Def Jam Icon

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Beats trigger interactive hazards around you as your environment comes alive -- from exploding gas pumps to spinning helicopter propellers, taking advantage of your surroundings is just as important as your toe-to-toe fighting skills
• Use the analog sticks like turntables to add beats, switch songs, and make music your weapon
• Throw down blistering attacks and brutal combos with the next-gestural street fighting system
• Build an empire and live the life of a music mogul by signing artists, managing their careers, and releasing their hit songs
• Upload any song to create an endless soundtrack that drives the core fighting mechanics

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000MAFXUA
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches ; 1.2 pounds
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 6, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,186 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #53 in Video Games > Xbox 360 > Action > Fighting
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Xbox 360

Amazon.com

In collaboration with urban lifestyle powerhouse Def Jam Interactive, EA Chicago—the team behind the critically acclaimed EA SPORTS Fight Night series—is integrating hip hop culture and gaming like never before. With the hottest music seamlessly infused into the world around you, the game’s environments pulsate, crumble, and explode to life with every bone-jarring beat. Time your attacks to the driving bass and use falling debris and exposed environmental hazards to pound your rivals. Featuring an all-new single-player story, the game takes you deep into the life of a high-rolling hip hop mogul to build a record label, discover new superstars, and become a hip hop ICON.

FEATURES

• Musically Charged Combat—Beats trigger interactive hazards around you as your environment comes alive and reacts to the music. From exploding gas pumps to spinning helicopter propellers, taking advantage of your surroundings is just as important as your toe-to-toe fighting skills. Become one with the beats to rule the streets.
• DJ Controls—Use the analog sticks like turntables to add beats, switch songs, and make music your weapon. Throw down blistering attacks and brutal combos with the next-gestural street fighting system.
• Fight to Your Own Beat—Battle to your own music or against the music of a friend. Upload any song to create an endless soundtrack that animates the environment and drives the core fighting mechanics. Prove once and for all who’s music’s king in the first authentic video rap battle.
• Become a Hip Hop Icon—From the writers of 24 and Training Day, build an empire and live the life of a music mogul by signing artists, managing their careers, and releasing their hit songs. Do whatever it takes to become an ICON in the world of hip hop. But beware—you never know who is watching you.
• Hip Hop’s Best—Fight with or against the biggest stars in hip hop. Artists like Ludacris, T.I., Paul Wall, The Game, Big Boi, and more are all instrumental in your building a record label and becoming a hip hop ICON.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Def Jam Weirdness, April 18, 2007

By 

Terrence Aybar "cinemaparker@twitter" (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Def Jam Icon (Video Game)

This game is retarded. Sorry that I have to start my review like that but seriously, this is one of those games where I try to explain it to people and the words fail me every time.

I'm not saying it's the worst game I've ever played. For one, the graphics are really impressive and the way the levels are affected by the music is pretty interesting. Looking at the character models, you can tell exactly who you're looking at, i.e. The Game looks like the Game, Big Boi looks exactly like Big Boi, etc. The fighting engine is okay, if limited and not overly responsive. The music is okay as far as today's hip-hop goes (sorry to say it but rap music these days is in a sorry state... that's a whole other conversation though) but luckily you can upload your own music to play with and this feature works well.

The premise of this game is what makes me scratch my head. I mean, a typical scenario in the game would go something like this:

The record label exec you work for needs you to sign an artist, but Ghostface Killah might be there to stop you, so you two have to duke it out.

As ridiculous as it sounds, that's pretty much what the game is and it also has a lot of fighting which gets repetitive fairly quickly. The game has a weak frame around it which attempts to incorporate a kind of lifestyle management aspect like what to wear, how much to spend on your girlfriends, how much to spend on artists and their records.... but it all gets boring pretty quickly, especially when you're really just having the same fights over and over.

I've played online and like with most fighting games, I found the lag times to be a bit of a pain. Sometimes I'd have a clean match and other times, my opponent would be teleporting all over the level.

I'd have to suggest a rental on this one first or at least try the demo out. Seriously, this game is just really weird in too many ways to count to make any kind of recommendation.

There's one other thing that I should mention. I find it kind of sad that this game promotes the exact same kind of violence that gets the rap industry into so much trouble all the time. While it's all handled in a tongue in cheek way (I mean, fighting Sean Paul for whatever reason is just plain silly, no matter what), the fact that this is an officially licensed product from a well known record label makes me wonder what the intended message is.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How to destroy a franchise, March 13, 2007

By 

A. Son (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Def Jam Icon (Video Game)

1) Take out everything that made the first two games cool

2) Add new crap that doesn't work and makes you want to punch the developer in the face.

3) Come up with the most god awful plot and unbelievable events to ever grace the 360 to date.

Controls are a nightmare. I could go in the bathroom with a notebook and take a crap and come out with a better control scheme than this. I also now have the god-like ability of making a door swing open to hit my opponent by merely making a gesture with my hand. This is crap. But worst of all, AND I MEAN WORST OF ALL, is that the cool finishing/blazing moves that I loved from the first two are nowhere to be found.

I guess it wouldn't be THAT bad of a game if I wasn't comparing it to the first two but this is retarded when a franchise of this calibur switches to better graphics on a next-gen system and comes out being not even close to the equivalent of the other two. I can smell Electronic Arts from here. And they smell like garbage.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fight....for a day, April 2, 2007

By 

Nickolas R. Suarez "rico suave" (baghdad, iraq) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Def Jam Icon (Video Game)

The game has defenetly improved in graphics since its last tittle, fight for NY. The controls are easy to master but the counters are a bit tricky to use. One of the major options in this game is the ability to use your own sound track in the fighting scenes. In general you donthave to be a hip hop fan to enjoy this game, you can fight to punk, rock, metal or if you like.....classical. The enviroment will come alive with whatever music you choose. The only down fall to the game is that you can finish it in one day, if your really devoted to it. It has a medium replay value and the mini game of managing your rappers sales is a good way to earn money to buy bling. Overall, i beleive the game is worth buying, its fun and what better way than to releive strees than kicking the crap out of your friends.

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