B-Boy Hands On Preview

Purveyors of style and always conscious of their image, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's latest attempt to spread its appeal beyond conventional gaming groups targets the world of break-dancing, with the release of B-Boy on the Playstation2 and PSP later in the year.

Nylon tracksuits, boomboxes and Adidas trainers may seem like a strange area to the average PS2 gamer for Sony to move into; however SCEE's association with the world of B-Boys stretches back to 1996 when it became the lead sponsor of the 'UK B-Boy Championship', held every year in Brixton - so, perhaps the only surprise is that it's taken them this long to bring the culture to videogames.

Instead SCEE appear to have bided their time, waiting for an appropriate developer to materialise, which is where the Warwickshire-based, FreestyleGames, comes in. Self-confessed fans of hip-hop with a diverse history of previous videogame experience (despite this being their first title as FSG), the match seems opportunistic and aims to provide a faithful recreation to meet the target audience demands, yet accessible enough to find the movement seeping even further into mainstream culture

Although the preview build that we've been putting through its paces is rough around the edges, it's immediately evident that this game is slick; it absolutely oozes style in a way that very few games manage and instantly encapsulates you into the world of b-boying, even if you've never really cared about it in the past.

At the heart of B-Boy lies a control system that lends a sense of skill and distinction to the art of b-boying. Each of the four face buttons correspond to Base Moves, such as the 'Top Rock', '6-Step', 'Windmill' and 'Baby Freeze', each of which can string into further moves and provide the basis for more complicated techniques. Essentially all moves link from the 'Top Rock' and its variations, a dance step, which whilst fairly unspectacular, is essential to master; the '6-Step' is another foot based manoeuvre, but one that will whip up the audiences a little more. Mastering the basics is key to success, but it's the Power Moves such as the 'Windmill' and 'Baby Freeze' that unlock the signature crowd pleasers that have become trademarks of B-Boys, waving legs around in the air and holding poses that defy every law of nature!

This isn't a game, however, where it's just a case of mashing a few buttons together - thankfully. B-Boy in its present form is a tough trickster to master and left me looking like the puny white kid without a clue or a sense of rhythm. Because some tricks will only chain with certain others you need to develop a sense of what works and what doesn't; you'll also have to have a sense of timing, performing manoeuvres in time to the beat of the 40 odd Funk and old-school hip-hop tracks featured in the game. 'Special Entries', 'Disses' and 'Finishing' moves, all of which can be chained into your sequence, add even further to what should be a comprehensive and authentic take on the world of B-Boys. Within each Face-Off there are a number of medals that can be achieved to reward tasks such as hitting the beat; chaining moves together; exciting the crowd and mastering the basics. Moves can also be upgraded in an RPG fashion, levelling up the more often you perform them.

With a rudimentary tutorial, and a number of glitches such as the sound cutting out completely on one occasion, playing through the current build of B-Boy proved to be a frustrating experience, but one that left me desperately wishing to be good at. In its current form it can be a little hard to determine when a trick ends, when one should begin, and performing tricks in time with the music is much tougher then it sounds, making the likes of 'Dance Dance Revolution' look like dancing with the Telletubbies. But when it comes off it's worth the effort, hopping around on all fours like a turtle, or spinning on your head like a yoga master. A tutorial that's more reflective of the actual challenges in the main game and a smoother learning curve is essential if 'B-Boy' hopes to appeal beyond a niche section of the market - let's just hope FreeStyleGames can work on this, as there's definitely an enjoyable game behind the complexities.

FreeStyleGames have used motion-capture animation exclusively in B-Boy, so despite the outlandish nature of many of the game's techniques every single performance is possible in the real-world! Enlisting the support of professional B-Boys, also included in the game, B-Boy looks surprisingly fluid and dynamic without a hint of traditional keyframe techniques. Occasionally transitions can pop unconvincingly between one another in the current build; however, it's the animation that brings it all to life and gives the sense of style that's prevalent throughout the entire game.

If the motion-capture animation creates a sense of authenticity and style, then the music provides the pure soul behind the game. An assorted selection of funk and old-school hip-hop, B-Boy is full of tracks that will have you putting the pad down and wanting to strut your stuff yourself on the floor - even if you don't know the difference between a 'Windmill' and a 'Hollowback'! Obviously if you're not a fan of the style, then B-Boy is unlikely to change your persuasion, but for those that do, B-Boy brings the golden era of hip-hop back, a time when it was all about the beat rather than the lyric.

The bulk of the single-player game lies in the 'Livin da Life' mode, in other words the career aspect of the game. Creating your own character with a satisfactory number of customisation options, the base of operations serves as the place to practise your moves, view different challenges and various other options such as using the clothes and equipment unlocked thus far. We've yet to really scratch the surface of what B-Boy has to offer, which lays down the challenge of forming your own crew and challenging pros such as Kamel, Ivan "The Urban Action Figure", Crumbs, Hong10, Lillou and Mouse.

Perhaps the biggest concern is whether or not the game's linear progress through increasingly difficult challenges will remain engaging after the initial buzz has died down. Certainly there seems to be a lot to master with a reasonable amount of variety, lets just hope FreeStyleGames can continue to work on the learning curve and ensure enough variety to the core gameplay to avoid the issue of repetition.