Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover

Format PlayStation Portable

Developer Unknown

Publisher Unknown

Genre Unknown

Def Jam Fight For New York: The Takeover includes over 180 moves to master, which is almost as many as the number of words in its title. Then again, at least it's one way to fill the PSP's widescreen display.

Now, can we be honest here? We really wanted to hate this game, just like we really wanted to hate the PS2 games, because it exploits that stereotype of rappers enjoying nothing more than giving other rappers a good smacking in dimly lit bars and basements - but the plain fact is that it's not too shabby. The fighting in Def Jam has always been very respectable indeed - if knocking someone's teeth out with a crowbar can ever be described as respectable. There's plenty of substance to back up the swagger and the series has always held its own against the likes of Soul Calibur and Tekken.

This latest PSP game is very similar to the original PS2 Def Jam Fight For New York from a couple of years back. Now there's a new storyline that sees it serving as a prequel to 2003's Def Jam Vendetta, making this the first Def Jam chapter in the series. Other changes, however, are mostly superficial; in an effort to conserve PSP's lesser polygon power, the surrounding crowds baying for blood are smaller and more angular, while the depiction of some of the more brutal moves - smashing opponents' heads through walls and so on - has been toned down.

JUST THE FEW OF US
The PS2 Def Jam games had an abundance of oppressive atmosphere straight out of the movie Fight Club, but much of that has been lost in the PSP translation. Whereas before there was a feeling of fighting in front of a pack of blood-thirsty hooligans (who were more than happy to join in themselves), this time attendance figures are down and there's much less of a feeling of a major rumble in progress.

As for the fighting itself, it still feels as strong as ever. Those 180-ish moves provide plenty of depth to the combat. Basic attacks are easy to master, but the more elaborate throws, holds and gouges will take more time to learn. Tussles feel fluid, with fighters grappling while they roll about in the dirt - something unique to PSP - and achieving a knockdown will require quite a bit more skill too. In previous versions of the game, stringing together a series of strikes would eventually guarantee a rival hitting the deck, but with The Takeover an opponent could simply have a bit of a wobble, regain his composure and then start his fightback. The game is aiming to keep you on your toes the whole way through by trying not to allow patterns to creep into play.

One concern is the effect that reverse moves have on combat. On a couple of occasions we found ourselves stuck in a stalemate of reversal after reversal, the two opponents cancelling each other out. This is something that definitely needs attention between now and the game's release.

FIGHTING IN THE STREETS
The main Story mode of the game follows the same format as previous games. A fighter is created, complete with a pre-set fighting style (the choice includes martial arts, street fighting and kick boxing among others) and then taken through a series of vaguely linked brawls in dark subways, dark alleys, dark docks - anywhere dark at all. All of the character creation options seen in the PS2 games have been included, and in keeping with the 'attitude' angle, you can use the digital pad to prompt your character into saying nasty and inappropriate things to put your rival off.

The Takeover looks like being a more than competent port of the PS2 Def Jam games with one or two new features of its own. There'll be a new PSP-specific character (EA is saying nothing about who this could be yet) and a wireless mode to let you play one-on-one matches against a mate. As you'd expect, it's not quite as visually slick as its bigger brothers, but it still looks highly polished, and the mess you can make as you throw angry rappers around the various, cages, pits and bars is quite impressive.

Def Jam veterans should find it an entertaining, portable re-tread of previous chapters, and it could make a nice appetiser for the more accomplished beatings of Tekken: Dark Resurrection.

PSW Staff