Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
February 21,2006 -

Graffiti culture has never been in the limelight. Sure, you see graffiti everywhere you go, especially if you live somewhere like New York City. However, the chance of actually seeing a graffiti artist “tagging” a wall is not likely. Famous clothing designer Marc Ecko created Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, with more than just an exceptionally long name in mind. Getting Up is all about peeking into a dark world that many of us will never know much about.
 

Getting Up starts with a bang by shoving you face-first into a nifty action sequence that leaves you somewhat confused. Somewhere in the fictional city of “New Radius,” Trane is hanging from some kind of flying ship, and he asks himself, “How did I get myself into this mess?” You live the rest of the game in a flashback to see how Trane got into this predicament. In the early stages, Trane is the loner graffiti artist that is trying to make a name for himself, but somewhere along the way, politics and corrupt cops take over and things get a bit interesting. The story is a bit confusing at first, and it will probably have you wondering how the pieces fit together, but it smoothes out as you delve deeper into New Radius.
 
The game plays just like any other third-person action-adventure title. You will kick, punch, and jump your way through countless levels of action without ever thinking twice. The unique aspect about Getting Up is the graffiti. The art fits into the foray fairly well, and the idea behind it is great. However, the execution is not so great. Aerosol spray-paint tagging is supposed to be an art, but in Getting Up, it feels more like a chore. Sure, spraying a wall and watching a beautiful tag appear is nice, but the controls are so wonky that it sucks all the fun out of it. There are other types of tags available though. Marker, stencil and sticker tags are readily available and are all much simpler to use than the aerosol tags. You can lay each tag on a wall with one simple button press. While this does control easily, it fails to make the tags stand out from one another.
 
The other key elements of Getting Up are the platforming and fighting. One of the things that make this game fairly enjoyable is the ability to climb to great heights to lay a tag. You can climb up bridges, buildings and other inanimate objects to tag in the most obscure places you can imagine. The climbing handles superbly, and is vaguely reminiscent of the Prince of Persia series. If you are not climbing or tagging, you will be fighting. This is where Getting Up struggles the most. The combat is a bit too simple, and the fidgety camera makes it tough to see what is going on. The fights merely consist of knowing when to block, and then counter-punching, which gets repetitious very fast. As you progress through the game you will learn some new moves, but ultimately the only one that evokes excitement is the makeshift spray-paint flame-thrower.
 
Many of the gameplay elements lack that punch necessary to set Getting Up apart from hordes of "the rest." The graphical style on the other hand, is absolutely fantastic. The street-wise attitude of the game is evident from the very first screen you see. Your menus are found on the wall of a subway station, and you progress through the game via subway stops. Bulletin boards in the subway station hold notes to options, unlockables and things of that nature. Lace all this up with hip-hop beats in the background and you have the perfect ambiance for a graffiti-culture game.
 
The graphics during actual gameplay is damn good as well. The characters animate really well, and the scenery is great. The dark alleys and run-down buildings fit the mood perfectly. The graffiti itself is also beautifully done. Famous real-life graffiti artists drew some of the tags, and it boosts the street-cred of the entire production. The artwork is fantastic and well drawn, and the colors are vibrant and rich. The only real downside to the graphics are the generic player models. All the enemies Trane faces look the same, with the exception of boss characters and key players in the plot.
 
Sound is another high point for Getting Up. Every little ambient noise fits perfectly into the grand scheme of the game, whether it’s your marker hitting the wall, your spay can being shaken, or the spray of aerosol. Battle effects sound good as well. Punches land with solid thwacks and kicks land with nice bass-heavy thuds. Of course, the real star of the game is the incredibly well licensed soundtrack. Everything from Jane’s Addiction to Del the Funkee Homosapien will have you bumping your head in rhythm to the action on screen. The music is spliced into the action much like a movie uses music to evoke mood. Mood is also expressed well through the all-star cast of voice actors. Rapper Talib Kweli is the voice of Trane, and he fits the role exceedingly well. Other stars include MC Serch from the group 3rd Bass, Charlie Murphy (Chappelle’s Show) and Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan). All of the actors do a fine job and enhance the game immensely.
 
In the end, Getting Up is a mediocre action-adventure with an excellent sense of style. If you love hip-hop and spray-paint, you should be playing this game, otherwise, it's best left on the shelf.

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