Def Jam Vendetta

"Pick up a controller and put down Luda! (or any other Def Jam thug)"

Well, well, this is a surprise! I never expected to be interested in this game, since I harbor a healthy hatred for all things 'thug'. But since I picked it up from my local Blockbuster as a favor for my brother, well--look at the score. Def Jam: Vendetta was better than I ever thought it could be, combining elements from Aki's old wrestling titles (No Mercy, Wrestlemania 2000, etc.) with a fresh, stylish flair to form the perfect mix: Plenty o' mat eatin' with plenty of attitude.

GAMEPLAY: 7/10
The gameplay is excellent, overall, but there are a few flaws that need to be noted. Foremost, the game engine tends to fall to buttonmashing during frantic situations, reason being that most matches usually end up as a race to see who can get their BLAZIN' moves first. (Think the special meter from previous Aki titles.) Another thing is the limited number of modes (where's my battle royale?! how come I can't go thuggin' wit my own brotha, what?!) The Story Mode comes across as excellent, at first; even when it becomes redundant after a few play-throughs, the overall gameplay is still fun. You can play as four different characters in Story Mode, each with three different costumes. You also have battle (with tag-team, single, free-for-all, and handicap), Survival, and Gallery, which lets you look at pictures of women you've obtained. Going through story mode unlocks things like characters and pictures of ''fly honeys'' in the Gallery.
Match options are another flaw. They're severely limited compared to other wrestling titles, and don't allow to modify the match much at all. This is overlooked if you're not the kind of guy who likes everything his or her way, but still, it would've been nice to take out the all annoying rope-break.
Also, a few key moves are absent from the engine. Why can't I pull my opponent away from the ropes? Furthermore, why can't I toss him OVER the ropes and out of the ring?..
A few changes that were welcome to the gameplay were the various meters that lessened the guesswork of Aki wrestling games. Now you have a health meter for your overall health, as well as gauges for your limb damage, and how far you are to breaking out of the hold/pin.
Overall, despite it's flaws, the gameplay is fun and deep, and playable for match after match after match....

SOUND: 9/10
I have to say, I don't like rap. Well, much of it. Some of it I can really get into--like DMX or Method Man or NORE. Even so, the music here really gives the game a boost. During the menus, you can listen to the whole song (edited, of course). During the matches, the overture of a song plays. All of it fits the game's presentation excellently, and just makes the game a more enjoyable experience overall.
That's just the music, and that's just the tip of the iceberg, though. Over-the-top effects like bones crunching and whooshing when your character jumps into the air meld with an audience that, for once, isn't annoyingly loud compared to the other effects. Not only that, but the Story Mode's voice acting is great, as well.

VISUALS:10/10 (I'd go higher, but then this review would be ignored.)
Holy shtuff, man, this game looks great. The character models are fluid and well-detailed, the arenas have their own little charm to them, and the animations are set at a smooth, never-failing 60fps. Each character is detailed, from the shine of bald heads to the folds of someone's
do-rag, and their out-of-this-world BLAZIN' animations will never cease to amaze (and to cause you to cringe in the thought that someone would do that to YOU.) The ring, always a nice touch if done right, is nicely lighted and the ropes well animated, and as if that wasn't enough, a fully animated crowd was thrown in. Each member of the audience is unique, too! It's a first for wrestling games everywhere, and it deserves to be a standard.

PRESENTATION: 10/10
This game's foundation is in it's stylish presentation. Everything from the move names (displayed as they performed above your health meter)to the music to the costumes of the various forty characters flows together to draw you into the game's world. Suddenly, you're thuggin' with the best of them. The game's special moves also add personality, being closer to MK fatalities than actual wrestling moves.

So, there you have it. My uber-long review for a game that you're sure to enjoy, whether you like rap, hate rap, or want to pretend Ludacris is that big bully at school that beat you up and then freestyled in your face about it. Put up your pride, pick up the controller, and put down some thugs in this excellent game.
C'mon. You know you want to.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/03, Updated 07/05/03