GT Exclusive Preview: DEF JAM VENDETTA

Perfect Stu · 01-22-2003, 08:11 PM

Def Jam Vendetta Preview
Perfect Stu – PS2 Lead

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: AKI Corporation, EA Canada
Genre: Wrestling/Fighting
Current Release Date: 18/03/03

Intro: Your friend owes a large sum of money to an underground fighting circuit. He has to drop out of the tournament from an injury, and you are given the task to replace him. You probably wouldn’t be up to it if it weren’t for the fact that the fighting circuit’s boss is a kingpin gang overlord named D-mob who’s been hanging around your old girlfriend. So what are you going to do? It’s quite simple. Win the tournament, lay out D-mob and reacquaint yourself with your old girlfriend Angel. Sounds like fun.

You’ve entered the world of Def Jam Vendetta, a wrestling/fight club creation from the minds of EA Canada, AKI Corp. and Def Jam Records. Instead of most wrestling games (which feature real life pro wrestlers), Vendetta features a dozen Def Jam Record artists such as Redman, Method Man, Ludacris, DMX, N.O.R.E., and Scarface, as well as 30+ original characters. The animations and grappling engine are being handled by AKI, the respected developer of successful N64 grapplers such as WCW vs. nWo and WWF No Mercy. Those familiar with AKI’s N64 projects will feel right at home when they start playing Vendetta.

Control

Move your character around fighting area with the left analog stick. ‘X’ acts as the grapple button, press lightly for a light grapple and press hard for a strong grapple. From there, you’re given the option of pressing a wide variety of button + D-pad direction button combinations for a vast array of moves. Hit the square button, and you strike your opponent with a punch, forearm, kick, etc., hit ‘O’ to run, triangle to leave/enter the ring or to climb to the top rope, and R1 acts as the block button. You can also taunt your opponent in a comedic fashion by moving the right analog stick. Your character acts accordingly to your actions, and button placement is spot-on. I haven’t experienced any problems with the control in the demo that I’ve played.

Gameplay

Vendetta focuses primarily on the single player aspect. The concept, if I had to describe it, is hip-hop meets pro wrestling meets fight club. In the tournament (mentioned in my intro), you will be matched up against a wide variety of interesting characters. Each character is unique, and has their own style and attitude. You may find yourself up against a huge foe that will try to pound you down with his strength for the KO, or you might face a smaller, more agile opponent who uses a more martial-arts-esque fighting style. Be prepared to hear plenty of smack talk as you move your way through the game’s ten levels, which all end in a boss battle (all bosses are Def Jam Artists). After each level you will witness a cut scene, which further explains the story as it progresses. Although the story is linear, the game will break off into side quests such as girl fights and a tag team match against Method Man and Redman. These side quests mix things up without interfering with the story. Not much has been revealed as far as the plot goes, but I can tell you that the story includes some crazy twists and a love triangle.

When in the ring, you have 3 ways of defeating your opponent: pinfall, submission and KO. Each is pretty self-explanatory. In order to put yourself in a position to win, you must use many of the game’s 1,500+ moves against your opponent. As your momentum grows and your opponent starts to weaken, your BLAZING meter will rise. Filling up the BLAZING meter will give you the opportunity to perform a finishing move on your opponent. These finishers are insane. You may find yourself grabbing your opponents by the legs, picking him up, and throwing him into the canvas in a ridiculously over-the-top fashion. Most of the game’s move animations are right out of the traditional pro-wrestling playbook, but the finishers are pure EA BIG (of SSX and NBA Street fame): thoroughly exaggerated but undeniably impressive.

Graphics/Sound

From the videos I’ve seen and the demo I played, the game’s graphics are visibly well done. When playing, the image on your TV will consist of smooth characters models and crisp animations in the ring, and a surrounding area full of movement and life (people cheering, walking around, etc.). Facial animations are noticeably impressive, and voice work is very good. The soundtrack consists of various Def Jam artists’ tracks. The music gets louder when the action intensifies in the ring, and in turn lowers a few notches if your characters are separated. EA BIG games have been known for their quality sound, and this game looks to be no exception.

Def Jam Vendetta looks like it might be one of those uncommon games that appeal to both the hardcore and casual gamer. Whether or not it will really find its audience is unclear at this point, but EA Canada, AKI and Def Jam Records have undoubtedly created a quality brawler that no wrestling/fighting game fan should miss. I know I’ll be playing the demo right up until the game’s release this spring.

DarkMaster · 01-22-2003, 08:22 PM

awesome Stu, i had known nothing about this game until now that i've read your preview (actually I read it earlier, but still). i hope our exclusives can build more interest in PS2 throughout the forums.

BreakABone · 01-22-2003, 08:30 PM

Well, I thought it was a rather good preview even if you did skip out details on the girlfriend system.

According to EGM and PSM, the game will feature a unique girlfriend system, it will enable you to pick up girlfriends and as you progress you will have the option of either changing girls or keeping the one you got.

Basically how it works is, after all the boss battles with the Def Jam artitst, a girl will approach you with a bit more than a congrats, and it's up to you to choose whether you keep your old one or move on to something prettier.

BlueFire · 01-22-2003, 09:11 PM

Great preview, Stu. You informed me about the game pretty well.

I'm not too crazy about it though.. It looks like a giant rap video. It looks like something I'd rent so I can beat my brother's ass in it

Joeiss · 01-22-2003, 11:07 PM

I am sorry, but I am not sure who is going to buy this game. I mean, it sounds great, but the target audience is obviously black males from 14-25 who listen to rap music. And I just hope that this age group in North America acts differently than my black friends!!! Because you know what? All of my black friends in this age group are really "ghetto". They will not pay for this game, they will probably try to get it burned or beat it off a little white kid. I am sorry if I am sounding racist, but that is just how it is among some of my close black friends.

BreakABone · 01-22-2003, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joeiss
I am sorry, but I am not sure who is going to buy this game. I mean, it sounds great, but the target audience is obviously black males from 14-25 who listen to rap music. And I just hope that this age group in North America acts differently than my black friends!!! Because you know what? All of my black friends in this age group are really "ghetto". They will not pay for this game, they will probably try to get it burned or beat it off a little white kid. I am sorry if I am sounding racist, but that is just how it is among some of my close black friends.

Well, I don't know about that, and you are calling some "ghetto" damn they got to be bad, I mean you are a teenage drunk.

But I can see this game appealing to several demographics which are basically the same, fans of wrestling games, AKI legions, rap fans and well people who got nothing else to spend their money on.

Perfect Stu · 01-23-2003, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joeiss
I am sorry, but I am not sure who is going to buy this game. I mean, it sounds great, but the target audience is obviously black males from 14-25 who listen to rap music. And I just hope that this age group in North America acts differently than my black friends!!! Because you know what? All of my black friends in this age group are really "ghetto". They will not pay for this game, they will probably try to get it burned or beat it off a little white kid. I am sorry if I am sounding racist, but that is just how it is among some of my close black friends.

why not TRY the game? it's the best 'wrestling' game I've ever played, EASILY, and I've only played the demo.

who cares what the game looks like? most of the characters are black...and some are hip hop artists...who cares? it's all about the gameplay

Joeiss · 01-23-2003, 11:24 AM

I will end up renting it at least. I am just worried about their target audience and how well it will sell.

Perfect Stu · 01-23-2003, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joeiss
I will end up renting it at least. I am just worried about their target audience and how well it will sell.

Like I said in my preview, it has yet to be known as to whether this game will really find its audience...but I wouldn't worry about sales...Electronic Arts isn't going anywhere

nWoCHRISnWo · 01-23-2003, 05:02 PM

Good preview. You said "R" blocks, but L1 does as well (grapples) but I'm sure you knew that anyway...

I think everyone's thinking this game is more about rap than it is wrestling. It is almost exactly like WWF No Mercy, except it's a little faster, less realistic, and there are a few other minor details.

And Perfect Stu, you actually like this (from the demo) better than No Mercy? I guess I can kinda see how but it's pretty much a (little) faster No Mercy with a bunch of things scaled down. The backs moves are cut in half, same as the turnbuckle moves. So far from the demo you can only do back, front, and top rope specials (but there could be others added...) while No Mercy had like five times as many. Plus, there's no CAW which adds hours of replayability. Then there's the fact that it doesn't have any kind of special matches. And does it even have four players, or just two?

Anyhoo, aside from the fact that it will not be better than No Mercy in my opinion, this will still probably be my favourite PS2 game of all-time by the time PS2 is done with. The story mode sounds pretty good so far, it has the best controls out of any other wrestling game available in North America currently (well, maybe if FirePro is released on GC here then it may be different) and Joeiss, this game's audience is what you said plus all the supporters of AKI such as myself. There's already somewhat of a following for this game, and considering how many people loved AKI's WWF and WCW (and Virtual Pro Wrestling) games, I think a lot of people will be in love with this game.

Perfect Stu · 01-23-2003, 05:32 PM

-game supports 1-4 players

Create a Wrestler isn't a big deal for me, I never used it in previous wrestling games.

The graphics, animations and especially framerate make it a better experience for me than No Mercy. I like how it has that 'fight club' feel to it too, as opposed to WWE. And the finishers :eek:

Number of match types isn't a big priority for me either...

Joeiss · 01-23-2003, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Perfect Stu
And the finishers :eek:

Oh, so the finishers aren't that good, eh?

nWoCHRISnWo · 01-24-2003, 01:16 AM

Heheh...

I don't like the other three's finisher's too much, but Method's finisher= :eek: It's like a Torture rack to F-5 to brainbuster. Wow.

Who's y'all's favourite guy from the demo? I like Nyne the best because of the 450 Splash and the suicide dive through the ropes I guess, but Method's finishers are awesome.

Joeiss · 01-24-2003, 12:53 PM

I was going to pick up the magazine today... but it was 12 bucks! Screw that.

Perfect Stu · 01-24-2003, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joeiss
I was going to pick up the magazine today... but it was 12 bucks! Screw that.

that's why I have a subscription...instead its like $3.50 an issue

Anyways, I played a few matches today and I'm starting to really like it. Method Man's finishers are crazy. Is his back finisher the one where he punches the guy, then picks him up by the legs and throws him like a rag doll onto the mat? lol, I found that humourous.