14 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIDEO GAME
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2003
'Vendetta'offers wrestling rappers
Rappers? Wrestling? Who came up with this idea?
After seeing the commercials and hype for this game, I decided to try out Electronic Arts Sports Big's Def Jam Vendetta for PlayStation 2. I found this game entertaining; however, the intro is misleading.
The intro says that you become part of the Underground Fighting Circuit, which I thought meant I got to play a fighting game. I was wrong.
REVIEW
This isn't underground fighting; this is underground professional wrestling.
Chris Moore
cmoore@kansan.com
Contributed art
The story goes like this: Your friend, Manny, is in a jam. He's injured and is about to be killed. His only hope is that you can pay off his debt. The only way to do
This isn't underground fighting; this is underground professional wrestling.
that is to beat up a lot of people in the ring.
But, things really start to get complicated when your old girlfriend shows up in the arms of D-Mob, the big man of underground wrestling.
Now you're trying to win her back, but, to get to her, you have to beat D-Mob. Yet to get to him, you need to beat his minions, some of which are rappers.
The game play is like any video wrestling game you've ever played. WCW/NWO
Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000, it's all the same. The controls and style are the same. The only difference is the way you get your special moves. In other wrestling games, players used the same moves over and over to get their special gauge up. In Vendetta, players can't do that. The momentum meter gets fuller faster when players do different moves. The more repetition you have,the less momentum you get.
One feature is picking the guy you want to fight with in the story mode. You start with four characters, each who have stats. To get stronger, players must win matches and earn money. With the money that's won, you can boost your character's stats.
Also, as you progress in the game,you unlock new fighters that can be used to battle the computer or your friends. You get new costumes for your character,but you can't change your costume in story mode.
After playing through half of the game, my character got a black and yellow jumpsuit, which made him look like a giant hornet.
Another feature is the girlfriend
DEFJAMVENDETTA B-
Now available for Playstation2
Rated T for Teen
Sells for an average retail price of $50
gallery. Once you progress far enough in the game you start to encounter more women. The way you get more women in the gallery is by dumping the one you've got, choosing a new girl and spending money on her.
The game really doesn't have any replay value. You have four people to use in the story, but it's the same story for each character. So nothing changes for you, but it's good for multiplayer play.
The game is decent, but I have never seen such gratuitous usage of a crotch hit.
But hearing Redman and Method Man supply their voices for the minion characters and their music for the game is an added bonus.
Moore is a Tulsa, Okla., freshman in journalism.