Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Hip Hop… Brawler?

Check out the footage from this video review of Def Jam: Icon. You don't need to watch the whole review necessarily, just enough to get an idea of what the hell this game is. Or alternatively you can just grab a YouTube clip like this one.

Regardless of how into hip hop you are, you've probably seen 8 Mile, Wild 'n Out, or something like that. So when you think of two rappers battling, you don't think of them, you know, actually engaged in fisticuffs. But that seems to be exactly what Def Jam: Icon is: a game that lets you pit two famous rappers against each other in hand to hand combat.

Okay, so I'm sorry. But hip hop culture has officially shot off the ridiculous meter. As if all the thugs with gold plated teeth showing you their pimped out (rented) mansions wasn't enough. But now there's a game where they're trying to convince you that they're actually badass. They got famous for saying they're tough, not actually being tough. Seeing them in those gameplay videos, all fat and weighed down with their gold chains and baggy clothes, trying to brawl… it's hilarious.

Ignoring the ridiculous concept of the game, it's actually really interesting how they made the environments react to the music. And there are even advantages of timing your moves with the rhythm of the music. Which kinda turns it into a rhythm-fighting game. I'll have to download the demo on the 360 and see if I can keep a straight face long enough to check it out.

2 comments:

  1. You do realize that this is the 3rd game in the series. Hip Hop ascended to ridulosity a long time ago. I hope R.Kelly's special attack involves peeing

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  2. The subtitle ("Icon") clued me in to the fact that it wasn't the first in the series, but I wasn't familiar with the other ones. Not sure how they slipped by me. I just went back and watched the review for the previous one.

    And yes, hip hop popped its cherry long ago. Hell, the fact that there's even a battling game show should have raised red flags. But this game just seems even more ridiculous. Which makes me kinda like it...

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