Def Jam Icon, the successor to Def Jam Fight for New York, is the third installment in the Def Jam series. To my knowledge, the games are not based on the same story, but my lack of experience with the series may besiege me. The unknown territory I was about to step into, was surprisingly similar to game play I had experienced before although the story and agenda of the game was far different.

As with most games, at the start of the campaign you are allowed to create your character and customize him/her as you see fit. All the normal options are available for creating your character; face, hair, apparel, but nothing new or surprisingly extraordinary. Next, you name your record label. At this point, it becomes obvious the object of the game is to build your record label empire and become... an icon... who would of thought?

So how does building a record label fit into a fighting concept? The game begins with a cinematic of your newly created character speaking to Chris Carter, the assumed CEO of your record label (unknown at this point), in which the conversation is abruptly interrupted by a drive by shooting, leaving Carter dead in the street.

Flash back to you in a club in which you are involved in an altercation where you throw down for the first time. Having no tutorial on how this fighting concept works, you are on your own to figure out. It is possible to pause and go to the controls section which does give you a breakdown of what the buttons do, but it is still a little complicated to understand their actual application or usefulness. Once I began ‘testing' each button to try and decipher its usefulness, I realized I had played something ever so similar, which happened to be WCW/NWO Revenge for the Nintendo 64; punches, kicks, and you guessed it, grapples. I realize most wrestling games likely implore the same tactics in fighting, but that title is the most notably close in my experience with wrestling games. The more I played, the more possibilities I discovered. Mix in the joystick and the strike buttons gives you power attacks of different types. Grapple and use the joystick to fling your opponent across the stage into walls, vehicles, or even breakable items such as tables or crates. I also noticed that each player has their own unique fighting style. Although un-named, examples would be similar to drunken monkey or crouching tiger.

So what about the musical influence on the game? This is where the concept becomes truly unique and interesting. Most obviously you will notice the ‘arenas' you fight in are interactive and influenced by musical entities. For example, at the club there is a speaker wall which can be utilized by a player when an opponent is nearby to blow out the speakers impacting any and all players nearby, yourself included, inflicting what I am assuming is a close to maximum amount of damage; assumptions being made due to the lack of a power meter or any type of indicator, even while paused. More examples include fish tailing low riders to a microphone boom swinging into action. Now, if I only knew how to use the environment to sweep Ludacris off of his feet…hrm? After reviewing the controls a few more times and a few more matches, I concluded that rotating the joysticks in complete circles, sometimes two, made the environment lash out at my opponent. Voila! Grapple an opponent, launch him into the speaker wall, and unleash a devastating blast of bass to blow the shirt right off of MIKE JONES!!! There was only one more thing I was unsure of and that is, at the end of each fight you receive a post fight report which entails types of attacks and how many you performed. In this list I noticed a type of ‘attack' I had not utilized, the song switch. By rotating the left joystick two times counter-clockwise and the right joystick clockwise (or vice-versa, my memory fails me) your fighter will change the song that is being played. During these rotations, your fighter will stop and essentially ‘air' DJ on his ‘air' turntables. Let it be noted that your opponent may also ‘stomp' out your air DJing, knocking you back into a stunned daze, and perform his own song change. While on Xbox Live playing multiplayer matches, it can actually become quite fun and entertaining with each player fighting, utilizing the environment, and ‘air' mixing the music you hear. MP allowing for points to be earned in each match for a sort of ranking system.

Back at the club after you successfully defeat your first opponent, you are approached by Chris Carter who praises you for your fight and ability to do what needs to be done, but not forgetting to offer you some work. You are given a phone, some cash, and a place to stay. The crib is not much, but it's a roof over your head, and you have no problem with that. With the cash Carter fronted, you are told to get some new ‘gear'. The ability to buy new clothes, travel to different locations, and receive messages proposing missions and details relevant to your record label. Your first missions will come in the form of dealing with stalker type fans or the paparazzi as favors to potential artists that may sign with your label; most notably, MIKE JONES!!! With each completed mission, come more artists and more responsibilities given to you by Carter. Incoming messages may include artist related media decisions or legal issues pertaining to your artists. You are also responsible for any specific record that Carter assigns to you, firstly Mike Jones' upcoming album. Designating a budget for marketing, PR, and merchandise, the whole ordeal is your responsibility.

Without going all the way through the campaign, I am unaware of any other features that come later in the game, I was able to utilize everything the game has to offer except the completed storyline. Although, I will admit I may pick back up the remote to see just why Carter was mowed down in broad day light. However, I won't be picking up a copy at the local gamestore with its $60 price tag. Let it also be noted that this game's content and music are entirely uncut, making this game not suitable for younger audiences.

May 25, 2007 | 3 comments
Robert Rasco