Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents
Under Pressure, you definitely will soon (maybe
even in this very article). The game poses the question: what if graffiti
could change the world? Marc Ecko’s story will
play a large role in this third-person action game, but the most important
part is that the game plays great and is a lot of fun.
Taking place in New Radius,
you play a newbie graffiti artist, known as a toy, named
Trane. New Radius is under the control of a corrupt Mayor and the CCK
(Civil Conduct Keepers). With all the people of New Radius close minded and in
check, graffiti artists enter the scene in hopes of freeing the citizens and
exposing the Mayor.
Not only are the CCK out
to stop you, but there are also rival gangs that will compete with you and
your graffiti. The major goal of the game is to find a sweet spot, tag it, and
escape before anyone catches on. The game will have you seeking some extreme
tag locations, and that’s where the core gameplay
comes in.
While there is some
combat, Getting Up seems to focus on creating great art as well as accessing
seemingly impossible locations using your surroundings. In the demo I played I
had to tag a freeway overpass and various elevated signs, as well as walls
here and there. By climbing poles, shimmying along ledges, and jumping gaps I
was able to make my way to each tag location.
Trane has the
innate ability to sense a good tag spot, so in the game you can make use of
this sixth sense to find good places for your art. As you near a tag location,
an outline of your upcoming paintjob shows up. Before actually spraying you
can change the font and style of your tag. As you progress newer tags will
become available, but for the demo I had about 5 different ones to choose
from.
To begin painting you
hold a button to aim, and then another to actually spray the paint. While
holding these two buttons you fill the outline with paint, much like spraying
a stencil. Holding the can in one spot for too long will deduct points,
because you’ll get collections of paint that drip. Also, if you spray for too
long you’ll have to shake up the can.
When facing opposition
you have the choice to punch, kick, or use a weapon found on the ground. I
even found that when holding R2 I could quickly switch to an inventory item,
one just happened to be a long handled paint roller. In combat you can lock on
to targets to help keep tabs on who you’re fighting as well as dodge roll.
Combat is very fluid and neither hinders nor slows down the flow of the game.
It’s not exceptional, but it also isn’t the entire point of the game.
Getting
Up will feature 20 levels across 11 distinct areas,
as well as graffiti designs from real graffiti artists. Marc
Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents
Under Pressure is set to release on the PS2 in September this year.
