Tekken: Dark Resurrection raised the bar on portable 3D fighting, and hot on its heels is a much different take on the fighting genre, Def Jam Fight for New York: the Takeover. EA Games has taken the highly regarded PS2 version, downsized it somewhat, and managed to keep all the flavor, playability, and uniqueness in this portable brawler.

S’up in the Hood!

Although this is essentially a port of the older PS2 game, the story line has changed somewhat since the last Def Jam. In the main story mode, you’ll take the role of a street brawler just trying to make an honest living. Unfortunately, life on the streets is seldom easy, and in the course of trying to help out a stranger, you find yourself thrown into the world of underground fighting, gang wars, and, or course, lots and lots of bling.

It’s not much of a set-up, but the gameplay is good enough to compensate. Much of the story mode consists of moving through New York using a map of available locations. Aside from just finding fighting arenas in the various boroughs, there’s an array of shopping to be done too. After all, you can’t be a hip hop fighting legend without plenty of brand name threads and shiny bling.

Hardcore Violence

As brutal as Tekken might be, Def Jam manages to hit a whole new level of gritty street fighting violence. Fight for New York works hard to be a well-rounded, diverse fighter. Unlike most games of this sort, it doesn’t focus strictly on martial arts, but includes plenty of wrestling, grappling, and outright street-level combat. It also feels different than the average 3D fighter. Much like a wrestling game, you’ll be able to easily move around the entire ring, use the scenery as a weapon, and perform rushing attacks.

The perspective feels more like wrestling as well, and the camera moves with a decidedly cinematic sensibility. Controls are easy to pick up, but manage to hide an amazing level of complexity. The game deftly lets you punch, kick, grapple, counter, throw, and use weapons, and it won’t take long to learn how to truly punish your opponents.

Personality Overload

Another feature Def Jam takes from the wrestling genre is the ability to create your own unique fighter. You can choose your gangsta’s look from top to bottom, and select from one of five different initial fighting styles--street fighting, martial arts, grappling, wrestling, and kickboxing. One strange omission is the option to make a female fighter, despite the fact that the roster includes urban bad girls Lil’ Kim, Kimora Lee, Shawnna, and Carmen Electra.

Def Jam includes over 60 fighters, most of whom are real life personalities ranging from rap stars like Redman, Scarface, and Sticky Fingaz (who also plays Blade in the new Spike TV series) to Xzibit, Ice-T, and Snoop Dogg. Other familiar faces include Henry Rollins, Omar Epps, Sean Paul, Bubba Sparxxx. It’s an impressive roster, although you’ll have to work your way through the city to unlock all the characters.

The presentation is excellent. As expected, EA has thrown in a high profile rap soundtrack to match the theme, and the visuals are detailed and impressive. The frame rate drops during some matches, however, which can make the action choppy. Normally, however, the fighters move with a realistic fluidity.

Get down in the hood, yo!

Although the set-up is weak, and the emphasis on commercialism and bling is rather trite, Def Jam Fight for New York: the Takeover is a surprisingly adept fighting game. Gamers who aren’t into rap and find the whole gangsta mythos annoying probably won’t be bowled over, but most fighting and wrestling game fans will find the playability and sheer number of characters appealing.

Article by: Jason D’Aprile
Video produced by: Sean Jennings