Def Jam: Icon

"This one's fun, no doubt about it, and the way the beats bang the environment is a must-see. But its lack of fighting depth definitely keeps it on the casual tip."

"Def Jam: Icon plays well enough, but it really shines thanks to its crazy story and healthy roster."

"The biggest issue with Def Jam: Icon is that it wants to be two things at once. It's trying to be a fighting game that can stand toe-to-toe with established franchises, and it's trying to be authentically hip-hop. The game's fighting engine, while ambitious and endearingly fun, has a steep learning curve. It will take more than a few battles to pick up the intricacies of fighting, and all rules seem to fly out of the window when playing online against real opponents. For anyone who feels like hip-hop is more than the soundtrack to the suburban mall thug experience, the game is really a disservice to a rich culture that involves more than misogyny and violence."

"Your fighters have a number of attacks that they can launch against their opponents, such as punches, kicks and grabs. Players can vary these attacks by throwing different directional modifiers in with these strikes, so players can knock an enemy to either the left, right or backwards along with just pounding them into the ground. Of course, depending on how you string these moves together, you can create different combos. But here's where the music comes in. Your music will play louder and stronger depending on how well you've been fighting, and that will boost the strength of your attacks, letting you knock enemies around much farther. This means that as time goes on and opponents get weaker, you'll be able to fling them halfway across the screen as you get an adrenaline rush from your song."

"While this is a weak showing, Def Jam: Icon definitely shows where the series is headed. The incredibly rendered artists and destructible environments, an uncensored soundtrack and DJ controls are a huge bonus for the musically infused franchise. On the other hand, weak fighting moves, a lackluster story mode and inconsistent game mechanics complicate what would otherwise be the evolution of the franchise."