Customer Reviews

Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This game has alot going for it. Unique atmosphere, style, and gameplay, a hip urban mentality that pretty much exceeds any other dumbed down version to come before it, and some great production values. The conversion to pc however is facing strong control issues when it comes to using a mouse and keyboard, which is much better for writing graffiti, but much worse for the horrible camera bugs that will occur frequently throughout the game.

No doubt about it, "Getting Up" is not only the best graffiti game ever made, it is also one of the best games ever made overall as well. The plot is amazing, and the gameplay is awesome. I had this game for the xbox when it first came out, and the most disappointing thing Microsoft ever did, was NOT make this available for the xbox 360. Still, very much worth it, on any platform you can get it on.

First up let me say that I had this game for a long while (probably about three years) but after first playing it I left it alone because on my very first PC of my own (a Pentium 3 Dell w an upgraded PCI graphics card) the load times were slow, the controls were frustrating, and the camera angles would sometimes get stuck or be confusing.

When I upgraded to my last PC setup:
an Intel Pentium D 3.0Ghz 4Gig Ram,
Nvidia 7600 256MB Video ram
Windows XP, Direct X 9.0C

The load times dramatically improved (almost no load time at all), the controls were still frustrating, and the camera angles were still bad but less noticeable, HOWEVER, with a little patience I did come to appreciate this game for the WORK of ART that it is.

If you are someone who grew loving New York (East Coast) Hip Hop with groups like Mobb Deep The Infamous (songs featured in the game ) or like the music of people like RJD2 Since We Last Spoke, or Cypress Hill, etc (all featured), then that is one reason alone to purchase this game.

Another reason I believe is this game does do a good job of capturing the whole graffiti culture of New York (and other cities) during the 1980s (even though the game is set in current times), and it features cameos by some well known graph and guerilla artists, Sheppard Fairey OBEY: Supply & Demand - The Art of Shepard Fairey - 20th Anniversary Edition from the now famous Barack Obama change poster, among them.

This game also has an engaging if not fully complete story line, and you do actually care about what happens to the character(s)which says alot about a game I thought only involved tagging buildings. If you grew up in a urban area, especially in the New York area, you probably can relate to a kid like Trane (the main character), who is also well voiced by none other than Talib Kweli Quality,Black Star.

Overall, this game did give me a new respect for graffiti art, and artists, without condoning all aspects of it. I was never into it myself, but grew up knowing guys (or knowing of them) who had "tag" names, and were probably caught up in alot of the negative sides of the culture also shown in the game (fights, in trouble with the law, etc). Is it fair for some people to say this game glorifies vandalism? Maybe, but it is just a work of fiction like the Grand Theft Auto series, and anyone who thinks they can try the things done in the game without serious risk to their own life and limb needs a head check...

Also just to note, the game still runs fine (no load times, or any problems) on my newest PC setup I just completed:

Intel Core 2 Quad w 4 gigs of ram,
Nvidia 9600 card (768MB ram),
running Windows XP,
running Direct X 9.0C.

Yes, the graphics are a little dated compared to newer games (this was released 2005-06), but its still a fun a game to play. A more recent game that I also recommended, if you can ignore all the SecureRom complaints (haven't had any problems) on the PC, or definitely for PS3/XBOx is Mirror's Edge.....have fun!

Getting Up: Contents under pressure IS a fun game, but you cannot redefine the keyboard controls (without editing a game file). This alone is absolutely ridiculous in a newer game, but the real tragedy is the camera bug. The camera OFTEN makes this game difficult to play. Some of the angles that you are stuck with are maddening. I lost many lives to not being able to see where I was going/jumping or the person I was fighting. The graffiti is very well done and the action is cool. It is repetitive but the game is not that long. The storyline moves along well and the graffiti is easy to apply. You NEED a mouse with a 3rd button to play this game and that should be listed as a system requirement. The voice work is well done and feels real. Overall, I liked the game and I would have liked it more if the camera angles were better and redefining the controls was possible.

The story isnt what you expect when it revovles around graffiti. You usually think of vandalism, and drugs. This games shows graffiti as a means of protest. The game has many other pluses. It includes a great soundtrack, voices from many famous actors and hip hop artists, and some good looking graffiti.

I had been waiting forever for this game. The game was really awesome, i liked the way you can switch the outlines and graff you do, and how you can change the colors of the graff you decide to put up in the in-game black book. Another cool part is that a lot of famous grafiti artists and rap artists that helped out in this game. Overall this game really reminded me of myself and made me want to go out and paint! It is also almost like an urban spider man with all the acrobatic moves and fighting you can do

For those who are just getting into the world of graffiti, this is the game for you. Marc Ecko's Getting Up is an excellent mix of the Grand Theft Auto series with the legendary Style Wars movie. Not only does the player get to tag all over the city of New Radius, but also fight the Civil Conduct Keepers (CCK) on his way to becoming a graffiti Legend. Trane, the main character, is exceptionally voiced by the rapper Talib Kweli. More voice talent is provided by Charlie Murphy, as 'White Mike', and Brittany Murphy, as the news reporter. This is not a run-of-the-mill generic graffiti game, mind you. With talented figures such as T-KID, Futura2000, COPE2, CES, and OBEY supplying their skills, among many others, this game knows what graffiti is all about. If you're worried about tagging or fighting to wack music, have no fear: the game is loaded with an excellent soundtrack. From Mobb Deep, Rakim, P.Diddy, the Notorious B.I.G., all the way to System of a Down. There is no going wrong with this game.

Fair warning, I have been "involved" in street art since the mid nineties, so perhaps my perspective is not wholly objective.

That said, this game is fun. Fun without krylon on your jeans. It harkens back to a time (70s/early 80s) when kids in NYC could burn cars... despite the wash and such.

The story takes place in a near-future NYC-like city, "New Radius". The main character, Trane, is a multi-ethnic kid (voiced by Talib Kweli) who spends much of his time tagging. The whole game is "flashback" until it catches up with the intro.

The gameplay itself is a combination of stealth, street fighting, and the art... sometimes too much fighting. There are many "real" aspects to the art itself: the black book, style evolution (wild style tags, top to bottom burners, stickers, stencils, wheat paste), although there are some exceptions (it is a game). Obviously there is little to the technique (cover everything), as it is mostly automatic (and you don't have to worry about caps). To make that realistic would make the game very difficult. You get points for location, size, speed, and lack of drips.

The game features cameos from Shepard Fairey, Futura 2000, Seen, etc. There are other artists I was suprised not to see in the game (WK Interact, Stash, Zephyr...). No matter, it is cool to see real artists as video game characters. There are also a slew of actors doing voice overs: Giovanni Ribisi, Brittany Murhpy, Adam West (yeah!)... and so on.

As an aside, I noticed some graphical/camera glitches when I first started playing. After a few levels, my hands were getting cramps from the fighting moves (keyboard gymnastics) and I read that it was easier with a wired Xbox 360 controller (these are USB and work in Windows XP). It is and the graphical problems went away.

On a few levels the fighting is pretty annoying, as if you get caught it takes too long to defeat four of the CCPK guys and another set respawns... it makes a few sections REALLY difficult (IMHO).

Even though it has a "warning this is a game" disclaimer, I have a small beef to pick with the designers. Kids are kids and some idiots will probably be inspired to take up this hobby in the real world. You really should have given Trane a ventilator mask. Fumes are bad, bad, bad.

This is an enjoyable game and I don't really play many games these days. It is the best graf game since JSRF. Oh yeah, the sound track could have been beefed up a little, but it is pretty good. I'd like to see another that is maybe a bit more open ended.

This game is awesome. I can not tell you the amount of enjoyment I get from playing this game. It has all the elements that a grafitti writer bombing in the city would want. The tagging, scenes, challenges, strategy, fighting, etc are top notch!

I read some of the reviews on the gaming websites like IGN and Gamespot and the reviews were relatively good. It was good enough to make me go out and buy the game for my PC and it is amazing. The game play is really true to life, the plot is extremely dense with cool subcultural twists and turns that make you think on a Orwellian 1982 type level, the fighting portion is really cool too- I love how you can throw rent-a-cops off a bridge- and the graffiti aspect is one-of-a-kind. I totally recommend this game to everybody thinking of getting it.