Def Jam Fight for NY (PS2)

I have to say I didn't regret my choice (like i did with Vendetta), after getting past the over-the-top intro video (some of the rappers look truly lifelike!) and going straight in for a one-on-one I realised the Def Jam had finally come good. EA have released a few games recently that follow on in a series (most notably Burnout 3) and these games (to EA's credit) have been excellent 'evolutions' of the series rather than just redressing the graphics and sticking 2/3/new subtitle on the end of the title like so many games do. You'll realise this in Fight for NY the first time you shove Busta Rhymes into the baying crowd only for one of them to grab him turn to face the bloke next to time and witness the genius that is 'crowd interaction'; bottles get smashed, pool cues broken, steel pipes bent as the crowd add a whole new level to the fighting genre. This is a work of genius and it doesn't stop at simple weapons, throw your opponent into a huddle of people and 'call' for a double team and you and the participating crowd member bat your hapless opponent between you with a series of hits, or even end up performing various holds and grapples while a severe kicking is administered to a multi-million selling rap artist!

This is another area in which Def Jam excels itself, the graphics will make your eyes pop out of you head when you see it moving, it's sometimes like watching a scene from a rap video (albeit poorly made) as you see the light wrapping around each character (around 60 - I've not unlocked them all!) while they go about their business. It's not just this though the environments are fully destructible!! While this is usually a very small area (the crowd cover the rest of the surroundings only leaving a few gaps for you to make use of) the level of destruction is very satisfying mainly thanks to the impacts this
game has, I've not played another game (including UFC/Smackdown) where the characters have made me wince so much as they've got pummelled against the floor/pool table/fence etc.. You really have to see these to fully appreciate them.

As always with Def Jam the main story mode offers a tale of betrayal and is surprisingly involving (especially as YOU now appear in the cut scenes - or at least your identi-kit character does) with the usual scraps over 'honies' (although disappointingly the photo galleries have been removed) and double-crossing of various characters in your (and other) crews.

As you'd expect from a Def Jam game the music is impressive, although there are few 'main stream' rap songs on here (which could be a plus/minus depending on how heavily into rap/rap culture you are) for the most part even the fairly unknown ones are pleasent enough and provide the right atmosphere for each showdown in the game. The main negative I had with the music was when you come up against a difficult opponent in story mode; as their stage has their signature tune on it, each time you re-match them the same tune is left playing and if it takes a while to beat them this quickly begins to grate.

The in-game voice samples are all from the rappers themselves, with some genuinely smirk-inducing comments made (Redman's 'intro' is one example), this goes a long way to making you believe the story that this game tells.

What didn't I like? Well, as stated about the repeated stage song can be annoying against a tough opponent as can the difficulty level at times, characters like Sean Paul seem to be frustratingly difficult so early on in the game (especially as that interactive crowd is on his side!). The only other criticism that could be levelled at this game is that there's not often enough of an explanation about various options (especially at the gym where you build a fighting style) which could have made this game so much better, but then again the fact that you're not told exactly how to do things may encourage you to play through story mode again (?).

As fighting games go, Def Jam is the new king, great graphics, soundtrack and meaty impacts along with the best crowd implementation I've seen in a game make this a sleeper hit.. Buy it!