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- Def Jam: Icon
Def Jam: Icon
- January 30, 2007 10:58 AM PST
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Music makes the best weapon.
The Beastie Boys were known to let the beat drop. That's a lesson learned in Def Jam: Icon where the dropping beat is your best friend. With Icon, EA Chicago is out to create a true hip-hop lifestyle fighting game, and music is your main weapon.
Rock the Rhythm
Def Jam is a fighting series, yes, but this latest installment, Def Jam: Icon, will be the first fighting game to make the music the most important element of play. Everything in the game reacts to the beat of the music, and using the interactive environment is just as important as punches, kicks, and throws. Every object in the background moves to the beat of the current track and specific beats trigger interactive hazards like exploding gas pumps, car wash brushes, and even hose sprays from ticked off convenience store clerks. Timing attacks with these events is the key to taking down an opponent for good.
The analog sticks also function as turntable controls to add an extra bit of brutality to combos. You can changes tracks with the sticks and scratch like a DJ to add beats and switch songs, which really changes up the gameplay.
Bounce to Your Own Beats
There are 30 licensed and 8 environments in the game, but because each level plays completely different with each track, you're looking at 240 different in-game environments. But hold the phone! You can also upload any song right into the game, and the background events will even sync to the beat. Just imagine bashing in Big Boi's head to the soothing sounds of My Endless Love. The possibilities are indeed endless!
We played four different levels -- the Gas Station, the LA Rooftop, the BET Studio, and the NY Club -- all of which completely alter in personality according to the specific song that is playing. Fighters have different styles, too, and each one of the 35 artists is more powerful when one of his tracks is booming. To combat this effect, there is the option for the opposing fighter to power down a track and switch to one of his own with the DJ controls. But missing the beat means a dangerous backfire. The rest of the damage is done by linking together combos with the easy-to-use combat system. The more combos you string together, the faster you can hit someone. And taunts help to really rub in the humiliation.
The Build the Label story mode starts you off as an underground rapper, challenging you to essentially become a hip-hop icon by building your own label and signing other hot artists. You'll be just like Jermaine Dupri, but with talent.
