Let me start off this review by saying one thing; video games and music are too genres that should not ever be merged together into one thing. That being said, music has always been a very important part of all video games, it sets the mood and can really decide whether or not a game manages to pull in the gamer. Developer EA Chicago decided to take the concept a bit further with the new rendition of their Def Jam fighting series released on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 earlier this month. The Def Jam series debuted a while back on the Playstation 2 and then later on the Xbox; this time around it takes the old formula (which worked great) and tries to add a bit of new-age mumbo jumbo that serves to take the series down to an all time low. In premise the developers probably thought what they were going to do would be revolutionary to fighting games and work fantastically, unfortunately the implementation is a bit screwy and just does not work all that well; maybe someday but not today. Def Jam: Icon is by no means a terrible game all the way around; some things it does really great but others is does really bad, read on to find out why this is one of the best and worst fighting games released thus far on the Xbox 360.
The storyline of Def Jam: Icon is the same as all the previous versions in the series: titled “build-a-label” you start off as a fresh face on the rap scene, trying to upstart your career by beating the crap out of well known rappers. Some that make their presence in Icon are: Ludacris, DMX, T.I., and many others. You are basically the producer of your own rap label and have to fight, scare, and run your own empire (all the way to the top). The plot is actually quite good interesting for a fighting game and will keep you busy well into the ten-hour mark. Crooked cops, old judges, and a couple hot ladies will make appearances throughout the storyline in an attempt to keep the story interesting as well as add some variety to an overused gameplay system. If the “east side vs. west side” debate always kept you on the edge of your seat than Def Jam: Icon is right up your alley. Battling over turf seems to be the key objective throughout the game and is completed in a variety of different ways. One thing you will need to do is build up your label by signing new artists/fighters and pumping them up to the top of the charts. This is done by repeatedly beating the crap out of countless enemies. Enough about the storyline/plot of Icon though, at its core this is a fighting game and that’s what is important.
In terms of controls Def Jam: Icon is a pretty (if not overly) simple videogame. Fighting is done thought only a couple different face buttons and the amount of moves is quite disappointing. Tekken style combos are something you will find none of in this game. You will use the joystick and the four face buttons to punch, kick, and toss your enemy rapper; this is your basic arsenal of moves. The trick of Icon comes in the music system, by moving the right joystick around you can control the “beat” of the background song which in turn causes multiple things to happen in the fighting environment. For example on one stage that takes place outside of a gas station / car wash you can repeatedly crush buildings, start fires, break windows, and turn on the washing equipment by changing the beat of the song. The reason this system does not work as well as it was intended by the developers is because you can actually win fights without knowing how or correctly doing any of these music effects. Over and over again I won fights only using the top two face buttons to punch the crap out of my opponent.
