As a special pack-in
to some pre-orders, Sega gives car stereos
a taste of what Xbox consoles and television
sets have been enjoying.
Jet Set Radio Future is a
game in a class all to itself. One of the
key elements to the game is its strikingly
different visuals - cel shading, a technique
pioneered with the original Jet Grind Radio.
Another key element setting the game apart
is the gameplay, a mixture of many different
gameplay styles and a plot weaving them
together in a manner both ridiculous and
believable. Music is another way that the
game sets itself apart from many other
contemporary videogames. With music being
an essential part of the game, it was important
for Sega to have some top notch sounds
in the game.
Rather than foisting some
pasted together pseudo techno loops, Sega
has branched itself out. WaveMaster (Sega's
in house music team) has been known far
and wide for its great audio, but the sounds
don't stop there. Grand Royal, one of the
hippest record companies to grace turntables
was able to dispatch the Latch Brothers
to remix several songs and create some
original music as well.
Fighting for the soul of the
city takes a lot of work, and the underground
radio station needs to blast some soul
pumping tunes to keep you energized. The
music sampler that is available gives a
nice taste for the game. The track listing
for the sampler is this:
The Concept Of Love - Hideki Naganuma (WaveMaster)
Ill Victory Beat - The Latch Brothers
I'm Not A Model - Russel Simins
Me Likey The Poom Poom - The Latch Brothers
Birthday Cake - Cibo Matto
Latch Brothers Bounce - The Latch Brothers
Count Latchula - The Latch Brothers
Aisle 10 - Scapegoat Wax
Koto Stomp - The Latch Brothers
Rockin' The Mic - The Prunes (Latch Brothers remix)
What About The Future - Richard Jacques
The Latch Brothers and WaveMaster
worked close together to select the songs
that would be included in the game, and
a good sampling appear on the music sampler.
Several songs are minor hits in their own
right, some being received by eardrums
for the first time. The songs belong in
the vein of techno-hip-hop, or something
closely related to that. I'm sure somebody
knows the proper name for the genre of
music. No matter what you call it, the
tunes will get your feet tapping and the
head bobbing.
Altogether this collection
of songs belongs not only in Jet Set Radio
Future, but as part of the Xbox's hard
drive as a custom soundtrack as well. I
wish that Sega and Grand Royal had been
able to release a fuller (or additional)
disc of songs to rip onto the hard drive
to use in other games. This music is great
for party games, racing games, or playing
in the stereo system anytime you want to
get the party movin'.
Daniel "monk" Pelfrey
Needs a bigger shovel to dig all of these sounds.
