Genre: Wrestling
Developer: Aki
Publisher: Electronic Arts
# of Players: 1-4
Memory: 2 blocks required
ERSB: Teens
Released On: Arpil 1st, 2003
Also On: Playstation 2
Features: Dolby Pro Logic II

Introduction:

I remember, years ago pro wrestling had grown so large that it became, possibly, more popular than it had ever been before. This was due to stiff competition in the business between the now long gone WCW, owned by Ted Turner, and the WWF, owned by Vincent K. McMahon. WCW’s cut throat business moves, engineered by Eric Bischoff, took some of the WWF’s biggest stars such as Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash, and made WCW the bigger name in the wrestling business for more than a year. If it wasn’t for those cut throat tactics I would have never liked WCW programming, and if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have purchased WCW vs. nWo: World Tour.

World Tour was one huge surprise for Nintendo 64 owners and wrestling fans at the time. It was the first wrestling game (released in the U.S) to feature gameplay that wasn’t shallow, that wasn’t simple, or arcade-like, but a game that actually did justice to the form of entertainment we know as pro wrestling. The game, which was developed by Aki, spawned numerous amounts of sequels such as WCW vs. nWo: Revenge, and later on, under the WWF brand name, Wrestlemania 2000 and No Mercy. Each game developed by Aki offered gameplay better than the last, and despite being essentially the same game each time, you could never get tired of it, be it single player or some multiplayer matches with some friends. Of course, these games were quite popular; they single handedly made THQ the name it is today in the gaming business, and in what has to be one of the most idiotic moves in gaming history, THQ did not continue their relationship with Aki for this current generation of videogames.

With the relationship between Aki and THQ in shambles, for reasons that might never be revealed, Aki went on to do its own thing. In Japan, Aki released a Cel Shaded wrestler for the GameCube based on the infamous engine of past wrestling games, with a game based on the Ultimate Muscle cartoon series, but the game really didn’t go the route many of us would have liked for it to go, but then Electronic Arts came into the picture, and in result we are rewarded with Def Jam Vendetta.

Def Jam Vendetta marks the return of Aki to the wrestling genre, under the EA Sports BIG label, and despite the game not featuring the WWE license wrestling fans would’ve hoped for, it might just be the wrestling game fans have been waiting for since WWF: No Mercy.

Presentation:

To tell you the truth I don’t want to go into the whole hip hop mentality the game presents; it’s not my place, but I have to.

I never been into rap all too much, if at all. Sure, I have the basic knowledge of it, but when it comes down to it, the game just uses the Def Jam label as a gimmick to promote itself. Def Jam Vendetta could have easily been marketed as a game based off the movie Fight Club, since it is basically based around an underground fight club, where you fight for money and bitches. But to make things more interesting, the fighters in DJV feature some hysterical attitudes, obviously influenced by the music and culture of hip hop and rap, which is adored by millions. Whether it’s the personas of each character in the game, or the pager which gives you the low down of your next bout, I just can’t help but mutter the phrase “ghetto” when playing this game. It’s laughable just to think about it. However, I do like the whole attitude of the game, but don’t get me wrong, I would take a WWE licensed Aki game over this any day.

As for the actual in game presentation, it could have been better. I remember one of the things that really made previous Aki wrestling games so great was the game’s presentation. The rotating camera while putting your opponent into a submission move really recreated the TV presentation style of wrestling programming better than any other game, but now, that cool little feature is missing. On top of that, there aren’t any entrances for any of the characters in the game. What’s with that?! Shame on you Aki!

Gameplay:

“Damn you! Damn you all to HELL!”

It’s a given that Aki makes some of the best, if not best wrestling games in the business today. Sure, Yukes might not be too bad, but the gameplay found in their wrestling games, don’t hold a candle to Aki’s. Though, I got to hand it to Yukes, they keep on evolving in order to suit the needs of the gamer, whereas Aki hasn’t.

I’m sorry, but the famous Aki grappling engine has hardly evolved from the days of the Nintendo 64, if at all. It’s still the same old thing; strong grapples, weak grapples, etc… but that’s not exactly what pisses me off. It seems that some maneuvers have actually been removed from the game, such as some of the turnbuckle moves. This might not even bother newcomers to Aki’s “wrasslers”, but to a veteran gamer like me, who’s dissected every previous version of the engine move by move, it’s a disappointment. On top of that, the game feels more arcade-like than ever before. It’s quicker paced, and the Spirit meter of ole has been somewhat replaced by energy bars, which means that if you’re energy is near zilch, you can easily be KNOCKED OUT by your opponents finisher, or vice versa. That’s not too much to my liking either, since almost every single match I’ve had, has been won by a knock out; not by pinfall, not by submission, but a freaking knock out! Why am I complaining? Well, winning by a KO actually makes the game feel a bit like a fighter, which it is to a certain extent, but when it plays like a wrestling game that’s not too great of a thing. Also, putting an opponent into a submission move delivers damage to a specific part of the body, such as the head, arm, or leg. Each of these areas features their own energy bar, and when they’re depleted, your opponent will tap out. I’m not too fond of that feature, and I’m not too fond of the new pinning system either. Now, when you’re put into a pin you have to rapidly tap any or all buttons on your pad to break out before the count of 3. So, in theory you could be put into a roll-up 30 seconds into a match and lose if you miss a step when tapping the buttons. Of course, the CPU can kick out of almost every pin, despite getting beaten straight for 10 minutes. Why? Because they like to piss you off, that’s why.

The game controls exactly as it did in previous Aki wrestlers. Performing a maneuver is done by pressing a direction on the analog stick and a button to correspond with it. Press B and a direction, and you’ll perform a punch or kick attack different from the one done by solely pressing B on its own. Same thing with the grapple button (A) too, but the difference with the grapple button is that, once you’re in a lock-up with your opponent, you have the choice of pressing either the A or B button with a direction to perform a move. Hold A, and you can perform a strong grapple, a move which can cause more damage than anything else. For a finisher, all you have to do is raise you stamina bar to its highest, then press the C Stick when it begins to flash. Doing that causes you to go into “Blazin” mode, which allows you to perform your finisher only once. To perform your finishing maneuver, perform a strong grapple and tap the control stick, you will then be treated to a finisher so outrageous and so impossible to do in real life that Aki just had to over exaggerate it with slow motion. One thing I don’t like about performing a finisher in DJV is that in Aki’s previous wrestling titles, you were allowed to perform your finisher as many times as you could before the mode went away, whereas you can only perform it once in DJV. I don’t know about you, but I liked performing 3 Stone Cold Stunners in a row. The reversal system is still the same to a certain extent. Most of the parrying attempts are done by pressing the R button at the moment of contact, and the reversal of grapples is done by alternately pressing the two Trigger buttons. However, most of the cool reversal animations from previous games seem to be gone. In DJV I have yet to see someone reverse a Tombstone Piledriver and reverse it into another one, and I haven’t seen anyone duck under a clothesline and then grab me from behind to give me a Back Body Drop. It’s just not as cool anymore, mostly due to the part that if you do reverse such a move, it will be the same reversal each time. The reversal to gutbuster? A huricanrana. The reversal to a Piledriver? A huricanrana. The reversal to an abdominal stretch? I think you get the point…

Gameplay modes have also been…lessened. There aren’t any gimmick matches, like ladder matches, steel cage, etc… Def Jam Vendetta just goes with the standard fare, which is comprised of you usual single player modes, handicap matches, tag team matches, and, of course, Battle Royal. The single player effort in the game, in particular the Story Mode, is quite entertaining. In Story Mode you choose one out of 4 initial characters, and from there, this grimy as dude named Manny wants you to save his ass by winning some fights for him, which of course you do. So, you begin to make a name for yourself by beating the crap out of people, and with glamour come women. So you get a girl not too far down the road. Of course, she’s a jealous Ho, so she’ll start shit with any other bitch that comes near you. The opportunity will come up when you have to choose which girl you want to take home at night. This means…Cat Fight! Whichever girlfriend you chose will now be at your control in a wrestling match. You must now prove that nobody can take your man. If you win, she wins your appreciation, which also means you get to unlock a photo gallery of her in her undies, non CG chick of course. But your current girl is just a side thing. What you really want is D-Mob’s chick, and getting the chick of the kingpin who runs this whole underground wrestling circuit won’t be an easy task. D-Mob will send his men after you, such as Capone, and DMX, and trust me they’re quite formidable foes. For the most part, the Story Mode in DJV is planned out nicely, and the cinemas used help add to the whole atmosphere. Though, I would have liked for the game to feature a branching story, since you aren’t really penalized for losing. If you do lose, you just try again, and again, and again, until you succeed in accomplishing whatever task it was. The other gameplay modes aren’t and have never been too much to my liking; tag team and handicap matches have always proven to be irritating, and the only time I’ve ever participated in them is when it is required of you in Story Mode.

Even though Story can prove to be quite entertaining, you won’t really be thrilled to go back at it again with another character. Though, if you want to go back and unlock all the other women galleries you could, and I did. I mean c’mon, you can’t be a real game master without doing that right? Ahem, of course not (*wink, wink*nudge, nudge*). Really, what makes this game worthy of its 50 dollar price tag is the multiplayer modes. It has always been a trademark of an Aki wrestling game to deliver an excellent multiplayer experience, because quite frankly nothing is more enjoyable than humiliating your friend in a multiplayer match-up, whether it is in a one on one bout, or the addictive Battle Royal. Without a doubt, multiplayer will keep you busy until…until the sequel is released, and knowing Aki and EA, there will be a sequel.

Visuals:

“Jiminey Jillickers Radioactive Man!”