Def Jam Vendetta

"Take THAT Keith Murray!"

Def Jam Vendetta

Def Jam Vendetta is based on a preposterous concept; make a wrestling game (or “3D Fighting,” as Ceej sees it) that features rappers in it. I mean, honestly, did anyone think that it would work? I certainly didn’t, but I thought I’d check it out because it had the AKI engine. After all, you can’t go wrong with that. What I got and what I expected were two completely different things, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this game.

From the second the game started, I knew my first judgments were wrong. As the intro for the game played, I began to get pumped up as DMX’s song “Intro” played. The intro for Def Jam Vendetta is a basic overview of what you’ll encounter in Story Mode, the tale of a man fighting his way up the New York City fight circuit.

The story in itself is exceptionally well done for a game such as this. There are 4 people you can take through Story Mode (Briggs, Spider, Proof and Tank), each with different parameters. For instance, Tank is very powerful but has no speed whatsoever. Then you have Proof, who is very quick, but not very powerful. If it’s your first time through it’d be best to choose Briggs, the well rounded competitor. It doesn’t matter who you choose, you start off with dismal attributes and you need to start your climbing of the ladder.

D-Mob, the boss of the New York City fight circuit, chased you off the fighting scene and took your girlfriend in the process. Soon after, your chum Manny breaks his arm and needs money to pay off D-Mob, hence your rebirth on the fight circuit. However, you set your sights higher. You are determined to overthrow D-Mob, and win back Angel (your ex-girlfriend stolen by D-Mob). You now have to prove yourself worthy of being #1 on the fight scene by fighting a bunch of goons with the same aspirations as you. It all leads up to the final confrontation with D-Mob.

Where do the rappers come into play, you ask? Well, there are different venues you fight at, and a rapper is in charge of each one of them. You’ll be able to tell what venue belongs to what rapper, because they are laden with trademarks of the artist themselves. For instance, the Grimeyville ring has “N.O.R.E.” painted in the middle of the ring, marking it as his territory. Ludacris’s venue, Club Luda, has a huge “Disturbing Tha Peace” logo on the wall, representing his clique. It’s neat how each location relates to the pertaining artist.

The locations are very detailed, from the 3-D crowd to the lighting of the area. The 3-D crowd, which has never been done in a wrestling game before, gives the game more of a confined feel. Because, instead of a large arena filled with cardboard cutouts that goes on forever, you have a room with a few people standing around the barriers, cheering you on. The player models also look alarmingly realistic, complete with facial expressions and astounding animation. Each character has their own unique costume and some even come with gimmicks (Chukkelz seems to be like an Insane Clown Posse member, Iceberg looks like a pimp). The realism and detail in this game make it very appealing.

You couldn’t have a game licensed to Def Jam and not have any rap on it, could you? Of course not, and that’s why there is plenty of music on the soundtrack...err, plenty of rap that is. You see, if you aren’t a rap fan, you might not enjoy the music in this game, although it shouldn’t be too much of a problem because during the matches themselves, they only play instrumentals to the songs. Also, the songs chosen to be played during the matches are somewhat appropriate to fighting. In the menu, however, you get the full blown songs, lyrics and all. This is when you might want to turn down the music. If you are a hip hop enthusiast, then you will love the music in this game, for it has a song from every rapper that appears in the game, and more.

As stated earlier in this review, Def Jam Vendetta uses the AKI engine (the same engine used in WWF No Mercy, WCW/NWO Revenge, and so forth). This means that it utilizes the same grapple system that you have grown to love. They’ve changed it to fit the PlayStation 2 controller, which is done rather well in my opinion. It’s replicated very well; the controls feel very similar to the Nintendo 64 controls. This makes the game very simple to learn, and easy to master.

The Special move system is also similar to other AKI games for the N64, except now it’s called Blazin’. You work your momentum meter up by performing moves and doing taunts to the point that the meter is blinking. Once it’s blinking, moving the right analog stick gets you into Blazin’ mode where you can then execute your finishing moves. A cool little addition from other AKI games is the KO. If you do a finishing move to someone whose health meter is flashing “Danger,” you KO them, therefore ending the match. This gives the game more of an arcadey feel, but also gives the game more variety, as you can be defeated at almost any time.

There are only a few different matches you can compete in, which is a little disappointing, but understandable. After all, this is only the first game in a series that should soon become one of the dominant fighting series on the PlayStation 2 and Gamecube (well, it certainly has the potential). The match types (Single, Free for All, Tag Team, Handicap and Survival) will provide some short term fun, but all the fun comes in Story Mode, in my opinion. If you have a few friends, then these modes will be so much more fun, but if you’re by yourself then it won’t be anything special.

Def Jam Vendetta is the game I never thought I’d like. I mean, I’m a huge hip hop fan and all, but a hip hop wrestling game? The idea seemed outrageous. But, somehow, EA BIG and AKI managed to pull it off in a brilliant game that can be enjoyed by both fighting game fans, and everyone else. It’s truly a great game, and I recommend that you should at least rent it, but definitely buy it if you are a big fan of wrestling games.

Final Score: 9 out of 10
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Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/03, Updated 04/07/03