Money, Power, and Respect v2.0

On the streets of any ghetto, that is all that matters. And from that premise comes the foundation of the story that is Def Jam:Vendetta.

Back in the day, N64 had an immensely fun wrestling game called WWF:No Mercy. The Aki Company developed a simple and effective control system that introduced more strategy than button mashing into the action. The result was very enjoyable and successful. Unfortunately, Aki no longer does WWF (or now WWE) games. Personally, the new Smackdown control scheme just doesn't do it for me. So, when I heard that a new fighting game was coming out with Aki's lovable wrestling system and over 1,000 different moves, I was hyped. Then when I heard the title, I virtually pre-purchased the game then!

Def Jam:Vendetta is the marriage of Fight Club, WWE, the over-the-top flava of EA BIG games (like NBA Street), and hip hop. Truthfully it was only a matter of time before this happened. Hip hop artists like Method Man and Redman are always playing video games. Meth and the Wu-Tang Clan even made an earlier attempt at this concept in a game for the PSOne called Wu-Tang:Shaolin Style a while back. So being an integral part of the development for this game, Method Man took what he didn't like in that game and helped make his dreams for the game crystal clear to the developers in this game. The result is something much more atmospheric than the corny rock intros and fireworks of the WWE. Don't get me wrong, I watch RAW every Monday night and have loved wrestling ever since the NWA days. But please, some of the intro music in the WWE is WEAK!!! Anyways, imagine a couple of fighters getting into the ring to the sounds of Method Man's Bring The Pain. Well, in Vendetta your dreams come true. In the spirit of Fight Club, matches are straight street fighting. Some display a bit of martial arts while most are just straight brawlers. Slams, throws, submission holds, and painfully placed blows fill out the moveset along with some physically impossible yet painful moves as over-the-top as the dunks in NBA Street. These X-treme moves are performed when a fighter gains BLAZIN' status when their momentum has maxxed. The results are some pretty painful and entertaining moves.

This game features over 40 different fighters including a number of Def Jam artists like Scarface, DMX, Capone, Keith Murray, Ludacris, and the dynamic duo of Method Man and Redman. Hip hop afficionados will drool over the amazing likenessess of the faces, the pre and post fight trash talking, and the number of classic hot tracks like DMX's new joint from the movie he is in called Cradle 2 The Grave with Jet Li. Or how about Fight The Power by Public Enemy or a few new unreleased bombs from Method Man and Keith Murray. To keep it short, the music keeps the mood of wanting to whup some tail. Gamers will drool over the amazing animation of the faces and the extreme moves.

The game basically has a Story Mode and a Battle mode. The Story mode contains the means to unlocking all of the various fighters, arenas, and other game goodies. The Battle mode features the different match types (Tag Team, Survival, and Multi-player Free-for-All) with the unlocked fighters for quick matches. Unfortunately, there is no create-a-fighter or edit mode. In a way that kind of detracts from the appeal of the game but I guess there is a reason somewhere in the developer's mind. I guess to make up for it, they introduced a slight RPG element into the Story Mode where as money as acquired for matches, you can spend it to improve the attributes for your character. As you do so, the character gets better and actually learns more moves as you progress. It's ok but not as satisfying and creating your own character and outfitting him with some devastating looking moves. As you progress through the story, you also get chances to acquire groupies or girlfriends. In between matches, new love interests will try to come and challenge your girl and you'll get to choose who you want. As you do, you take control of that girl as the two battle for your heart in the ring. If you win, you unlock the REAL pictures of the dimes the virtual hotties were modeled after as well as unlocking the character for use in Battle mode. Lose and you get nadda!

The action is furious as the matches are balanced forcing gamers to learn move sequences called combos to gain momentum in a match quicker. The system even tells you how close you are to pulling of common and specialized combos by telling you if the last move you pulled off is the 1st of a longer combo. This helps you learn and increases your desire to actually learn them since the fighter will pull off more punishing moves then. The submissions even have health bars for the various body parts so you can see how close to a submission you are as well as how close to breaking out of the hold you are. The bosses, who are the different Def Jam artists, bring the heat and are quite difficult forcing you to mix it up and learn to defend and reverse moves in order to survive. Otherwise, you will be the victim of a frequent beatdown. To help, tips are given after every loss and there is a tutorial that describes how to fight better. In the end, you win or lose by a pin, submission, or KO. KO's are only achieved when a special 'BLAZIN' move is performed on an opponent who's health is REALLY low and showing 'DANGER' over it. This provides a variety of ways to win and lose a match.

Honestly, though, after playing through the game once in the story mode, the appeal to play through again with the other 3 characters is quite low. Yeah, you heard me, the other three…unfortunately, even after unlocking the scores of other beasts, none of them are available to use in the Story mode. Each of the four characters have their own style. Proof is the high-flyin crowd pleaser. Tank is…well just what his name says. Briggs is the tall brawler. And, Spider is the all-around guy who specializes in defense. Oh, and uh…none of them have ANY voice acting what-so-ever throughout the entire game. Then there is the groupie pics…well, some of the girls look better digitized than they do in real life! Let's just leave it at that.

Maybe if enough people complain about the lack of an edit mode, we'll get a 'remix' disc like Dynasty Warriors 3 did. Then you could go in and not only create a wrestler, but you could edit move sets, unlock more Blazin maneuvers, get more outfits, and maybe some more groupies!

All in all, I was happy with my purchase. But I will say that unless you have a taste for wrestling or hip hop, this game will be a rental at best. As with any new franchise, there is always room to grow but Vendetta definitely has started off on an excellent note.

Graphics: 9 of 10 - amazing character likenessess, expressions, and animation.

Sound: 10 of 10 - well, only if you like hip hop; otherwise I'd give it a 7 because some of the voices don't really fit the fighters.

Gameplay: 10 of 10 - The characters are responsive and I love Aki's wrestling system

Replay Value: 6 of 10 - The unlockables, RPG-story-mode-stylings, and opportunity to see and use the xtreme moves will keep you coming back... for a little while

OVERALL SCORE 7 of 10 - Even with the hot music, the awesome graphics and the rest of the oooo's and ahhhh's of the game, the fact that it is basically a wrestling game without the genre standard CAW or edit mode REALLY detracts from this game's replay value. Also, the fact that the camera zooms so far out during tag team and multi-player battles kind of takes away from the action a bit even though it is necessary.

Here's a suggestion for the sequel. Keep the gameplay the same and maybe add a few new characters in there. Bring back the Def Jam cast and record even more trash talking that each character says after devastating moves or combos. Put in a robust Create A Brawler mode that allows you to make your own character for use in ALL modes (for use to fight as OR against in single player story or free fight modes). Allow the mode to unlock more wrestling and brawling moves as you defeat the game IN DIFFERENT WAYS! For instance, have more outrages locks and holds unlocked if you beat the game with 5 or more submissions. Add in Blazin moves that can be unlocked which none of the characters use but the created characters can use. Maybe get some non-Def Jam artists to sign in as unlockable characters also (probably wouldn't happen but this is my dream!!). You know, maybe a Tupac or Biggie look alike! Then make a collector's edition that has all the featured music that is in the game on a separate CD!

Just a thought!!!!