Def Jam Vendetta

"What happened No Mercy? You were the game a minute ago."

That old AKI engine that was featured in such smash hits as No Mercy, Wrestlemania 2000, and many more, is back in Def Jam Vendetta. Def Jam Vendetta is a much different game than those old N64 games though.

Gameplay: 9

The gameplay is simply excellent. If you are looking for a wrestling game for your next gen console, this is most likely going to be your best choice for right now. Inside the game playing is just right and feels natural to me, keep in mind this is my opinion. The moves just flow strait through, no stalling. Multi player is a ball. This game is very fun with one player, but it is amazing in multi player. Single player has the story mode, 1 on 1, tag team, free for all, 1 against many, and survival modes. They are all self explanatory, survival is wrestling through each wrestler you have unlocked at the time with the one wrestler you choose at the beginning, all at once, no stopping. Multi player has all those modes except survival and story. Story mode takes you through an underground wrestling league. You may or may not know this but the wrestlers in this game are EA bigs creation and rappers from the Def Jam rap label, if you do not know what that is, the message board will be glad to help. Downfalls are a short story mode (not to mention there are only 4 players to choose from,) no gimmick matches like ladder or table, and while doing multiplayer each player most use a different profile, so the profile for your single player will be the only one with more fighters while the others who just created theirs can only use the couple that they give you to start with.

Controller: 9

The buttons are fit properly on the controller and there is no uncomfortable things that you have to do. A does a grapple, B does a strike, X runs, Y gets out of the ring/ climbs the turnbuckle. Of course with multiple people in a match there are different uses for each button. Once again, there is nothing uncomfortable with the controller. I give it a 9 instead of a 10 just because I do not think it is perfect, there is always room to improve.

Sound: 9

There is not much here to grade, there is the background music and the sounds of the ring/ audience. The music is all rap because that is what the game is about but that is no big problem if you are not a fan of the music, just mute it. There are no in the wrestling match noises that the wrestlers make like ''ouch'' or ''its on'' but there is a DJ that announces the match.

Presentation: 9

The menus are done excellently, not too much art used in them though.

Overall: 9

The game is great, but it has minor flaws that hold it down. Another thing that brings it down is that there is no create a wrestler. If you are worried about not liking the music that should not stop you from buying a game. Major complaints I have seen through this message board are: no CAW, not liking the music, no drag an opponent while they are down (and since the ring is so small it makes pinning hard) and a lack of playable characters in the story mode.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/15/03, Updated 04/15/03