Def Jam: Fight for N.Y.

Added October 7th, 2004 by Sallizar

Introduction:

When I first heard about Def Jam Vendetta I chuckled. Rap stars wrestling? You’ve got to be kidding me. A few months later a friend of mine purchased a PS2 and we headed out to look for some games to try out on it. As we were sorting through the mess of used games in the local game store he stumbled upon Def Jam. I gave him my best sneer of derision and shook my head no. He pointed out it was developed by Aki, one of the foremost developers of wrestling simulations. I shrugged and he ended up putting it back. A few weeks later, I ended up getting it for him as a kind of gag gift for Christmas. He drops by with the game and his system a few short days later and loads up his save game. He had not only finished story mode, he’d already unlocked everything and he demanded that I try it swearing I’d love it. He was right. I don’t know what it is about beating up rap stars with other rap stars, but it turned out to be a really good time. Too bad it wasn’t on Xbox. That’s what sequels are for though. Apparently my friend and I were not the only ones that got a kick out of the game, so EA decided to have Aki do another. Def Jam Fight for N.Y. picks up where Vendetta left off and brings a ton of new features to the rapper on rapper fight club genre.

Gameplay:

Def Jam Vendetta was a pure wrestling game, but that’s only one fifth of Fight for New York. Martial arts, street fighting, kick boxing and submissions join wrestling as the fighting styles available in the latest Def Jam. Each fighter can have a combination of any three styles from the five available. Each fighting style has its own special KO move used to finish a match. For example, a street fighter character will be able to swing a slow but deadly haymaker punch to try to knock out their rival while a wrestler will deliver a crippling throw to finish a match. Learn multiple styles and you’ll have multiple KO options in your arsenal that will keep your opponent guessing. The multiple styles seemed a bit pointless to me at first but they really do force you to alter your strategy to compensate for your own weaknesses while taking advantage of your opponents.

Even though you now have five distinctive ways to dish out damage with your fist and feet why stop there. Why not get a helping hand or a weapon of some kind? Most arenas will have crowds of bystanders standing around the edge. If you grab an opponent and throw them at the crowd, they will hold him tight so you can rage on him without worry. See a guy holding up a pool cue, 40 oz. bottle, or a tire iron and you can stroll buy and grab it and use it to get a little more of the other guys blood on the floor. Even the arena environments can be used as weapons. Ask Ludacris what his favorite song is as you put his head through the jukebox glass or finish off Busta Rhymes by running up the side of the fence then delivering a stunning spin kick. Do enough damage and you’ll be to able to go Blazing! Grapple your opponent successfully and flick the right thumbstick and you’ll be treated to an over the top, mind blowingly brutal finishing move style animation. All these options ensure that every fight is different and every fight is intense to the last blow.

The biggest surprise in Vendetta and even more so in Fight for New York is just how well crafted the story is. Fight for N.Y. picks up where Vendetta left off with gang boss D-Mob being hauled away by the police. A shadowed figure engineers D-Mobs escape and then the player is taken to a scene with a police sketch artist. You’ll be prompted to answer questions about the suspect to build you’re very own character that will be the star of story mode, even appearing in all the cut scenes. After the sketch is done you’re fighter will be introduced to some more of D-Mob’s crew and you’ll begin fighting to take over clubs run by D-Mob’s rival Crow (played by Snoop Dogg). The story has a few twists and turns and you’ll get to pick up a girlfriend just like the first game as you build to the climax. Unfortunately, that climax comes way too quickly and there’s not much point to playing through it again.

The custom fighter you create in story mode is what really makes the game for me. You start off story mode with absolutely no power. As you win fights you gain development points that you can spend at Henry Rollin’s gym to learn new styles, new blazing moves, and build up your strength, speed, toughness, etc. Utilizing the various styles and stats you can create a fighter that fits your unique playing style perfectly.

Along with improving your stats you also get options for clothing, haircuts and shaves, tattoos, and jewelry. Clothing is all based on real world fashions and has big name licenses like Sean John, Phat Farm, and Reebok. Almost all the clothing is available in a rainbow of colors and usually has special options. For example, you can wear your pants with one leg rolled up, both rolled up, sagged low, with a round belt, with a round belt with one leg up, etc. I think you get the idea. Tattoos can be done all across your body and each design has three levels. My character sports a scroll with Japanese text on it on his right forearm. The text is the first level, and then the scroll design around it was unlocked as the second level. The third level is some additional design work around the scroll that I didn’t like so I left it off. Chains, earrings, bracelets and watches can be bought at the jewelry store. Not only do these sparkle and shine to show off your winnings, but they also add to your charisma. The higher your charisma the faster you build up your blazing meter. Make sure your character is decked out with plenty of ice to ensure maximum damage.
Graphics:

While they aren’t as gorgeous as Dead or Alive, the character models in Fight for New York are still some of the best I’ve seen. Every character based on a rap star is instantly recognizable, even if they may be a little less buff in real life. The made up characters that fill out the roster look great as well and they fit right in with the main characters. The crowd doesn’t look as good as the fighters but they are acceptable. The arenas are all very well done and have lots of lighting effects that add to the ambience of each. Unfortunately all the eye candy comes with a price. Frame rate lag. Occasionally the game will start to chug and skip a bit. It’s not extremely bad and has only really messed me up once in a key moment in a fight with Sean Paul. It is noticeable though and hurts the overall experience of the game just a bit.

Audio:

Usually I’m not a big fan of games that feature a rap/hip-hop soundtrack. With Def Jam it just kind of makes sense though. I can’t really see how beating Method Man and Redman senseless with a pool cue would seem right while listening to Green Day or Yellowcard. The soundtrack is mix of hit songs from almost every star in the game. You’ll even unlock more tracks as you play through story mode. All the voice work for the rapper characters are actually done by their real life counterparts. This makes for a real immersive setting in the fights and the cut scenes. Some of the taunts get a little old after awhile but having Ice-T berate your family after he KO’s you is always enough to make you hit yes when prompted for a rematch. Also, when you create a character you get to pick his voice from six options. In Vendetta your character never spoke and it struck me as odd too have a strong silent type in the middle of all the trash talking. It’s really cool to hear your custom fighter sling insults like all the other fighters. The sound effects are just bone crunchingly top notch. I wince every time I hear a 40 shatter on my head or I get stomped into a pool table. Lastly, to top it all off, all this audio candy is Dolby Digital compatible for gamers with a custom sound system.

Controls:

The controls for Def Jam are fairly straightforward and fit the game well. I’m not real fond of the Xbox triggers for blocking in fighting games because they have to much pull and don’t give me split second reaction time. I’d also gotten used to the PS2 controller on the first game so I ended up using an adapter and a Dual Shock. Sacrilege, I know, but Xbox loyalists should be fine since they probably never played Vendetta. Overall, the controls are easy to master and you’ll be cracking skulls in no time.

Left Thumbstick - Move Fighter
Right Thumbstick - Taunt. - Activate Blazing
A Button - Grapple, Throw, Pick Up Weapon
B Button - Run
X Button - Kick
Y Button - Punch
White Button - Opponent Targeting (Multi-Character Matches Only)
Black Button - Opponent Targeting (Multi-Character Matches Only)
Left Trigger - Strong Attack Modifier
Right Trigger - Block
Replay:

I burned through the main story mode in Fight for N.Y. in just over six hours. I lost a lot of fights at first while getting used to the new control scheme, so if you pick it up quickly you can probably shave a little off that time even. Afterward there are a still few bonus fights left to finish for some extra development points to round out your character. The bonus fights only take maybe thirty minutes tops though. That leaves you with playing a good bit of versus mode to unlock a handful of characters you don’t get by beating story mode. That’s really not to bad for a fighting game, but it feels really short for some reason. Plus, no online play means you’ll be stuck fighting whoever you can actually get to come sit on your couch.

Summary:

My favorite flavor of ice cream is a pint of Ben and Jerry’s “Everything But The.” Bear with me, I really am going somewhere with this. It’s a combination of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with heath bar chunks, white chocolate chunks, peanut butter cups and chocolate covered almonds. Bad thing is I polish it off in about three minutes because it’s only a pint. All the new features in Fight for New York are real high quality and tasty ingredients, but you really only get to experience it for a short time. Kind of like my ice cream. Overall it’s a stunning sequel to Vendetta and a really good first outing for the series on the Xbox. EA really went above and beyond for this sequel and I can’t wait to see how they top it next time.