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Grondar · 08-13-2004, 07:54 AM

I missed out on the first Def Jam, but after reading up on the sequel, I'm really excited about it.

I've been watching all the movies I could, and it looks really good. They've added online play, more arenas, fighting styles, and more open career mode.

Is anyone else excited about this game? It comes out in September on all three of the consoles.

Anyone else excited about this?

Here is IGN's preview of the game:

Quote:

August 10, 2004 - Last year's Def Jam Vendetta brought the worlds of hip hop and wrestling together with fantastic results. However, yearly updates of the same wrestling ring formula would have quickly grown stale. That's why grappling masters Aki and the folks at EA Canada decided to go beyond the ring and take the artists of Def Jam into the realm of bare-knuckle brawling. Famed hip hop artists including Slick Rick, Ludacris, and Flava Flav duke it out with a mixture of punches, kicks, and devastating grapples. The environments play an important role, as does your ability to bitch-slap your gangsta opponent at a moment's notice. Is Def Jam: Fight for NY gonna be better than the original? It's certainly looking that way.

Whether you create your own player or use one of the 65 playable characters, you'll have access to a bevy of moves and five glorious fighting styles (street fighting, kickboxing, martial arts, submission, and wrestling). This healthy mix of styles creates different strategies depending on the character. A submission fighter will want to get a submission hold on his opponent and try and injure a specific body part, while a street fighter will probably just want to grab a hammer from the crowd and brain the opposition.
Controls feel like those of a classic wrestler and should be easy for most gamers to pick up right off the bat. You can punch, kick, run, and grapple with the face buttons, while the triggers offer the ability to block or modify your attacks for more power. The simplistic controls don't translate into basic and repetitive moves. Thanks to complete interaction with the environments, you'll see lots of thrilling moves in just about every match. Slam Flava's mug into a wall, toss Joe Budden in front of an oncoming train, or let the surrounding crowd grab hold of Carmen Electra so you can beat her like it's Prom night all over again.

The environments offer some great variety and will factor into your attack plan. When fighting inside a circle of onlookers, you'll have to be a little wary. Get pushed into the crowd and they may throw you back into the ring, offbalance, or worse, they may grab hold of you so your opponent can lay down a beating. Fight in a circle of flames and, well, you better make sure you don't get burned. The 20 different environments all seem quite unique so that you'll probably never think "boy, more of the same crap." Instead, you'll have different dimensions to your arena with each match, different places to "sticky points" on walls and other surfaces from which to launch devastating moves, and even different attack options altogether, because some arenas offer weapons to wield against your opponent.

When fighting around a crowd, they'll sometimes offer up hammers, crowbars, bottles, and other dangerous objects, which you can pick up and use to club the opposition. There's nothing quite like taking a tire iron to Xzibit. Pimp this ride biotch! Okay, maybe that's just my own thing.

Along with the kicks, punches, grapples, wall slams, and bludgeonings, each character has a unique Blazin' move. These moves are earned once you've provided a sufficient beating to another fighter and fill your Blazin' meter. Once on fire, you can grapple an opponent and perform your special attack, which is a visual feast.

Of course, what's most important is that Def Jam: Fight for NY is fun. After all, if it's got great presentation but is a horrible creature to control, what's the point? Fear not, Fight for NY is a lot tighter than the first and the varied environments and match-types make for a much more enjoyable experience. Granted, this is from someone who didn't think the first Def Jam was all that great. If you're in the same boat as me, you may wanna take a closer look at Fight for NY as it's converted me into a definite supporter. And hey, if you loved the Def Jam Vendetta you're in for the same type of gameplay, but fitted into a much deeper game.

Though there are some fixes that still need to happen before the game ships in early September -- mainly camera and some fight tuning -- what I've seen of Fight for NY leaves me wanting more. It's hard to explain the magic that tingles through your fingers after running straight up a wall, landing behind an opponent and then slamming him into the brick. You just gotta experience it to earn the true sensation. But trust me, it is a delight.

We'll have more on Def Jam: Fight for NY every single day leading up to its release. Crazy, huh?

Preview can be found HERE.