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Hands On - Def Jam: Icon |
by Coola
3/8/2007 |
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Xbox365 headed up to EA’s own Chicago Studios to check out what the team that brought you Fight Night Round 3 is up to. They’re next title in the loop, you guessed it – Def Jam Icon. The game has changed since its other iterations, in the fact that music is now your weapon. Yes, music. That’s what the big catch of this game is. Sure it’s a fighting game with rappers and the like. But to beat someone’s ass with music is such an interesting concept. I’ll get right into how this works.
So the background and environment are all booming and bumping to the rhythm of the song playing. Each player gets to choose (before hand) what their song will be. We only tested the songs featured in the game but we learned later than you could use your own music. Phil Collins – In the Air tonight, will be my choice of weapon. Now, you both have chosen your song and you can both fight it out with combo moves like kicking, punching, grappling and take downs. That sorta thing. But when the chance presents itself, you have the option to ‘scratch the record’ and really do some damage. For example, on LEVEL, there’s a car that will tail-whip and hit your opponent if you time the scratching of the record just right. However, the tricky part is getting your song to play. This is a little longer of a maneuver to pull off, and one you can only do if your opponent is off snoozing or laying on the ground after a massive attack. They’re song can be playing, but you can change the tune in a matter of seconds. Timing is key.
 
Here are some of the other features of Def Jam: Icon:
Music is Your Weapon—Beats trigger interactive hazards around you as your environment comes alive and reacts to the music. From exploding gas pumps to spinning helicopter propellers, taking advantage of your surroundings is just as important as your toe-to-toe fighting skills. Become one with the beats to rule the streets.
DJ Controls—Use the analog sticks like turntables to add beats, switch songs, and make music your weapon. Take control of the music to control the outcome of the fight!
Become a Hip Hop Icon—The story mode will allow you to build an empire and live the life of a music mogul by signing artists, managing their careers, and releasing their hit songs. Do whatever it takes to become an icon in the world of hip hop. But beware—you never know who is watching you.
Hip Hop’s Hottest Stars—Fight with or against the biggest stars in hip hop. Artists like Big Boi, The Game, Ludacris, Paul Wall, T.I., and more are all instrumental in your building a record label and becoming a hip hop icon.
Online Gameplay* – Go head to head with friends across the country for the ultimate hip hop showdown.
My Soundtrack (Exclusive Xbox 360 feature)—Load any MP3 into DEF JAM: ICON and it will drive the environment and gameplay just like songs included with the game. Are you a fan of thrash rock or 1980’s pop music? You can now fight to the beat with any song using My Soundtrack.
Apart from the ‘music is your weapon’ concept, the game plays like your average fighter. You have your kick, punches, grapples and take down moves. Kinda like the UFC with a hip-hop twist to it. Make no mistake, even though this is a hip-hop flavored game, if you’re a gamer that isn’t into that type of music, you can still play this game and enjoy it. They have a ‘create your own character’ feature which you can build up, from the clothing brand to facial features and the like. You don’t even have to use songs in the game since you can stream from the Xbox 360’s hard drive or networking functionality. Once again, Phil Collins.
Now for the entire cast of the game:
Anthony Anderson
Jim Jones
Method Man
Sticky Fingaz
Big Boi
Kano
Mike Jones
Summer Walker
Bun B
KD Aubert
Nina Nicole
T.I.
E-40
Kevin Liles
Paul Wall
Tego
Fat Joe
Lil Jon
Redman
The Game
Funkmaster Flex
Ludacris
Robert Dolan
Young Jeezy
Ghostface Killah
Mayra Veronica
Russell Simmons
James Hong
Melyssa Ford
Sean Paul
The big request from the event was Dave Chappelle as a fighter. Like wow. Wouldn’t that be the most kick-ass thing? Even if it isn’t realistic to actually get Dave and embed him as a feature, but hey you can probably create him yourself. My own request was Sexual Chocolate, from Coming to America. GOD, please Electronic Arts Chicago. I know you have the power, it can be done. It would be such a beautiful art and everyone knows it.
Anyhoo, the game itself sports a single player campaign which has you as a struggling rapper working his way up the ladder to become numero uno. If you’re not into the rap game, I don’t recommend buying the game. Let’s be real about it. If you dig Fallout Boy and Garth Brooks, you do not want to play this game. If you’re into street life and pimpin’. This game’s for you. As usual, I don’t like to get into the single player campaign because that would ruin the value of the game. I didn’t get to see a whole lot but from what I can tell, it looks on par with a mid-budget film and it definitely has its plot twists.
In case you were wondering, the game does serve replayability in its multiplayer function. I think this would be the big reason why gamers would get into this game. The fact that you can create your own character and select your choice of a song to fight during a match is as personal as it gets. There was talk about using the Xbox Live Vision camera to put your face into the game but perhaps we’ll see that down the road.
All in all, the game was very fun to play. It looks a lot like Fight Night Round 3 because, well duh, it’s the same developer. And that’s a damn good thing. I would definitely like to see them using the ‘music is your weapon’ concept in future Def Jam: Icon games and maybe even make one not so exclusive to the Hip-Hop genre itself.
A demo for Def Jam: Icon is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace to download. Look for Def Jam: Icon in stores now and March 16th if you're one of those... europeans.
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Ihatesoup
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It looks good.
It will sell.
I'm not gonna buy it.
All is well.
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