Preview: Def Jam: Icon (360)

Provided you could cope with the pumped-up machismo and an obsession with living the hip-hop lifestyle, the two instalments of Def Jam (Vendetta and Fight for New York) on last-gen platforms provided some quality brawling action. This went some way to proving that there is still room for a one-on-one fighter in the video game market. Therefore EA’s recent move to resurrect the Def Jam franchise for the new generation of consoles is far from surprising.

If ever there was a franchise that would benefit from EA’s “more” mentality for sequels, it’s Def Jam. More moves, more characters, more music; all of these would be a good thing in a new game, given the quality of the fighting mechanics of previous Def Jam titles. However despite doing such, it seems EA have decided to ignore the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t’ fix it” and attempted to put a new spin on the combat and Gamestyle isn’t too impressed.

This time, Icon is all about the music. Not only will players be able to import their own tracks to play in game, but the music will effect how the game plays. Fighters will be stronger when their signature track is playing and, using the new DJ controls to ‘scratch’ the track that’s playing, environmental hazards can be triggered when beats drop. In addition to this, scratching will allow downed fighters to return to their feet quicker. However much to Gamestyle’s chagrin, the Icon demo available on the Xbox Live Marketplace failed to display this game play element to any degree. Sure, the background (a run down gas station) bounces along nicely in time with the music, but Gamestyle never really felt certain that our attempts to control the music (and thus the environment) were working. In fact, at times we were so distracted we got a bunch of fives in the face for our troubles. It might be that the new system requires more than a brief demo to acclimatise to, but the demo hasn’t sold the idea to us yet and surely that’s the point? Could it be more of a gimmick than an actual tool for victory? The jury is certainly still out on it.

The fighting has also changed. The departure of co-developers Aki has seen the loss of the wrestling style fight mechanics that made up the last two games. Development duties instead were handled by EA’s Chicago studio. Icon should still be in safe hands though; the last title out of EA Chicago was Fight Night Round 3. Gamestyle’s first thought on playing the demo was that Icon now plays more like Fight Night than the previous Def Jam games. Whilst there’s nothing wrong this per se, the action somehow feels simpler and just less fun. Throws feel too cheap and characters suddenly stop taking damage when performing a dive or roll. That said, Icon certainly matches Fight Night in the visual department, as the demo is very graphically impressive.

But as MC Hammer would probably testify, having style is nothing without substance to back it up. Gamestyle awaits the full game to see if Icon is going to number one or straight to the bargain bin.

Words by Andy Lucas