Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | The Collective |
Publisher(s) | Atari |
Director(s) | Richard Hare Marc Ecko |
Producer(s) | Marwan Abderrazzaq Rick Watters |
Designer(s) | John Manley Rudy Pollorena Jr. |
Programmer(s) | Nathan Hunt William Feng Chen Kevin Christensen |
Artist(s) | Brian Horton Ed Schofield |
Writer(s) | Marc Ecko |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Beat 'em up, action-adventure |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure is a video game released in February 2006 for PlayStation 2, Windows, and Xbox. It was developed by The Collective and published by Atari under license by Ecko Unlimited. There were two editions of the game, one being a limited edition and the other being the normal release. The game was later re-published by Devolver Digital in December 2013 on Steam. [1]
The game focuses on an amateur graffiti artist known as Trane who uses graffiti and tagging as a way to protest against the corrupt dystopic city of New Radius, in a future world where freedom of expression is suppressed by a tyrannical, Orwellian city government. The musical score for the game was produced by hip hop artist RJD2.
The story begins in the New Radius Slums, where Trane, against the will of his grandmother, runs away from home to establish himself as a Graffiti artist. His first goal was to set himself as a notorious graffiti artist within the New Radius slums. His exploits reveals the state of New Radius, as a result of Sung's attempts at Gentrification of the city to make it look prosperous. He has oppressed the lower class societies by eliminating the budget of liberal arts for more "prosperous" enterprises in the city, using the C.C.K to keep the slums and the city's seedy reputation suppressed through violence. Trane soon butts heads with the Vandals of New Radius led by Gabe who constantly paints over his works. Realizing he needs to make his crew well known, he successfully tags the city monorail which allows him to show his graffiti around New Radius in the face of both the C.C.K and the VaNR and then defeating Gabe in a Graffiti battle which forces an alliance between both Crews.
Soon enough, however, Trane is incapacitated by Decoy (his brother), who tells him about his father's past and how it all connects to Sung's rise to power. He also tells Trane that the anti-graffiti campaign was a smokescreen to prevent artists such as Decoy from revealing the truth: Sung paid Trane's father to assassinate a rival candidate. Decoy had been tagging posters with the phrase "9/06", the day that Sung ordered the murder of Trane's father to cover up his involvement. Taking his revolution to the next step, Trane begins tagging upper New Radius, the pristine part of the city which Sung upheld as the bastion of progress. Amongst the tagging campaign, however, Gabe betrays Trane under the threat of being killed by Shanna, an assassin in the employ of Mayor Sung who uses recent events to make interesting news. This leads to Lower New Radius being attacked by C.C.K death squads, and Decoy's death at the hands of Shanna, (on orders from Sung). Swearing revenge, he plans a smear campaign against Sung by planting flyers which incriminate Sung for his role in the murder of the other candidate. Sung's second-in-command is accidentally killed during a confrontation with Trane. Trane is framed for his "murder". From this point Trane can unleash the "Tag 'n' Bag" attack when his hype meter fills by pressing the X button. Trane defeats Shanna (although she appears to be killed by the fall, she in fact survived, as a helicopter was waiting for her below). While the fight to overthrow Sung has ended, the fight for freedom is never finished for Trane, as he is still wanted by the law.
Marc Ecko has described the challenges of developing the game in interviews. These range from a missed Black Friday release date by saying "The code just wasn't ready" to communicating his vision to the developers:
The gaming community has a natural tendency to take anything cool and make it cartoonish. That was a big learning curve.
and the refusal of classification of the game in one market:
I think it's demonization of graffiti, demonization of technology, the generational disconnect. I think video games are just a misunderstood medium.
The game received press coverage for inclusion of a high profile ensemble cast of voice performances from hip hop artists and celebrities such as Talib Kweli as the main character, Diddy as "Dip", and others including Adam West, Charlie Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Andy Dick, RZA, George Hamilton, and Brittany Murphy, among others. [2]
A mobile phone version of the game was announced in February 2005. [3] Glu Mobile released it on September 27, 2005. [4] It received 8.4 out of 10 from GameSpot and 8.2 out of 10 from IGN. [5] [6]
On December 12, 2013, Devolver Digital re-released Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure onto Steam after acquiring the rights from the Atari bankruptcy that year. [7]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | 72.26% (Xbox) [8] 71.73% (PS2) [9] 70.36% (PC) [10] |
Metacritic | 71/100 (Xbox) [11] 69/100 (PS2) [12] 69/100 (PC) [13] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Game Informer | 7.25/10 (PS2) [14] |
GamePro | 2.5/5 (PS2) [15] |
Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure received average to positive reviews, scoring 69 out of 100 ("Mixed or average reviews") in Metacritic's average. It received positive press from a few outlets, scoring 87% in GamesMaster magazine, and 8.7 out of 10 on GameSpot. Common criticisms were related to the game's presentation, controls, and camera, although many outlets were impressed by the potential of the concept, and hopes for a more refined sequel. Edge magazine gave that title a 4/10 score and thought it ironic that the game was unpolished, given that it is "based on a culture of reputation, craftsmanship and leaving a mark". Official US PlayStation Magazine was disappointed that the game was "so damn serious" in comparison to Jet Set Radio , a title with a similar premise.
In an interview in Metro New York , Ecko was outspoken in his response to these critics, describing gamers as "the guys who got wedgies in high school" and "divas" with a "predisposition to have a bug up their ass for anything urban", who dismissed the game as riding on the coat-tails of Grand Theft Auto solely for having a black character on the cover. The reviewers, he says, are "slaves to the code" and not "slaves to the branding, products, or experience" as he would prefer, and they unfairly compare the game to better-received titles, such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time . He admits that the game was "not as precise as I would have liked to see", blaming the game's failures on system limitations "that people just can't understand", and that the title was "as polished as you can make it on a no-hard-drive console like the PS2".
The Australian ABC News channel has reported that Getting Up was refused classification in Australia after its initial "MA15+" rating was overturned after appeals by Queensland's Local Government Association, effectively banning its release in the country. The Federal Classification Review Board, responsible for reviewing the game and concluding to refused classification of the game (under a majority 3 to 2 decision), cited that the game promotes, and provides instruction for illegal graffiti and real-life graffiti artists. [17] Ecko stated that he was disappointed with this legal move. Other games heavily focusing around graffiti, such as Jet Set Radio , have not been banned. Months earlier, Need for Speed: Most Wanted , a game centered around and glorifying illegal street racing, received a G rating. The game has been available to Australians on Steam since 2013.
On February 14, 2013, Ecko Unlimited's Twitter announced that a sequel was in development. [18] No further update has been posted since and it seems that the sequel has been cancelled.
On September 6, 2022, in his official Instagram account, Marc Ecko, through a post, announced that a film based on the video game is in the works, but that he has never given up on the dream of a sequel to Getting Up, postponed due to his work commitments. [19]
In addition, he has opened a website, in which it is possible to fill out a questionnaire about a future project inherent in the video game, where it is selectable from the answers, that, of a sequel. [20]
On September 6, 2022, Marc Ecko announced on Twitter that a film adaptation of the game was in production, called Getting Up: Legends of New Radius. [21]
Graffiti is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.
Leonard Hilton McGurr, known as Futura, and formerly known as Futura 2000, is an American contemporary artist and former graffiti artist.
Jet Set Radio is a 2000 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The player controls a member of a youth gang, the GGs, as they use inline skates to traverse Tokyo, spraying graffiti, challenging rival gangs, and evading authorities.
The Collective, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Newport Beach, California. Founded in 1997 by ex-Virgin Entertainment employees, the company merged with Backbone Entertainment in 2005 to create Foundation 9 Entertainment. Under Foundation 9, The Collective was merged with Shiny Entertainment and into Double Helix Games in October 2007.
Michael "Iz the Wiz" Martin was one of the most prominent graffiti writers of the New York graffiti movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Klark Kent is a graffiti artist and music producer.
Yakira, L.L.C. is an American urban fashion company founded by Marc Ecko in 1993. The company makes apparel and accessories under the brands Ecko Unltd. line for men and the Ecko Red line for girls and women. It is headquartered in New York City. The company's products gained public attention in the late 1990s; they were originally associated with hip-hop and skate culture and moved into mainstream urban culture in the early 2000s. It is most often associated with hip-hop. The style is based on graffiti art. Its brand features a rhino as its logo. Rap artist MC Serch of 3rd Bass assisted with marketing in the early years of the company.
Fernando Carlo is an artist from the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, New York.
Julius Cavero, T-KID is a well-known graffiti artist from the Bronx, New York.
Claw Money is a New York-based graffiti writer turned fashion designer. In 2009 Tag au Grand Palais in Paris, France named Claudia Gold a/k/a Claw one of the most influential graffiti artists of all time.
Trane is an American HVAC systems and controls manufacturer.
Graffiti are writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti, consisting of the defacement of public spaces and buildings, remains a nuisance issue for cities.
Commercial graffiti is the commercial practice of graffiti artists being paid for their work. In New York City in particular, commercial graffiti is big business and since the 1980s has manifested itself in many of the major cities of Europe such as London, Paris and Berlin. Increasingly it has been used to promote video games and even feature prominently within them, reflecting a real life struggle between street artists and the law. Commercial graffiti has created significant controversy between those who view it as an effective medium of advertising amongst specific target audiences and those who believe that legal graffiti and advertising using it encourages illegal graffiti and crime.
Graffiti in New York City has had a substantial local, national, and international influence.
Cristian Gheorghiu is a Romanian born street artist/graffiti artist and under the name of Smear in the 2000s. He's been referred to as "a subculture sensation" and his work has appeared in contemporary art galleries, and a solo museum exhibit in 2009. He was also a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by the L.A. City attorney's office, a lawsuit which largely because of its First Amendment implications has garnered the attention of international media, including the Huffington Post, L.A. Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, and the Associated Press.
Stop & Go is the first studio album by American musician Hamilton Bohannon. It was recorded and released in 1973 by Dakar/Brunswick Records. The most famous song of the record is Save Their Souls. It was frequently sampled in hip hop songs and it was also included in the soundtrack of the video game Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.
Marc Louis Ecko is an American fashion designer, entrepreneur, and artist. He is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of fashion company Ecko Unlimited. He also founded Complex magazine in 2002.
Bad Rats: The Rats' Revenge is a 2009 puzzle video game developed by Invent4 Entertainment. Over a string of levels, the player places a set of rats and static objects to guide a ball towards a trap that kills a cat. Bad Rats was released as Invent4 Entertainment's debut game on 20 July 2009 via Steam, followed by releases on other services in 2010. While it received no reviews at release, retrospective pieces criticised the game's graphics, puzzles, and physics. Bad Rats is considered an oddity for being released on Steam while the platform's catalogue was still hand-curated. It became a popular gag gift on Steam, leading to more than 400,000 owners by 2018. A sequel, Bad Rats Show, was released on the seventh anniversary of Bad Rats in 2016.
Town of Salem is an online multiplayer game with social deduction and strategy elements. It was developed and published by indie game developer BlankMediaGames, and released on December 15, 2014. Early alpha and beta versions were browser-based and free-to-play. On October 14, 2018, the game was released for iOS and Android mobile devices after a successful and long-supported Kickstarter fundraiser.
Sludge Life is an independent first-person adventure game oriented toward graffiti. The game was designed by musician Adam "Doseone" Drucker and artist Terri Vellmann following their release of High Hell on Devolver Digital. Sludge Life was released in 2020 for free for the first year. It has been released along with a soundtrack EP and digital album.
{{cite web}}
: Cite uses generic title (help)