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Def Jam: Icon
Although the number of first generation fighters on the
PS3 is basically one, through the years there have virtually hundreds
of fighting games on various consoles. These games generally involve
beating the absolute living daylights out of someone and Def Jam Icon is
no exception to the rule. However the creators of the acclaimed EA
SPORTS Fight Night Series have released something uniquely different that
merges the world of hip hop with fighting in a game never seen before.
No longer are players involved in button mashing and gamers must now use
the beat of the music to successfully win their battles. Sound strange?
Read on....
Features
Unlike other fighting games, Def Jam Icon
combines the genre of rhythmic-music with fighting in order for your
player to become the king of the music industry through the use of
fighting and music. Although EA have had quite a bit of success with the
previous versions, EA pumps some new adrenaline through the veins of the Def
Jam franchise with ICON. While the preceding titles relied on a heavy
dose of wrestling as the backbone of the fighting action, ICON cracks
that backbone with a totally different combat at its core, focusing on a
more slow-paced street-brawling fighting style.
Taking its cue from a long line of successful rhythmic-music games, from
PaRappa the Rapper to Dance, Dance Revolution to Guitar Hero, Def Jam
ICON uses the hip-hop music as a source of power in the game. This well-implemented facet of the Def Jam combat
system serves to revitalize the franchise with a fresh approach to
fighting games instead of simply being a button-mashing brawler. The
music also brings the battle arena to life with interactive hazards
unique to each respective battle arena.
However, with this decidedly different combat design comes a much more
complex control schematic. Instead of the usual punch, grab and kick
controls of the standard fighting game, Def Jam ICON has DJ Controls,
where you’ll kick it old-school, using the analog sticks to take control
of the music by scratching and mixing the music to your advantage.
Once you knock your opponent to the ground, you’ll actually be able to
generate and unleash searing musical attacks by adding beats to the
tunes playing, causing environmental interactions that inflict damage to
your opponent. You can even gain some momentum in the heat of the fight
by changing the song choice. This certainly is a very creative new
direction for the Def Jam franchise that definitely pumps new blood into
the franchise’s fighting. These controls can be dauntingly complex to
learn at first, but after a while you’ll be the master music mixer.
Graphically, Def Jam Icon is extremely
reminiscent of the characters from the Fight Night series that looks quite
stunning on the PS3, the only drawback are the background
environments that are a little static and rough. The characters are
extremely well animated with realistic textures that move with grace and
speed. Match that with an awesome soundtrack and you have one good
looking and good sounding game... then again, have you ever seen a bad
EA game?
In conclusion, Def Jam Icon really freshens
the stale fighting genre with innovative gameplay, an awesome hip-hop
soundtrack and the ability to play online and you have one well made
game. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it's definitely worth a
look. XBox versus PS3? Definitely the PS3 version with the higher
resolution graphics! |
