GAME
In high school, I spent nights in the N-train tunnel, watching friends throw up Krylon masterpieces. With the graffiti-fueled Dreamcast game Jet Grind Radio, I can still get those vicarious thrills.
In this 21st-century street-punk fantasy, urban youth have decided to use in-line skating and public defacement as tools of political resistance. After a few practice runs, I was rollin' through the streets, following red arrows to prime graffiti walls. At first I picked canned artwork by Haze (known for Public Enemy and Beastie Boys album covers), but quickly learned to spray-paint my own tags using the onscreen keyboard.
The game's cell-shading graphics give it a comic book feel, and tracks from Jurassic 5 and MixMaster Mike keep players pumped. But Grind is not easy. At each new level, law-and-order types grow bigger and tougher, with SWAT teams, army tanks, and parachuting soldiers chasing taggers. All because of a little street art? Ha! Bring it on.
Jet Grind Radio : $49.95. Dreamcast: www.sega.com.
STREET CRED
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Behind the Green Doerr
Roll Call
Diverting the Audio Stream
Sole of a New Machine
On-Line Skating
(Re)Seeing Digital
ReadMe
Music
The Eyes Have It
Lost in the Scramble
Young, Fast, and Genetically Damaged
Just Outta Beta
Megatuneage
Bloggin' On
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