Def Jam: Fight for NY

I don't think there's a ps2 game I've played more than this, or many games in general.

I'm not a rap fan but even I can appreciate the soundtrack here as it is used perfectly in the overall atmosphere in the game, from being an undertone in a loading screen before a fight starts or when the beat drops hard after hitting a blazin' move.

The gameplay still maintains the core essence of the No Mercy style of wrestling games that the previous game Vendetta had, but it now has tweaks heavily engineered towards a focus on strikes and environmental attacks. There's a load of different combinations based on the style of the fighter and you can't simply keep picking someone up to do a heavy grapple anymore, you'll get an extra one late in a fight but after that it's mix-up time.

There are 5 fighting styles with their own perks, strengths and weaknesses and you can put 3 of them onto your created fighter. This makes the replay value INSANE for story mode as each combination will give you very different moves.

There's a crazy amount of fighters beautifully presented in what's got to be one of the best looking games the ps2 ever delivered. Facial animation is smooth and expressive, moves are fluid and impactful, environments are impressively varied for being mainly bars and outdoor settings and the lighting is gorgeous.

I agree that the AI can be either passive or very difficult, it depends on the character most of the time. For example Ludacris sadly is a pushover but someone like Crazy Legs is insanely tough, you'll find that someone with fast strikes will walk all over a slower grappler most of the time.

For me the combat is endlessly engaging and fun so no matter how much older I get I'll always come back to this game once in a while.

The idea of getting a huge amount of hip hop artists and then make a grimy fighting game around that is a great concept. Making a costumizable fighter to play a campaign story as you fight to increase the respect of your gang seems an even better idea. On a side note i think i would have enjoyed this more if it was based on 1995 hip hop scene rather than the early 00's, but i dont think that anyone can deny that Snoop Dogg perfects his role as the villain in the game.

Unfortunatly, the actual fighting is not as good as the setting. The fighers move in a fully 3d space, and besides simple kick and punch combos they are able to grapple the oponents and interact with walls and crowd. The fight ends with a KO, and this must be archieve either using a wall takedown or a special move. I dont mind the simplistic control, but i find the enemy AI very frustrating, as they can range from insanely good to passive from one game to another. There is also issues with hit detection and responsiveness, and the lock on system is infuriating everytime there is more than two fighters in the pit.

Despite the cool setting, its unfortunatly a very mediocre fighting game. The campaign is short, but its story is entertaining enough to be worth a playthrough.