51. Def Jam: Fight For NY

(PS2/Xbox/Gamecube, AKI/EA Canada, 2004)
"INFORMER! YOU KNOW ME DADDY ME SNOW ME I GO BLAAAAAAME, A LICKY BOOMBOOM DOWN!"
Hip-hop based games generally fall into two categories, embarrassingly immature and embarrassingly un-cool (I also rate highly in both cases) Violent hip-hop games usually have painfully cliched scripts, stereotypical racist characters and a whole lotta faux "Ghetto" stylings.

Fortunately, Whilst guilty of some of the above crimes, Def Jam Fight For NY does it's very best to avoid "gritty realism" and instead presents an incredibly over-the-top fighter that takes brawling to a whole new level. A sequel to the earlier wrestler Def Jam: Vendetta, DJFFNY removes the ring and pinfalls but keeps the same engine and controls that AKI used for their incredibly popular N64 wrestling games. The game also adds a new selection of fighting styles plus the option to hybrid them into your own mixed martial art (A kickboxer who also does submission holds for example)
The players then take their urban warriors into a selection of very varied battlegrounds ranging from a bar and a nightclub to a power plant and penthouse office. For purists there are arenas featuring a ring and a steel cage. The battles are very fast and require a mastery of the controls and lightning reflexes. Weapons, environmental attacks and even the crowd themselves get involved in the wild, out of control brawls until only one man (or woman) is left standing.

The game has a huge roster of stars from Ice-T and Busta Rhymes to Ludacris and Flavor Flav, even Henry Rollins, Carmen Electra and the craggy faced Danny Trejo turn up to join in the throwdowns. There is a story mode where you take your own created fighter through a generic tale of betrayal and revenge, along the way utilizing a neat shopping section with a wide selection of clothing, jewellery and tattoos to make your homeboy as cookie cutter cool as you want him to be.
DJFFNY is an absolute joy to play, it's a deceptively deep, brutally violent, brilliantly imagined fighting game, with smooth controls and unbelievably absorbing sound and visuals, the models are beautifully designed and animated and the impact on the moves is better than any wrestling game I've ever played before or since with every smack, smash, kick, slam and bone break coming through loud and clear while accompanied by the roar of the crowd. DJFFNY is somehow the best wrestling game that isn't a wrestling game ever devised.
On paper, it should have be a quickly thrown together, fingers crossed, bog standard celebrity beat-em-up. By employing the fantastic minds of AKI Corporation, EA managed to create an immensely playable brawler with atmospheric style. This franchise should have been destined for next-gen greatness but, unfortunately, the redesigned Def Jam:ICON missed its target completely.

To ignore DJFFNY because of it's Hip-hop cliches and celebrity involvement is an understandable, but huge mistake to make. It's one of the smoothest, crunchiest and slickest scrappers ever released.
Word to your Mother.