Def Jam Vendetta

"A Great game. Nuff Said"

This game is full of great gameplay, yet it is lacking in what most wrestling games now consider mandatory. Published by EA BIG and produced by what most people consider the top Wrestling game maker, AKI. This game is great for a rap music fan or wrestling fan. But a person who likes neither of those would find this boring after a while

Gameplay: The gameplay of Def Jam is the heart of the game. In what every wrestling game for PS2 has messed up, AKI has fixed. Easily the best playing game for PS2. It has Strong and Weak grapples, Great reversals and Great innovative specials like nothing ever seen. It would feel out of place without these as they defiantly bring the EA BIG part of the game to life. The only thing that doesn't seem right is the lack of moves a wrestler has. Only 2 top rope moves? A pretty easy thing to dismiss though.
Total: 9.5/10

Graphics: Not the best graphics for the PS2, but definitely not the worst. The rappers look quite real and the other character models are pretty good. Crowd is ugly but in what wrestling game is it not? The animations are great. The menu's are slick and great.
Total: 8/10

Sound: This is where Def Jam Vendetta gets a little disappointing. First let's start with what is good about the sound. The voice acting is done by all the original rappers so DMX sounds like DMX and Redman sounds like Redman etc. On top of that the sounds during wrestling are decent. Now onto the disappointment. Def Jam features 18 songs which is a little low for such a prolific record label. The music in are of great quality, when there are lyrics which is rare as I only had 1 or 2 songs with words. on top of that, it seems like only 1 or 2 songs play regularly(X Gonna Give it to Ya is one) and soon you will find yourself turning off the sound on the game and turning on your favorite CD's.
Total: 5/10

Story: A story in a wrestling game? Perhaps the first wrestling to feature one with a real story(not storylines). A weak story but a story nonetheless. It involves your friend Manny who needs your help in getting rid of gambling debts. this sets up for a bunch of matches. The heart of 1-player is played here.
Total: 8/10

Modes: Unlike Smackdown 4, Def Jam basically features just the basic wrestling matches like Tag and Singles. No gimmicks(Cage, ladder).
Total: 3/10

Play Time/Replayability: Like most EA Big games, this game is full of replayability. The gameplay is solid and a wrestling fan will spend hours just enjoying it. Multi-player is fun too. This gets a perfect 10 for replayability.
Total: 10/10

Extras: A couple things I wanted to mention but don't fit anywhere else. Def Jam gets props for all male fans by letting you spend the money you earn to buy pictures of models. This money is normally best used to upgrade your wrestlers abilities. Next is a downer. This game features 44 wrestlers BUT only 12 are real rappers. On top of that, The big Def Jam artists are left off the roster. Some of those include: LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Cam'Ron, Ja rule and Bone Thugs N Harmony(which is weird since one of there songs is in the game).
Total: 5/10

Total Score: 6.9/10
Reviewers push: +.1
Total Score: 7/10

Buy Or Rent: Buy if you are a big wrestling fan or a big Def Jam fan. But other then that it's just worth the rental price.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/21/03, Updated 05/21/03