As always, my background:
1) Played this game when I was a kid
2) Loved it a lot
3) Loved the graffiti culture back in the day
4) Indifferent about it now
Now.... This game is an absolutely work of art. For me, this is the definition of a video game for ps2. It looks and sounds incredible, has a very unique theme, every aspect of it was made with love, ball brave game design and overall ideas.
So let's digest it a little:
1) Gameplay - It's a 3rd person action-adventure with graffiti elements. It mainly has 4 aspects: fights, exploration and graffiti
Fight system is somewhat hit or miss. It works well, the animation are great, the overall system is good, but the "bullet sponge" enemies are the problem. God damn, some regular enemis are just too fucking fat. That makes you wanna use stealth, and yes, this game has stealth. But it is kinda wonky. The only proper way to deal with them, imo, is to avoid them and run away. And honestly I think that what the intended way to deal with them. Kinda like OG mirror's edge.
Exploration is one of the best aspects. 3rd platforming kinda sux, but at least there is not a lot of it and it's not that important. But exploring the world, oh my. I will speak about the world-building later, but holy shit just being in this world is amazing. And no, I wouldn't like an open world probably. Every level is so unique and give you the different and complete view of one of the districts of the town: big ass bridges, HQ of the special police, zeppelins, metro stations, etc... Man, I miss these games where the levels were just unique. Also by exploring the level you can find: upgrades, ipod songs, normal secrets and additional graffiti spots.
Now, the biggest thing - Graffiti. Man oh man. Basically on every level there are marked spots where you can tag your graffiti. Once you get close to it, you can choose the graffiti that ya wanna paint, the size and start painting. It's pretty much just a mini-game, where you control your hand with a can and try to fill in the image. But you gotta do it fast, without drips(keeping the can on the same place for too long), and also shake the can once in a while. Also enemies can interrupt you, so you gotta deal with them first or be extra strategic. And that's pretty much it. Sounds kinda repetitive, and it is. But I never got tired of doing them. I did all the extra once as well, cuz man, it's just cool to do them. You pick your graffiti, and then all the sounds of releasing the paint, shaking the can, and just overall vibe, DAMN. Also, after some levels you unlock new graffities and even new styles, so it never gets old for me. There is also additional small tags that you can place anywhere, but they are not that fun.
Sooo, the gameplay is an okay action-adventure with a unique element of graffiti, what about the rest of the game?
2) OST & sound design - OST, and included songs are hip-hop from the early 2000 and damn it fits this game perfectly. The sound design is also top, especially all the painting related things
3) Graphics - DAMN. Definition of ps2 graphics. Peak. So much love here, every tag, every texture, every graffiti. I absolutely adore this game. You look at any screenshot and you feel "yup, that's ps2"
4) Story and world-building - again, DAMN. It takes place in a authoritarian city, where people are being oppressed. And graffiti is one of the way to "fight the system". But what first starts as a gang battling for respect, grows into a much larger story about conspiracy, mayor, elections, freedom of speech and so on. It's not super deep, but I love how they decided to use graffiti sub culture to tell this story.
The game is not perfect, it's pretty junky in a lot of aspects. But this game is coming from love, and I can't get anything except love to this game. One of my favorite games of all time.
1) Played this game when I was a kid
2) Loved it a lot
3) Loved the graffiti culture back in the day
4) Indifferent about it now
Now.... This game is an absolutely work of art. For me, this is the definition of a video game for ps2. It looks and sounds incredible, has a very unique theme, every aspect of it was made with love, ball brave game design and overall ideas.
So let's digest it a little:
1) Gameplay - It's a 3rd person action-adventure with graffiti elements. It mainly has 4 aspects: fights, exploration and graffiti
Fight system is somewhat hit or miss. It works well, the animation are great, the overall system is good, but the "bullet sponge" enemies are the problem. God damn, some regular enemis are just too fucking fat. That makes you wanna use stealth, and yes, this game has stealth. But it is kinda wonky. The only proper way to deal with them, imo, is to avoid them and run away. And honestly I think that what the intended way to deal with them. Kinda like OG mirror's edge.
Exploration is one of the best aspects. 3rd platforming kinda sux, but at least there is not a lot of it and it's not that important. But exploring the world, oh my. I will speak about the world-building later, but holy shit just being in this world is amazing. And no, I wouldn't like an open world probably. Every level is so unique and give you the different and complete view of one of the districts of the town: big ass bridges, HQ of the special police, zeppelins, metro stations, etc... Man, I miss these games where the levels were just unique. Also by exploring the level you can find: upgrades, ipod songs, normal secrets and additional graffiti spots.
Now, the biggest thing - Graffiti. Man oh man. Basically on every level there are marked spots where you can tag your graffiti. Once you get close to it, you can choose the graffiti that ya wanna paint, the size and start painting. It's pretty much just a mini-game, where you control your hand with a can and try to fill in the image. But you gotta do it fast, without drips(keeping the can on the same place for too long), and also shake the can once in a while. Also enemies can interrupt you, so you gotta deal with them first or be extra strategic. And that's pretty much it. Sounds kinda repetitive, and it is. But I never got tired of doing them. I did all the extra once as well, cuz man, it's just cool to do them. You pick your graffiti, and then all the sounds of releasing the paint, shaking the can, and just overall vibe, DAMN. Also, after some levels you unlock new graffities and even new styles, so it never gets old for me. There is also additional small tags that you can place anywhere, but they are not that fun.
Sooo, the gameplay is an okay action-adventure with a unique element of graffiti, what about the rest of the game?
2) OST & sound design - OST, and included songs are hip-hop from the early 2000 and damn it fits this game perfectly. The sound design is also top, especially all the painting related things
3) Graphics - DAMN. Definition of ps2 graphics. Peak. So much love here, every tag, every texture, every graffiti. I absolutely adore this game. You look at any screenshot and you feel "yup, that's ps2"
4) Story and world-building - again, DAMN. It takes place in a authoritarian city, where people are being oppressed. And graffiti is one of the way to "fight the system". But what first starts as a gang battling for respect, grows into a much larger story about conspiracy, mayor, elections, freedom of speech and so on. It's not super deep, but I love how they decided to use graffiti sub culture to tell this story.
The game is not perfect, it's pretty junky in a lot of aspects. But this game is coming from love, and I can't get anything except love to this game. One of my favorite games of all time.