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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of the Xbox launch titles, 10 April 2002
The original JSR on the Dreamcast was like a breath of video-game fresh air; it was stylish, it was playable, it was addictive, and it took a tired old genre and gave it a new slant. The Xbox update is more of the same, except the game doesn't just look great like it did on the Dreamcast - this time it looks GREAT.For those who didn't play the original, JSRF is, effectively, a platform game on skates. Imagine Mario 64 given an Adidas / Nike makeover and lent some wheels and you're halfway there. The chief challenge is to skate around large urban environments spraying graffiti tags; to achieve this you have to collect paint cans strewn liberally around the city streets. The action is complicated a little by a series of challenges; races against rival skate gangs, battles with crooked police and the arrival of "boss" machinery intent on destroying you. Whereas in the original much of this was part of the levels themselves, this time they are presented as episodes within the levels, removing much of the frustration you used to feel when you had one tag left to complete and some goon with a jetpack shot you off a 10 storey building. So, what's good about the game? Well, first and foremost, the graphics are amazing. Jaw-droppingly so in places. The city scapes are alive with people, they tower above you and plunge below you, neon lights glitter, sunlight flares, and every character is cool. Quite simply, it's the best designed game ever. The music is awesome too - a mix of hip-hop, dance and indie with Bis and members of the Beastie Boys contributing. The controls are loose as well - it feels strange at first, but once you're used to it, the freedom it gives to your character is amazing. But perhaps the most amazing thing - and it shares this with the original - is that, no matter how difficult something may seem to achieve, once you've managed it once, invariably it becomes second nature immediately. It stops the game from ever becoming frustrating. Other plus points are the open-ness of the levels and the fact that, once the games complete, there are still challenges to return to on all the levels. All is not rosy, however. There are moments of slowdown in some of the really technical bits - a shame given the power of the Xbox, but you do suspect this has been pushed out a little quicker than maybe Sega would have wanted. It's also a little easier than the original - it took me about 20 or so hours play to finish the game proper - but I've notched up another 6 already replaying some of the levels. Also, and it's a petty moan really, but the save function is irritating at times - and you can't exit the game without turning the console off. Was it worth buying? Oh yes, oh yes indeed. This is THE game to show your Xbox off with, much more so than Halo or DOA3 and it is a joy to play. The original was brilliant, and so is this as well.
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