Gaming Target - Xbox: Def Jam: Fight For New York

Written by Ryan Genno on November 03, 2004

Full Review: You can now give New York the biggest beating they've seen since the Boston Red Sox!

New York has been getting a real good reputation over the years, uh? New York City itself is now famous for having a much lower crime rate, and for being a cleaner and friendlier place to live in. Well, you can throw all that out the window now because EA's Def Jam Vendetta: Fight for New York is coming to the Xbox for the first time, and it's your job to raise all kinds of hell over the big apple. The underground wrestling world of Def Jam Vendetta is back and it's as brutal as ever.

The story begins where the last game ended. Big time gangster D-Mob has just been arrested for attempted murder during one of his big wrestling events. Just as the cops were driving him off to jail, a huge SUV rams into the cop car and D-Mob was able to make his getaway. The man that helped him escape is you! Although you helped him avoid the big house, that doesn't mean his gang will trust you right away. To hang out with D-Mob's crew you have to earn your Сrep' first and see if you can fight. Fortunately there are no shortages of local tough guys ready to beat the crap out of you. In D-Mob's absence a new leader by the name of Crow (played by none other then rap artist/actor Snoop Dogg) became the big boss of the underground wrestling circuit, and that means there are even less wrestling rules then ever before. Sure, you can still fight in a ring like in those other WWF/WWE games, but you can also get into fights in crowded bars, deadly subways, and much more.

Before you can go out and fight for cash and honour you have to decide just who you are first. That's right, unlike in the first Def Jam Vendetta you can actually get to create your own fighter this time in a welcome change. You are allowed to edit between 5 different techniques, facial features, and more. You can't edit a move lists and you can't create a woman, but that's only because of the story line purposes. There will also be chances to edit your character over the course of the game with all the cash and attribute points, if you can win some fights.

All these new options really add some replay value to the game, but winning these fights isn't going to be as easy as it sounds. In this new Def Jam Vendetta wrestling holds are fine, but there are other things to worry about. Bashing someone with a weapon is OK, the crowds can help out, and it is also possible to ram the opponent's head into several background objects to get that important knockout. I love throwing my opponents into a crowded bar just so I can tag-team them! Out of all of these locations though, the Subway station is gathering the most controversy. The reason for this is when the time is right you can throw your unlucky opponent into the upcoming Subway train. This game definitely earns its Mature rating.

One of the best things I would have to say about the first Def Jam Vendetta was the game's excellent control system. The good news is that everything has mostly remained the same, but I just have one question for EA though. Why in the world did the developers of the game add the new СModifier' button for the strong attacks? The old system was fine and we don't need a stupid extra button!

Moving on to the game's graphics, Def Jam Vendetta FFNY is one dam fine looking title. Other then some of the characters in the crowds looking pretty weak and blocky, everything else is filled with tons of detail, especially the fighters themselves. Although all the real hip-hop soundtracks are great (it was cool to hear that LL Cool J СI'm gonna knock you out!' again), it's all the taunting and trash talking that steals the show. You'll hear such victory taunts like: УWhile you're down there, why don't ya shine my shoes!Ф not to mention other ones I can't say in this review.

Although it was a shame that Xbox owners didn't the first game in the series, at least we got this incredible title this time. Def Jam Vendetta FFNY is also available on other consoles too, but the Xbox version has faster load times (compared to the Playstation2 edition) and a larger list of music (compared to the GameCube version anyway). Other then a few minor improvements all three games are identical so don't be afraid to them check out if you don't have an Xbox.