Jet Grind Radio
Reviewed by Jeremy Peeples
Jet Grind Radio was released in late October/early November
of 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast. It was developed by Smilebit
(formerly R&D 6), it was distributed by Sega. This is one of
the most unique games ever; part arcade game, part adventure
game, and part skating game, this game truly has it all. One
of the most unique features about this game is the graphical
style used to make them, in a process called cel-shading
black outlines are placed on all of the polygonal items and
characters in the game, this makes the game look like a
cartoon. This game features 4 cities and allows you to build
up groups of in-line skaters (called Rudies in the game) to tag things.
Graphics-10/10- The graphics in this game are some of the
most unique in video game history. JGR uses cel-shading
better, and in more ways than any other game. This game
truly does look like a cartoon, only in 3-D, the visual
style alone will be remembered for years to come. The
animation is exceptional, it's all very smooth and is never
jerky. The character design is another strong point, all of
the characters have hilarious looks and exude personality.
The level design is exceptional, the cities are large, yet,
never confusing.
Pros- Very unique visual style. Excellent character design.
Well laid-out levels.
Cons- None.
Sound-10/10- The music and sound effects are second to none.
The music is a combination of J-Pop, hip-hop, and dance
music that fits the game's theme perfectly. The sound
effects are some of the best ever in games, everything, from
hearing cops talk to each other on the radio, to the sound
of the spray paint spraying sound perfect.
Pros- Music fits the game. Sound effects are excellent.
Cons- None.
Story-8/10- Your mentor is Professor K, a DJ who broadcasts
the pirate radio station Jet Set Radio over the airwaves. He
tells you that 3 gangs are currently at a stand off in
Tokyo-to, the 3 gangs are: GG, Poison Jam, and the Noise
Tanks. You're a member of the GG gang. The police, led by
Captain Onishima are cracking down on illegal activity and
they want Professor K off the airwaves. The story is
actually very innovative, it's a lot better than I'd ever
hoped for.
Gameplay-10/10- Your objective in the game is to spray
everything with a red arrow over it before member of a rival
gang does; remember, the rival gangs in the game are: Poisin
Jam, and the Noise Tanks. You also must anoid the police and
their shotgun-toting leader, Captian Onishima. The best way
to describe the gameplay is this: the game play like a
hybrid of Crazy Taxi and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. It takes
the exploration and overall fun gameplay of Crazy Taxi and
mixes it with the easy-to-execute tricks of Tony Hawk's Pro
Skater. You can tag pretty much anything in the city, (using
spray paint cans that you find), from the tops of cars, to
the sides of walls.
Pros- Very original gameplay.
Cons- None.
Control-8/10- The controls in Jet Grind are, for the most
part, excellent, the only problem that I have with them is
that tagging and camera operation use the L Trigger, this
makes the controls clunkier than they need to be, seeing as
how the game only uses the A button (Jump), L Trigger, and
the R Trigger (Speed up or Dash), the camera operation could
have been mapped to a separate button, there's no excuse for
those two commands to share a button, Smilebit should have
fixed this. Thankfully, that is the only control problem,
the button response is spot-on, there's no delay berween
your button command and the on-screen action whatsoever.
Pros- Super-responsive control.
Cons- The camera and tag buttons are the same.
Replay Value-10/10- This game may not seem too deep, what
with there being only 4 cities and all, but it's got a
surprising number of extras. For example, you can create
your own tag. You can also download images off of the
internet and use them as tags. Even if the game didn't have
those features, the game would be worth replaying, it is a
joy to play and never gets old.
Presentation-10/10- Classic Sega, everything has an
innovative and edgy look to it that fits the game's theme
perfectly.
Challenge-6/10- The game isn't too difficult, as long as you
use the map, collect as many spray cans as you can, and pay
attention during tutorials, you'll have few problems.
Buy or Rent?-Buy- This is one of the most unique and
innovative titles ever, it is chock full of features that
will keep you playing for years to come.
Overall-10/10- This is one of the best looking and most
innovative videogames ever, if you consider yourself to be a
gamer, you must at least play this game, it has some of the
most refreshing gameplay ever, not to mention the
revolutionary graphics.
Fianl Thought- I've more fun with this game than I thought I
would. I came in with high expectations, and, upon playing
the game, have seen that my expectations were shattered with
the final product.
OR
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