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YOU CAN'T SEE ME!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: July 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Being a fan of all things graffiti, and the Jet Set Radio game series, Getting Up was an obvious purchase for me. It seemed to capture the tension of putting up your pieces in public places, with the vandal squad on the lookout. Plus, a game in development as long as this had to live up to at least half its expectations, right? Yes and no. After completing Getting Up recently, I'm absolutely glad that I bought the game, and fell in love with the story and most of the gameplay, but there are too many things that keep it from being a 5 star game. And it pains me to say that about Marc Ecko's brainchild, as he put a lot of effort into this game, but I'm not going to sugarcoat things here. If you've ever had any interest in graffiti, or do some yourself, Getting Up is bound to keep your interest for a while. It's a huge nod of respect to the artists who've done so much for the sake of their names, and art. Of course, comparisons to the Jet Set Radio series is inevitable, but keep in mind that they're both completely different games. Jet Set Radio focused on quick tags, skating around and doing cool stunts in midair while avoiding the cops and other special forces. Getting Up is about kicking some ass while getting your name up for the world to see. It's much more realistic too. But things like graffiti placement and combat, pale to their real-life iterations.

You assume the role of Trane, an aspiring graff artist who lives in New Radius- basically New York, but with TONS of cops around just to stop graffiti writers. As Trane, you run around the city, throwing up your designs, meeting graff legends while getting advice from them, take on rival gangs, expand your black book's variety, and pull death-defying stunts that will have you going, "oh hell yeah!" out loud while playing. And that's basically the whole game. There are a few levels per stage, most have you tagging big spots that are bound to get attention, and some levels have you doing what the legends of the old days had to go through in order to become what they are now. An example being riding a moving subway car, avoiding all the obstacles like stop lights and construction barricades while tagging the sides of the car. It's no easy task in this game, and I can't even imagine how it must've been to pull off in real life. Things like that really give you respect for the legends. Other levels will have you hanging from a bungee cord, scaling buildings and bridge towers in order to paint massive murals or messages. Later on, you'll have to deal with the CCK- New Radius' expert vandal squad who actually use guns to take down artists. Yeah, it's not going to be a walk in the park. While running around the city, you'll bump into rival gangs that just plain hate you, knocking you senseless and even painting over your work, and you. Trane's a tough cat though, and proves his worth in more ways than one. What's the best way to get back at some punk who dissed you? Go back to his hideout and paint things like his girlfriend looking disappointed, pinching her fingers while a ruler that reads "2 inches" behind her is prominent, and a word bubble next to her says "It's true". That one had me on the floor. And that's where a lot of the fun in the game is- the variety of tags. It almost makes up for a gameplay element that's sorely missing, and leads to one of the major cons.

The most important part of the gameplay is getting tags up. It's as simple as it was in the Jet Set Radio games, but also different. You don't follow arrow commands, but instead paint within a virtual stencil to complete the piece. But it's not all paint- later on, you'll be able to use stencils and posters to create huge messages. You're given a few bonuses to earn rep points (a way of keeping track of how well you're doing, and also unlocks extra bonuses), like completing the tag within a time limit, making it big, not getting any drips, and if it's in a Heaven Spot (a place where if you fall trying to reach it, you're going to end up right in Heaven). Using a great Sense feature, Trane can see which spots need to be hit, as well as which ones are needed to complete the missions, and which ones are just extra. Some people don't pay attention to that, and end up being stuck in some levels for a while, thinking they have to do EVERY tag. But getting tags up isn't always going to be easy- the rival gangs and CCK are about, and will ruin your fun most of the time. Well, at least the CCK will. Regular people you fight eventually go down after some time, but the CCK? Damn near indestructible. Listen, I can admit when I suck at a game or whatever, but the CCK really make the game seem unfair and not fun when you encounter them. One level in particular comes out of nowhere with them, and ruins the flow of the game. For every one hit you get in on a CCK guard, they get in at least 8, even while you're on the ground trying to recover. Trane has some smooth fighting moves at his arsenal, but most of them will be blocked by the CCK, causing you to stagger and be open for a few shots. Basically, sneak past them at every possible time. Otherwise, it'll be a waste of time, and you'll just end up frustrated like me. The combat system is pretty flawed here- targeting opponents isn't as smooth as it could be, and you can take out most people with the same basic combos or weapons. Grabbing people to throw them off buildings? Why do that when it takes so long, when you could just uppercut them off instead? Bingo. My other big complaint deals with the graffiti placement. Graffiti is something that people put ANYWHERE, not just select spaces. So why does Trane say things like, "Not here!" when I want to mark my name on a building? What do you mean "not here!"? Trane, a cool writer, not wanting to put his name somewhere? For shame. Also, there's no graffiti edit mode or any way of uploading pictures you want to use. But again, the tags have enough variety to make most people happy. Also, there are plenty of unlockables to keep you coming back for more.

Visually, the game looks ok. Some places had me really impressed, while others (especially the first in-game graphics scene with Trane's grandma) looked like early Dreamcast graphics. There's some occasional slowdown, but everything usually runs at a steady 30 frames per second. The FMVS look god damn great too. The soundtrack is a mixed bag- there are some annoying tunes, while others really make the mood and make you get into the action more. Serj Tankian's remix of a B.I.G. song was awesome, as was the track playing during the first part of the final battle. Who knew that reggae could make for good boss music? The voice acting is 50/50 too- Trane's voice actor nails some lines, while at other times, sounds an awful lot like he's just reading things from a script instead of working on delivery. Most of the voices match the characters though, including some rather surprising celebrity guests, who don't play their usual gender in most cases.

I strongly recommend playing Getting Up if you care about graffiti at all, or just plain are a fan of Ecko. Many levels and fights will frustrate you out of how unfair they are, but when something cool happens, you'll be glad you picked the game up. To put it simpler- every time the game starts to suck, something really cool happens and makes you almost forget about it. Marc Ecko said that this is just the first chapter in the Getting Up series, and with how great the story and ending were here, I look forward from seeing more from Trane, or whoever has a story to tell next.

A New Genre in Games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I had been waiting forever for this game. Obviously i had to get the special limited editiion. I liked all the collectible items such as the Development black book, the silver sharpie and the music cd. 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.

FRESH!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Its cool to see a game that does something different. Ive been playing for three days and can't put it down. The soundtrack is off the hook and the tagging is fresh. Check it out for your self.

Great game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Marc Ecko's Getting Up is a great game. It's basically about expression freedom. The graphics for the XBox version are really cool (better than the PS2 version) and playability is great too. What I personally like the most about the game is it's soundtrack, it features artists like Fort Minor in it and makes you catch the hiphop style of the game. YOU MUST GET IT!

Art is Graffiti

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

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, but also fight the CCK on his way to becoming a graffiti Legend. Trane, the main character, is exceptionally voiced by the rapper Talib Kweli. 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, P.Diddy, the Notorious B.I.G., all the way to System of a Down. There is no going wrong with this game.

Strait outta my cousin's house!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Gosh, i remember when i first played this game at my cousins house a few years back and when i saw this cover, i just about died! my cousin asked me what was wrong and i said "not a thing. what u should ask me is, 'what is awesome?'". marc ecko is my role model. a tagger as a kid, like me, and as that kid, having a dream of showing the beauty of graffiti art. later in life, he had his own clothing company company "Ecko". but anyway, i loved this game. i had so much fun tagging on freeways, i just couldnt stop. overall, its an awesome game and i seariously recommend it to anyone who loves art.

mark eckos getting up thumbs up

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: March 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

great game, good story, worth the money mos def.

Great game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is absolute amazing. One of the best games in my collection. It shows the culture of graffiti artists, sometihng that you can't experience first hand. The graphics are amazing with very realistic features. The music itself makes the gaming experience a whole lot better with artists such as P. Diddy, Fort Minor, Talib Kweli and many more. A must have game.

It's all about Getting Up!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Some of the strong points about this game have to do with sound. I really enjoyed the soundtrack and the talent of the many voice actors. I found the plot interesting and innovative. Trane's character is just so complex. Also, I would give the graphics an A+ rating and props to Marc Ecko for being so multi-talented. The gameplay will definitely keep one entertained for hours on end.

This game is tight!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you are looking for a challenge check this game out. This game is challenging but fun at the same time. The music is great and the graphics are off the hook. Once you get started with this game you get hooked and can't put it down. If you are into wall art work you should check this game out it has some great techniques in it. The story line is also one of the things that make this game tight; you have to make use some amazing moves to get to some of the areas you need to tag on. Check this game out as soon as you can!!!

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