Jet Grind Radio Review (continued)

Manufacturer: "Sega of America, Inc." Find all "Sega of America, Inc." reviews ESRB Rating: Teen Platform(s): Sega Dreamcast Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars View Jet Grind Radio Details

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More User Submitted Jet Grind Radio Reviews

Quite honestly, everyone Dreamcast owner has to buy this game. It has originality (You hear that, Nintendo?), it has gameplay (You hear that, 989 studios?), it has presentation (you hear that, the other 11 Sega softhouses?)

The main idea of the game is that you skate around town spray painting the walls and running away from the police (helicopters? Tanks?) It sounds like a THPS clone with some Grand Theft Auto elements, but it's far from it. You don't have to worry about doing tricks because they're done automatically. All you have to do is run, jump and spray. While I was disappointed at first, I was thankful near the end of the game. It would've been downright impossible having to worry about pressing the right trick buttons while trying to run away from the police.

The story starts simple enough. A small Turf war going on on Neo-Tokyo. Too bad Smilebit got a bit carried away and decided to make some sort of crazy mob group who wants to take over the world and you crush their plans by spray-painting on the guy's forehead. "Oh no! My forehead! My plans are doomed!" What the heck?

The only downside to this game is that it only takes 10 hours or so to finish. But I must've spent over 70 hours just for the infinite grinds (try to find them all!) and different combinations. Plus hidden graffiti and hidden characters. When I think about it, this game couldn't POSSIBLY be long enough. It's just too much fun.

The graphics introduce Cell-shading. It draws a thick black line around the models and along with colorful textures, makes the game a moving cartoon. It's amazing result has been copied OVER AND OVER by other companies, which makes me angry at Sega for not having copyrighted it before the game came out. Other games like Fear Effect try to emulate cartoons by using only lighting and colorful textures, and it's obvious that Cell-shading is much better at this. Sadly, there are times where the framerate drops, and there are a couple of small colision detection problems in the game. But they come very rarely throughout the whole game.

The sound is incredible as well. Great songs that vary from Techno to J-pop make the soundtrack (over 20 of them!). They are great, but Sega of America insisted upon adding some 5 other american songs that have NOTHING to do with the game AT ALL. Bunch of colorful japanese teenagers running away from stereotypical police in an animé setting. Music, DRAGULA BY ROB ZOMBIE.... Why Sega? WHY? The voices are nice as well, but they consist mainly of one-liners said by the characters while jumping. The narration by Professor K and sometimes Combo is done perfectly.

I would've gladly forked over one hundred dollars for this game. Buying it for (...) was the greatest move I've ever made in videogame-buying this year. Right now I'm downloading this game's MP3s so I can make a soundtrack CD.

*walks away Humming the Bassline*

Date: 2001-08-31
An absolute STEAL at this price
Really worth much more than the price tag, this is a game that anyone will like. The fairly juvenile premise did turn a lot of folks off when the game was first released (myself included) but I am very glad I looked past that and picked it up.

Awesome gameplay, good cohesive storyline, fresh stylish animation, very inventive and compelling level design that shows how much the Dreamcast as a system is capable of. Not to mention a fairly decent amount of playtime in order to beat it, no arcade 5-minutes-and-you're-done syndrome. Cruise around a portion of the city, bumping off opponents & painting over their graffiti. Eventually the cops show up, which you can usually deal with just be keeping active and running away. But then the Chief shows up, and this dirtbag has a loaded gun! I still get freaked out when I try to run away and the dude is firing live rounds in my general direction as he's chasing. Yikes!

All I can say is "Try it, you'll like it!" It may not be the ultimate skating simulator, but it isn't meant to be. There really are so few decent original action games for the Dreamcast and that makes Jet Grind Radio stand out that much more. The game is pure fun, no matter what age you are.

Date: 2001-08-30
...WOW...
Hi there fellow gamers. Early in the days of my dreamcasts birth i borrowed a certain game from my bro. That game was Jet Grind Radio. It was the most funky fun fast paced street rollin game i had ever experienced. The toons kept me goin and eluding the police as I "tagged" walls, billboards and even other gang members with my own sign. This made me happy, very happy! I myself have a history of skateboarding. Although i was never the best i did feel passion for it. And in the case that u play as roller bladers in the game it didn't bother me the least. I often despise fruit booters (roller bladers)but the way the game was set up and how the controls gave me the real feel of grinding vanquished my conflict with the sport. If a game can make a guy like me respect fruit booters it's sure as hell is a good one! Visuals-The wonderfully textured backdrops give the cell shaded characters a beautifull look. --8.5--
Originality-This game is one of a kind, who'd ever think of goin and taggin stuff on blades?! --10--
Gameplay/Mechanics-The collision detection is spot on, lockin on to the rails is a breeze! The control is tight and easily adjusted to. The camera tries its best to compliment the player and it does a fairly well job. --9.5--
Sound-Not only does this game have the funkiest songs and beats, it has it's own unique set of sound effects. The police chasing you is very gratifying when they yell "hup!hup!hup!hup!Hup!" and the detective cracks me up every time. --9.5--
-OVER ALL- -9.5- (not an average)

Date: 2001-08-23
Great game - and a must have at $9.99!
Wow, this is a great game at any price and is a real steal at $9.99. I'm 36 and I love this game and it's also a favorite of my six year old. The description tells you what the game is like but I'd like to add a little. The controls are very intuitive and it's easy to pull off some really impressive tricks. The locations in the game are really varied. The soundtrack is excellant. And best of all, you get that trademark Japanese wackiness. This is probably my favorite of the 30 or so Dreamcast games we own. Buy this if you have a Dreamcast. I can't believe this wasn't ported to other systems.

Date: 2001-08-09
Sega strikes again
…But the world turns a deaf ear. ...As gazed at, I really began to wonder to myself; “Did it do that bad commercially?” Apparently so. But then again, brilliance is often over-looked at first.

If there has been one thing that I have wanted to applaud Sega for, it was for trying something different. Attacking the norm and attempting to elicit a reaction from it. Games like Crazy Taxi; Shenmue, Metropolis Street Racer, and now Jet Grind Radio have all tried to do something different from the competition (with varying results and success). Which is what brings me to Jet Grind Radio. I think its entire purpose was to try some thing different and be able to get a person to put down another rehashed, “up-dated” and try something new for a change. That alone was why I took notice of the game (I’m a sucker for creative, quality products).

…And quality is what JGR shows. From its unique and very colorful “cel-shaded” graphics, to it’s amazingly good J-pop/hip-hop/trance/electronica soundtrack (I'm not normally keen on most of the for mentioned, but I found it quite endearing this time), this game is bursting at the seems with personality. The characters (a bizarre and interesting mix of roller skating punks called “Rudies”), the graffiti tags (which look great) and the cityscapes are all well crafted and implemented well.

But with out quality game-play, this game would just be another pretty face for the next-generation systems (something that seems all too common in most games these days). Luckily JGR talented team of designers also made this game an absolute blast to play. Essentially what JGR is non-linear mix of roller-blading and spray painting in which you must paint designated areas as fast and as smoothly as possible. The painting is done simply by walking up to an arrow and pressing the spray button while avoiding cops and other evil figures. Follow the simple analog commands and you’re finished. It takes some time getting used to, but the learning curve is so smooth in the game, you won’t even notice. But as you will learn the more you play the game, the game’s enjoyment is limited only to your own level of creativity. Nearly everything can be grinded or pushed off of to start a combo of linked tricks. And since the spaces of the game are so varied, the possibilities are endless. With a quick, effective and simple trick system, it becomes even more enjoyable.

But alas, this game is not perfect. The camera work tends to be a bit iffy sometimes (and with limited control over it, it can become frustrating). Not all the music is as great as others (songs like “Super Brother”, “Dragula”, and a few others are just really irritating). The simplistic trick system, though I love it, is certainly going to annoy others who weaned off of Tony Hawk for so long. But none of these things destroy (or even really dent a marvelous game).

So in the end, I guess its up to you. Do you really want another boring, uninspired shooting game? Or how about another dreadful RPG? Jet Grind Radio is the game for people who want something different in their library of games. Heck, it doesn’t even have to be that. Buy it because it’s fun game. Period.