Wil Munny
02-14-2007, 01:50 PM
Call it what you want to, but for a lot of gamers the glory days of the one-on-one fighter are in the past. There's definitely an opportunity for a game to do something new, and Def Jam: Icon is stepping up. With a combination of realistic looking graphics and stylized environments that behave like the sets of grandiose and ridiculous music videos, moving and shifting to the beat of the music, Icon is definitely trying something new. The version we saw is by no means representative of a final product, but the game we saw looks like it has the potential to make something of itself.
Like past Def Jam titles, the game will feature a create-a-character option for a single player rise-to-power story and a full roster of rap and hip-hop artists who can throw down. A few names are known at this point, but we're still waiting for the announcement. Ludacris, who put in a personal appearance at Sony's recent Gamer's Day event, is featured heavily in the game's trailer, and the two rappers available for play were Big Boi of Outkast Fame and fellow southern rapper T.I., whose handle nerds will be sad to hear is an alteration of his childhood nickname "Tip" and not a reference to the powerful graphing calculators by Texas Instruments. Nicknames aside, the game versions of both rappers can both throw a pretty good punch, kick, or knee to the face.
The controls are set up to use both the face buttons and the right analog stick for attacks, with the left analog stick used for movement and shoulder buttons for defensive options and taunts. Hitting one of the four face buttons will result in a quick or strong punch or kick, and by tapping or rolling the analog stick you can pull off other attacks that will knock your opponent in a particular direction. The game actually has an interesting combo system that rewards landing a quick string of hits on your opponent with a boost in power to your next big hit. Taunts can be used to pump up the power too, so you can land a couple of jabs, dust off your shoulder, and send your enemy flying with a beefy uppercut.
In addition to the directional attacks, throws (up on the analog stick) seem to be pretty useful, as you can grab a guy, get in a few licks, and toss him in any direction you like -- ideally into one of the environmental hazards pulsating along with the music. The gas station site -- the only venue shown so far - is a pretty good showcase of what the team is working toward, which they've expressed as making the environment the third character in the fight. The entire scene is moving to the tempo of the music as if a super-powerful stereo system were blasting cataclysmic sound waves somewhere off-screen. Buildings bump and drop in a wave pattern, sewer covers blast out of the ground, a car wash goes crazy and broken gas pumps (you do the breaking yourself) spout plumes of flame when the big beats come up.
A lot of the musical aspect is actually being put in the player's control. Before a fight, each player will be able to select a song from the game's soundtrack or upload their own -- though you may need an I-Pod to do so. Theoretically though you can fight to anything from speed metal to Barry Manilow to Vanilla Ice, if you're so inclined. Specifics have yet to be finalized and revealed, but players will be able to switch the music over to their track in the course of a battle and gain a slight advantage by doing so.
Of course knowing the timing to songs will also help, but a sort of "record-scratching DJ ability" (the devs are still working on a proper name for the system) the player can skip the music ahead to a big beat at the appropriate time -- when you've just smashed your opponent into a gas pump for example. It looks like a great way to deliver the final blow of a match, and seems like it could be a really cool, really dynamic touch to what will hopefully be solid underlying brawling.
Def Jam: Icon has a lot of people excited, including a lot of people in the industry who may not really be into the game's self-professed urban culture vibe - which by the way feels like it has a little bit of authenticity (or at least faithfulness) to it, owing to some serious effort and input from some of the artists involved. Will things turn out the way EA Chicago wants, and could this be the next big fighting game? Because these are definite possibilities, we're keeping a close eye on this one. If you're looking for innovation in your games and you enjoy a good fight, you'd be wise to do the same.
Like past Def Jam titles, the game will feature a create-a-character option for a single player rise-to-power story and a full roster of rap and hip-hop artists who can throw down. A few names are known at this point, but we're still waiting for the announcement. Ludacris, who put in a personal appearance at Sony's recent Gamer's Day event, is featured heavily in the game's trailer, and the two rappers available for play were Big Boi of Outkast Fame and fellow southern rapper T.I., whose handle nerds will be sad to hear is an alteration of his childhood nickname "Tip" and not a reference to the powerful graphing calculators by Texas Instruments. Nicknames aside, the game versions of both rappers can both throw a pretty good punch, kick, or knee to the face.
The controls are set up to use both the face buttons and the right analog stick for attacks, with the left analog stick used for movement and shoulder buttons for defensive options and taunts. Hitting one of the four face buttons will result in a quick or strong punch or kick, and by tapping or rolling the analog stick you can pull off other attacks that will knock your opponent in a particular direction. The game actually has an interesting combo system that rewards landing a quick string of hits on your opponent with a boost in power to your next big hit. Taunts can be used to pump up the power too, so you can land a couple of jabs, dust off your shoulder, and send your enemy flying with a beefy uppercut.
In addition to the directional attacks, throws (up on the analog stick) seem to be pretty useful, as you can grab a guy, get in a few licks, and toss him in any direction you like -- ideally into one of the environmental hazards pulsating along with the music. The gas station site -- the only venue shown so far - is a pretty good showcase of what the team is working toward, which they've expressed as making the environment the third character in the fight. The entire scene is moving to the tempo of the music as if a super-powerful stereo system were blasting cataclysmic sound waves somewhere off-screen. Buildings bump and drop in a wave pattern, sewer covers blast out of the ground, a car wash goes crazy and broken gas pumps (you do the breaking yourself) spout plumes of flame when the big beats come up.
A lot of the musical aspect is actually being put in the player's control. Before a fight, each player will be able to select a song from the game's soundtrack or upload their own -- though you may need an I-Pod to do so. Theoretically though you can fight to anything from speed metal to Barry Manilow to Vanilla Ice, if you're so inclined. Specifics have yet to be finalized and revealed, but players will be able to switch the music over to their track in the course of a battle and gain a slight advantage by doing so.
Of course knowing the timing to songs will also help, but a sort of "record-scratching DJ ability" (the devs are still working on a proper name for the system) the player can skip the music ahead to a big beat at the appropriate time -- when you've just smashed your opponent into a gas pump for example. It looks like a great way to deliver the final blow of a match, and seems like it could be a really cool, really dynamic touch to what will hopefully be solid underlying brawling.
Def Jam: Icon has a lot of people excited, including a lot of people in the industry who may not really be into the game's self-professed urban culture vibe - which by the way feels like it has a little bit of authenticity (or at least faithfulness) to it, owing to some serious effort and input from some of the artists involved. Will things turn out the way EA Chicago wants, and could this be the next big fighting game? Because these are definite possibilities, we're keeping a close eye on this one. If you're looking for innovation in your games and you enjoy a good fight, you'd be wise to do the same.