(continued from previous page) ...with the environment to use it as an effective weapon.
 

Another similarity found between the two titles is the lack of a standard HUD. You’re supposed to be able to judge character damage based on the character alone. However, the character models in Def Jam aren’t nearly as accurately rendered as those in Fight Night so we recommend you turn the HUD on. When one character’s life gets low, you go into something similar to “the zone” from Fight Night. Though, instead of implementing this zone via audio like Fight Night, Def Jam: Icon does this visually, saturating all colors onscreen instead. Frankly, this looks awful, and we wish the developers had stuck with the Fight Night method.

Audio is astounding, as it should be for a game essentially based around music. The in-game sound effects and voice acting are surprisingly solid, but the real draw here is the soundtrack. It features 29 fully uncensored songs by some of the world’s top rappers, including the likes of Ludacris and Lil’ Jon.

Offline multiplayer is decent, but unlike most other fighting games, it does very little to sell the game. After playing through each of the stages a couple of times, you really lose the desire to continue, as there isn’t enough depth in each of the already limited move sets.

With online, you’ve got all of the modes you had in offline multiplayer. You can play either ranked or unranked games as you compete. If you're new to online play, sticking to unranked games initially is probably the best course of action, otherwise you may find yourself being dominated before you’ve had a chance to learn the ropes.

Although Def Jam: Icon doesn't have your PlayStation Network buddy list built into its online play, the inclusion of lobbies makes it easy to find your friends while playing. With the exception of the sometimes unreliable EA servers (occasional disconnecting) and the issue of lag from time to time, online is a respectable experience which complements a reasonable game.

Those of you that are fans of the Def Jam series will probably enjoy this title. But in light of other successful ventures like Fight Night, and its shortcomings in variety and multiplayer, it’s difficult to see Def Jam: Icon finding a permanent place next to your PlayStation 3.