GAMING HAVEN!
THE OPENING
Def Jam Vendetta is maybe one of the most under looked wrestling games of this gaming generation. Most people denied that the game would be a hit mainly because 9 of the characters are rappers. This game is defiantly worth at least a rent for fans of rap music and wrestling/fighting games.
The story of Def Jam Vendetta is basically you are the new guy in town and you want to gain some respect. So you find a friend named Manny, he is an underground street fighter but he has a broken arm. So he asks you to fight for him for the next few matches, he said if you win it might gain you some respect around town. Well the Underground fight organization he works for is run by a man named D-Mobb. Your character gets attracted to D-Mobbs girlfriend and tries to "hook-up" with her. D-Mobb catches you looking at her and he tries to humiliate you publicly. Manny wants the money you win to pay for his rent, but D-Mobb gets a certain percent of that money, which Manny disagrees on. So the confusion goes on in this underground street organization, the conflict rises between you, D-Mobb and his "boys".
GAMEPLAY
The gameplay in this game is quite similar to AKI's other fighting games, like WWF No Mercy or Wrestlemania. The only backfire in this game is that there are no weapons and no "gimmick" matches (Ladder Matches, Backstage Fights, Guest Referee). But the improved fighting system really makes up for those losses. Instead of the other AKI games, when you win the match its over. In DJV when you win you get a grade on how well you did in that match. You also gain money to upgrade the stats of one of the four characters you play with in story mode.
You can play story mode, which obviously follows the story of the game. Battle mode which is the multi-player mode that includes 1 on 1, Free for all, Tag Team, and Handicap Matches. The other mode is survival, in this mode you are put up to the challenge to defeat all of the characters you have unlocked with out losing.
There is a unique "girlfriend" mode in DJV. During story mode you are able to get your character to have a girlfriend. During the story, another girl will come along trying to hit on you. Then you will have two options and four different endings to the conflict. When the other girl comes along and starts to flirt with you, your real girlfriend comes in�then you are able to choose between the two. If you stick with the old one and win, you will unlock part of her photo gallery (look at next paragraph for details) and you will unlock the other girl as a character. If you stick with the old one and lose, then she will be disappointed and you will unlock nothing new. If you choose the new girl and lose, then you will unlock no galleries and no characters, you will also be put back with your old girlfriend. But if you choose the new one and win then you will unlock her and part of her photo gallery.
When you unlock a girls photo album you will be able to look at photos of a model who represents the girl. There are four rows, top row is just facial shots, the second row is body shots, the third row is face shots in a bikini, and bottom row is body shots of the bikini. The top 3 rows can be unlocked or bought, but the very bottom row you can only unlock if you stick with your girlfriend at all times and win each time.
There are tons characters to unlock in this game, there are a total of 43 unlockable characters which include rappers and original characters. The rappers that appear in this game are Method Man, Redman, DMX, Ludacris, N.O.R.E, Capone, Joe Budden, GhostFace Killa, Kieth Murray, Funk Masta Flex, WC, and more! There are 13 stages for you to unlock, the stages range from underground clubs to junkyards.
GRAPHICS
The graphics in this game are pretty average. The game was not beefed up for the looks, it is based mainly on the gameplay. The characters have realistic body shapes (most of them at least), but they do not look lifelike. The facial movements are done pretty well, whenever you have your opponent in a headlock you can see them struggling and gasping for air. But the real people (rappers) are done really well, if you compare their bodies to actual pictures, the shape is well done. Some cinematic scenes and tutorial movies are blurry, but only slightly. You can still see what is going on in the scene. In some cases its done for effect, people dancing in the background for example might be blurrier than the people in the foreground. Also with some fatter characters they have fingers that are a bit blocky.
SOUND
The sound in this game is great! The soundtrack is also well done it includes some of the latest Def Jam artists like DMX and Joe Budden to the classic old school Def Jam artists like Public Enemy and Method Man (but he still is a DJ artist). The voiceovers are done really well in this game, every real artist did their own voice for this game. As well each artist was able to choose their own looks, moves, and their finishing move.
The soundtrack is great but the downside is that you can only listen to the music without the lyrics during a match, that usually takes out a lot when you are playing the game. But the selection they made for the soundtrack is unbelievably great! They are missing some artists that are in the game like Ludacris, they should have added one of his greatest songs � "Southern Hospitality". Overall the soundtrack and voiceovers in this game are done really well.
CONTROLS
Pretty basic controls, B button punches and kicks. A button grapples. X button runs and gets on the turnbuckle. Y button exits the ring. R button blocks. L button pins. The control stick moves your character and the C stick taunts. The control scheme in this game is pretty good. Like most other wrestling/fighting games.
GRAPHICS- 8.6
SOUND- 9.2
CONTROLS- 8.5
GAMEPLAY- 8.8
REPLAY VALUE- 7.0
CHALLENGE- 8.8
FUN FACTOR- 8.9
OVERALL- 8.3
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HAVEN