Def Jam: Icon
| Def Jam: Icon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | EA Chicago |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Series | Def Jam |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | 1 Player Story 1-2 Player versus Online Match Play |
Def Jam: Icon is a fighting game, and is the third in Electronic Arts's Def Jam-licensed hip hop video game series. The game was developed by EA Chicago, developers of Fight Night: Round 3 and is the first Def Jam game not to be developed by AKI Corporation. Unlike the previous games in the series, the game's soundtrack is completely uncensored and controllable. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Consoles on March 6, 2007 through GameStop Pre-Orders, and March 8, 2007 for all other gaming outlets.
==Features==this game is the beast ok so you better buy it ok i command you to buy it or else you dont know wat ur missing. It features around 30 artists and is much less wrestling-oriented than the previous games, Def Jam Vendetta and Def Jam: Fight for NY. The game's executive producer, Kudo Tsunoda, has stated that he did not feel that wrestling and hip-hop went particularly well with each other. However, throws and environmental damage remain in the game.
Gameplay is similar to EA Chicago's Fight Night: Round 3, featuring a focus on up-close brawling, mixing up high and low attacks, blocks, throws, and parries, and using the right analog stick to deliver stronger attacks. Also, like Round 3, there is no in-game heads up display by default, encouraging the player to observe physical cues on in-game characters to determine their health, such as ripped and burned clothing, bruises, and an overall look of exhaustion of your opponent.
The developers aimed to make the music and the environment a much larger factor in the fight. The environments includes rooftops, streets, and [subways] gas stations, Two Clubs, an Atlanta neighborhood, BET's 106 and Park stage, and other locales, as opposed to the wrestling rings or arenas of the previous Def Jam titles. In addition, the producers promised massive levels of interactivity within each environment. Fighters bleed and show visible signs of their injuries as fights progress and as the player's character gets hurt.
The music actually effects the environment. The entire backdrop bumps to the beat of the background music. Different events occur on the beats of each song - some of which are dangerous. For example, a column of fire shoots up from a ruined gas station on every "bass hit" of a song's chorus. Other changes will be purely cosmetic: hubcaps on cars will spin and twinkle to the beat of each song. The developers have added more damage to a fighter's punches and kicks if they occur "to the beat" or making a rapper stronger if one of their songs is playing. By listening to the beat of the song and then timing a throw, the player can toss his opponent into an environmental hazard just as it goes off. On the Xbox 360 Console, players are also able to load up their own music (Custom Soundtracks), and the game has a form of beat detection to find the beats from any song.
Fighters in alphabetical order
- Δ indicates the character is unlocked in some way.
- Ω indicates Build a Label exclusive characters. These characters are unplayable, and cannot be used to fight other fighters.
| Real Name | Build a Label Alias/Nickname | Build a Label Role | Fighting Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Anderson | Troy Dollar | Rival producer of Curtis Carver | Jah Breaka |
| Big Boi | Signable Artist | Beatboxer | |
| Big Herc Δ | Rapper | Beatboxer | |
| Boyd Δ | Corrupt Cop | Black Panther | |
| Bun B | Troy's Artist | Street Kwon Do | |
| Dae Dae | Troy's Artist | Jah Breaka | |
| E-40 | Charlie Hustle | Signable Artist | Black Panther |
| Fast Hal | Crooked Promoter | Street Kwon Do | |
| Fat Joe | Beatboxer | ||
| Ghostface Killah | Signable Artist | Street Kwon Do | |
| Greer | Wheatly's Partner | Beatboxer | |
| James Hong | Dr. Chang | Plastic surgeon | Black
Panther |
| Jim Jones | Capo Status | Signable Artist | Ghetto Blaster |
| Johnny Nunez | Papparazi | Ghetto Blaster | |
| Kano | Troy's Artist | Jah Breaka | |
| Kevin Liles | Curtis Carver | Producer of the company you work for | |
| Lil Jon | Signable Artist | Muay Fly | |
| Ludacris | Luda | Curtis's Artist | Muay Fly |
| Method Man | The Gooch | Player's Friend | Ghetto Blaster |
| Mike Jones | Signable Artist | Beatboxer | |
| Paul Wall | People's Champ | Signable Artist | Muay Fly |
| K.D. Aubert | Platinum | One of Troy Dollar's singers | |
| Redman | Doc Healy | Signable Artist | Black Panther |
| Russell Simmons | Rush | Pays for the Player's plastic surgery | |
| Sean Paul | Signable Artist | Jah Breaka | |
| Stan | Stalker | ||
| Summer Walker | Girlfriend | ||
| Sticky Fingaz | Wink | Curtis Carver's Vice President | Beatboxer |
| Mayra Veronica | Girlfriend | ||
| Melyssa Ford | Girlfriend | ||
| Nina Nicole | Girlfriend | ||
| T.I. | T.I.P | Signable Artist | Street Kwon Do |
| Tego | Troy's Artist | Ghetto Blaster | |
| The Game | Signable Artist | Muay Fly | |
| Young Jeezy | Snowman | Signable Artist | Black Panther |
| Wheatly | Corrupt Cop | Muay Fly | |
| Willy | Carver's 2nd Man |
Controls
Def Jam: Icon features various controls which, used correctly, can cause severe damage to another fighter. Up to four hits can be used in a combo, with a directional attack able to be used as the fourth attack (but not the fifth). Depending on the amount of damage caused in the four hits, a fighter can cause an opponent to stagger backwards slightly, knock directly down, or fly halfway across the venue.
The game removes some of the more popular features from the second game, including the Environmental combat and crowd activity, replacing it with an at times unbalanced music based environmental interaction system.
Fighting Styles
The game features seven fighting styles:
- Ghetto Blaster (Mixed Martial Arts)
- Street Kwon Do (Taekwondo)
- Black Panther (Kung Fu)
- Muay Fly (Muay Thai)
- Beatboxer (Boxing)
- Jah Breaka (Capoeira)
Xbox Live Marketplace/PlayStation Store Demo
The demo, originally announced as single player, but actually features a Versus mode, available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store, features T.I., Ludacris, Jim Jones and Big Boi as playable fighters with their songs "Top Back", "Get Back", "We Fly High", and "Kryptonite" respectively, and the Gas Station level. The player can only play as Big Boi with the CPU as T.I. Or you play Ludacris vs the CPU and Jim Jones. The game does feature a versus mode where the first player must be Big Boi and the second as T.I. The game is fully playable in this venue and features how the fighting system functions in the real game. After a 2 minute time limit, the game stops and returns to the Press Start screen, no matter which fighter is winning. The demo was released on Thursday, February
Reception
- IGN rated Def Jam: Icon 7.0 /10, praising the uncensored soundtrack, "beautifully rendered" visuals and the "My Soundtrack" feature on the Xbox 360 version, but criticized "weak fighting moves" and "inconsistent game mechanics."[1]
- Game Rankings has a press average score of 72.8% for the Xbox 360 version[2] and 70.3% for the PlayStation 3 version.[3]
The gaming public has shown general disdain for this game, especially from fans of the previous two titles. Sales were lackluster, and given the high development budget, it was a great monetary loss for EA. There is speculation that the game's poor sales were almost directly responsible for the closing of the EA Chicago studio.
Notes and references
- ^ "IGN Review of Def Jam: Icon". IGN.com.
- ^ "GameRankings Def Jam: Icon page for the Xbox 360". GameRankings.com.
- ^ "GameRankings Def Jam: Icon page for the PlayStation 3". GameRankings.com.