology for a graffiti noob) and you must build your reputation and ability by accessing the most obscure and well guarded regions of New Radius and then applying a new coat of cool. Thus, Trane possess plenty of acrobatic abilities (to scale buildings and fences) and fighting capabilities (to defend himself against the Civil Conduct Keepers and rival crews), not to mention plenty of stealth skills. Indeed, gamers will have to readjust a few crony faces before they readjust some skyscraper logos.

Yep, Mario Paint for the cool kids this ain't. And Getting Up goes into impressive detail in simulating the real-life mechanics of the dedicated graf artists. Gamers will have to learn how to use various graffiti tools (including Aerosol, Rollers, Markers, Wheat Paste, Stickers and Stencils) as well as the differing methods of application (such as stencils, stickers, posters and throw-ups). Applying the art will not be a simply button tap either, and will require plenty of skill with the analogue stick in terms of both direction and speed. While it is disappointing that New Radius isn't an open city (ala GTA), the 20 levels will be relatively free-roaming and you will have to use your Graffiti Intuition System to locate the tagging hot spots. Plus, there will be a large range of game types (incl. graffiti-under-pressure, navigational challenges and mini-games) to keep things lively.

Now all this sounds pretty damn sick, but many of you may be wondering who the hell Marc Ecko actually is? A legendary graffiti artist turned youth-orientated fashion designer, his vision of the Getting Up game has been slowly coming together for some seven years. His reputation throughout the world certainly gives plenty of credibility to the game and his involvement enticed some 65 celebrated Grafitti writers to lend their tags and name to the game. This includes six legends (see Boxout) that teach Trane important facets of the graffiti culture as he progresses through the game. It also includes legendary Hip-Hop artist Talib Kweli as the voice of Trane.

Make no mistake gamers, this is no cheap marketing push at the impressionable MTV generation but a serious exploration into the world of the graffiti artist. It's shaping up to be as educational as it is enjoyable and could very well be the gaming experience of this spring. So get inspired, deface your local shopping mall and/or bus stop and who knows, you could be the next Marc Ecko Ecko Ecko Ecko Ecko...