Tokyo has fallen victim to the military-industrial complex. The city's civil infrastructure is controlled by a huge corporation, who can deploy the thuggish police department to control rebellious elements and enact their nefarious plans and naturally, the frontline in the defence against this behemoth is a jive-talking radio DJ and a bunch of scruffy rollerblading vandals.

If the above makes perfect sense to you, then you're ready for 'Jet Set Radio Future', the third in the 'Jet Set Radio' series. Your mission is to speed about the city on blades, "putting up" on walls, buildings, and occasionally people, in order to thwart the hegemonic Rokkaku Corporation and their goons. Whilst making a good case for defiant art as an act of social rebellion, JSRF's graffiti does more than simply express alienation and discontent: it is the 'soul of the street', and can wipe out your enemies as effectively as the guns and batons they employ.

Utilising the X-Box's capacity, the game features a vast and complex cityscape, often with more vertical depth than horizontal. For the completist gamer, once the challenging and complex story mode has been completed, there are a variety of other tasks to perform. Four player versus mode makes for good replay value, but the real jewel in the game's crown is its brilliant soundtrack, with songs by Bis, Cibo Matto, the Beastie Boys and Guitar Vader making an excellent accompaniment to fermenting unrest and undermining totalitarian regimes.

With the same vivid, funky graphics and engaging characters, a greater complexity of gameplay and excellent replay features make 'Jet Set Radio Future' the best of the series.

Lara Derham

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