When you think about musicians making video games Britney’s Dance Beat or Revolution X (you know, that great game involving Aerosmith) might cross you mind. Then you probably have a good laugh with your friends about ‘em and how each has ten copies or so. The time has come again for new musicians to take their chances at the video game world, but does Def Jam Vendetta have what it takes to pass the almighty Revolution X?(ha, not likely)

    Def Jam Vendetta plays almost exactly like earlier AKI made wrestling games, only now the gameplay is a bit faster. So vets of those games should be pretty comfortable with just picking up and playing this title. A little adjustment might be needed for the changes that were made, but nothing that will slow down the action. If you are unfortunate enough to have missed these games (mainly on the 64), don’t worry, the controls can be learned quite fast. The gameplay is based on a grapple system. Tapping the “A” button will result in a weak grapple and pressing “A” will result in a strong grapple. Each grapple has it own set of moves which are performed by moving the joystick to any direction and then either the “A” or “B” button. Get used to tapping the “L” and “R” buttons because the computer knows how to reverse your moves and they like to show this often. It’s not uncommon to have a move reversed three or four times between the two of you before it’s finally finished.

    Now I know some of you have already denounced a wrestling game using rappers as the characters but Def Jam Vendetta has many advantages over your average wrestling game. By using rappers, players don’t need to worry about the current drama that the wrestler is going through on the TV. Players also won’t get upset over not having the up to date rosters or current most costumes for the wrestlers. Since Def Jam Vendetta takes a slight departure from reality (lets face it, this will never happen in real life), the moves can be more creative and stylish. This is really prevalent in the special moves performed by the wrestlers. Many will get “wows” out of you for how cool they look. The original wrestlers will get a little more respect out of you too, since they make up the majority of the forty plus wrestlers. The only real downside to this departure from “real” wrestling is that Def Jam Vendetta changed almost all of the names of the moves. Even the basics like Bodyslam or Suplex. Instead of the original names, they have been replaced with gimmicky slang names like “Runnin’ and Gunnin’” or something.

    The main portion of the Def Jam is the story mode. Here you chose between one of four unique characters and led them through it. The plot’s pretty thin, your friend gets hurt and you need to wrestle his matches for him to pay back the money he owes. Eventually you develop another motive for fighting and this carries you through the rest of the game. For each win you’ll get some cash which can be used to raise your character’s stats. As you progress, the purse for the match increases, balancing out the increase in the price of stat. Not only is the story mode the main mode of play for single player action, but it’s also where you unlock all the other wrestlers (or rappers however you want to look at it). Now just because the story mode got top billing doesn’t mean that your friends will have to be left out.

    Much like other wrestling games, Def Jam Vendetta is extremely fun when several people are involved in the matches. Unfortunately the multiplayer modes are only limited to those two options. A tag team survival or a Royal Rumble-esque match would have been nice. Also allowing having the eliminated wrestlers not being able to continue to fight on the outside and such is rather disappointing, especially if you were eliminated first in a ten plus minute match.

    Having Def Jam in the title, it should be expected that music is going to be a big part of this game. During the matches you’ll be exposed to a lyric-less version of songs that just loops. But while exploring the menus you’ll get to hear full, radio versions of songs by Def Jam artists. A little odd to put edited versions of the songs when there is swearing in the actual game. Not all of the songs are new; Onyx and Public Enemy get some playtime during the game, too. Also take note of the vas and how nicely they were done. Many games should take note of this. All the characters, except the four in the story mode, have their own speaking taunts and a few have some pretty big speaking roles.

    Graphically the game isn’t anything special. It looks like an updated and nicely polished 64. But that’s not to say it’s bad. The crowd in the smaller venues looks really good. Many of the movie clips are not as clear and of high a quality as they could be, but this could just be my TV. You can, however, unlock some nice photo galleries of the girlies you meet along your way to the top.

    While Def Jam Vendetta isn’t the most fulfilling wrestling game out, it definitely is one of the best. There’s enough reply value here to hold you over until a decent WWE game gets released. So until then, sit back, crank up your favorite cd, and proceed to pummel your friends into submission.