PlayStation 2

Def Jam: Vendetta

In the world of underground fight clubs, losers are tossed aside like used Kleenex while the winners gain not only a reputation but also respect. After all, who are we in this unlicensed and illegal world of bruisers if we don’t have the respect of others? In Def Jam Vendetta, you are the one fighting your way to the very top to win the respect of those in your neighborhood and to win back the girl that got away. To do this, not only do you have to fight hardened bone-crushers, but also Def Jam artists like Method Man and DMX. So is this what rap artists do in their spare time?

The return of wrestling?s best game developer. The emergence of a wrestling game without the burden of WWE. EA?s decision to take a little risk. The convergence of all this is Def Jam Vendetta, a game that is at once the best wrestling game in years, an awesome showcase for some damn good hip-hop, and an example of what can happen when a game company takes a chance.

Simply put, if you own a PS2 or a Gamecube, Def Jam Vendetta deserves to be in your library, even if you don’t like wrestling or fighting games. There’s a ton of replay value with the numerous game modes, and the computer opponents can always be counted on for a challenge, especially with the expansive number of moves for each fighter. Plus, once you’ve made the computer beg for mercy, it’s a great game to whip out on friends and beat each other up with, especially because of its short learning curve. Bump your speakers and bob your heads to this one; it’s time to get dirty with Vendetta.

For over a decade, the rappers at Def Jam have been looking for a fight. From Fight the Power and Fight for Your Right to Party, to Bring the Pain and Mama Said Knock You Out, the label's twisted rhymes of boasts and bravado into a multi-billion dollar industry of beats and beat downs. But how would these same rappers fare if they had to put down their mics and put up their dukes? That's the concept behind EA BIG's bangin' new brawler, Def Jam Vendetta.

Def Jam Vendetta est une réussite à tous les niveaux. EA Sports BIG nous démontre encore une fois tout son talent et dispose désormais d'un nouveau titre fort à son palmarès. A croire que le studio est capable de transposer n'importe quel sport en véritable hit. Je suis sûr que passé entre leur mains, même le curling peut devenir intéressant !

AKI is to wrestling games as Miyamoto is to platformers. That may be extremely high praise, but it’s true. After the Yuke’s WWE titles lulled everyone into thinking gameplay should be secondary to flash and storylines, EA BIG has brought the showstoppa back to the forefront to develop this game.

Back in the days of the Nintendo 64, AKI was renowned for its offerings in the wrestling game market. Starting out with Virtual Pro Wrestling, an import title that featured a host of Japanese wrestlers and a simple but highly enjoyable game engine, AKI eventually became the preferred developer among many wrestling fans, creating such popular American titles as WCW vs. NWO Revenge and WWF No Mercy. Now, thanks to Electronic Arts, AKI has found its way to the modern consoles with Def Jam Vendetta, a hip-hop-themed wrestling game that may not contain your favorite wrestlers, but does manage to contain some of the best wrestling gameplay around.

It’s been a while since I’ve had the joy to put a fight game in my console, more exactly it dated from Dead or Alive 3. Def Jam Vendetta didn’t have any problems finding the way to the dvd drawer of my PS2 and immediately showed to be a good test for the subwoofer of my dolby surround system.

The impending release of EA Sports' Def Jam Vendetta had wrestling game fans salivating. For PS2 owners, steady helpings of the cold Smackdown! series failed to satisfying many, and wrasslin' fanatics were hungry for something a little more old-school. Def Jam's wrestling engine is identical, sans minor "updates," to that of the popular THQ/AKI games WCW Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000, and WWF No Mercy that once graced the Nintendo 64.

Def Jam Vendetta is a challenging game with enough unlockable goodies to keep you coming back for a long time - and that's before you even think about playing against your friends. This title is well worth a look, even if you've never been a fan of grown men fondling each other in the ring.

My overall assessment of Def Jam: Vendetta is simply this: it's well worth a rental, but nowhere near worth its fifty dollar price tag. I seriously hope the sequel is more refined than this title. It had so much potential and hype, but its lack replay value slams this title to the mat.

I'll say one thing about Vendetta - it's hard, so you'll have to exhibit mad skills to progress through the story mode. Cool bonus features include a four-player free-for-all and female fighters you can unlock. These girls typically wear tight dresses, and you better believe they are hot. I can only get so excited about a wrestling game, but Def Jam Vendetta is probably as good as any I've played.

And as I said before, how you feel about the music will probably dictate how you feel about the game as a whole. The mechanics are there and the delivery is strong, but the subject matter totally drives the game, and if you're not into the rappers, the bitches or the 'tude, then you'll probably grow tired of it after a day or two, which is about how long it takes to beat the Story mode. More match types, different Story modes for the different characters and a player creator would have really helped out. Still, this is bigger and deffer than I thought it would be, proving that sometimes it ain't just about the benjamins, yo.

Det jag uppskattade med Def Jam Vendetta var spelets soundtrack. Saturday med Ludacris, Nothin' med N.O.R.E., Smash Sumthin med Redman, Fight the Power med Public Enemy, Bring the Pain med Method Man, Throw Ya Gunz med Onyx och slutligen Yeah Yeah You Know It med Keith Murray är en enda lång fest. Synd bara att soundtracket är bättre än själva spelet.

This is the first time EA BIG have gotten the mix between style and substance truly wrong. But that's what you get for listening to the marketing department - and not the gamers.