Here's where you can leave your thoughts regarding Def Jam: Fight for NY for possible inclusion in the podcast when it's recorded.

I remember picking this up on release, having absolutely no expectations, only to be surprised by the interesting fighting mechanics in the game.

It plays unlike any other fighting game I have ever played, it has touches of the usual affair (Tekken, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat) mixed in with a heavier dose of wrestling games in the WWE series. This comes together in a strange way, making it hard to learn but a very rewarding fighting system once you master it.

The story was fairly over the top in an "urban street thug" kinda way. But I did enjoy it over all, it just reminds me of a slightly watered down "Need for Speed Underground 2" for fighters instead of drivers.

The customization with the clothing options was quite deep and over the top as well and I vaguely remember it effecting your character in game, like getting a higher "respect" level in game, or something.

I haven't played since I finished it all those years ago, but I would be interested to see how it holds up.. I have a strange suspicion it won't hold up too well...

I played this earlier in the year when the show list was announced. My history with the game spans a decade starting with the ps2 game which was a bargain bin purchase a few years after its release whilst looking for a brawler in between Yukes wrestling games. More recently I obtained a copy of the PSP version to play for the show.

For me there are so many comparisons to be made between the WWE games of the same time period. If I’m being reductive then one could change the music to rock or metal and the appearances of the characters and it could easily pass for a wrestling game. This is probably unfair but at the time this was exactly what I wanted. The important difference for me was that I had no affection for the Def Jam label or its music and always felt the fighters were irritating caricatures who made me cringe with every line of dialogue. Despite these factors I am very fond of the game. There’s a wealth of customisation options and different modes to try that feasibly the game has almost infinite replay value. At the time the actual fighting mechanics were incredibly solid and fights became quite exciting.

The PSP release according to multiple sources actually contains the lions share of the original game’s content plus a few extras. It’s actually quite remarkable how good it is. The takeover campaign is very impressive in which you take your character through a hip hop soap opera story complete with love, loss and betrayal which isn’t going to win any awards but was quite compelling. To make another comparison with wrestling it’s similar in quality and arc to a WWE storyline of that era. To be able to carry this around in my pocket to play on the PSP is quite astonishing and in terms of sheer content crammed onto the UMD is only surpassed by the PSP Grand Theft Auto games. Somehow the ability to consume the game in bite sized chunks offsets all the minor annoyances I had with the home console version and I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in fighting games or the yukes WWE smackdown series.

Thanks for the feedback, guys! Much appreciated.

Also, Simonsloth... your impressive record of playing along with the show is not going unnoticed.

Michiel K wrote: ↑September 15th, 2018, 1:34 pm Thanks for the feedback, guys! Much appreciated.

Also, Simonsloth... your impressive record of playing along with the show is not going unnoticed.

Haha. I’m doing my best! My backlog is huge and growing every day so It’s quite nice to have some vague structure. This game has lived in my psp since February which seems to have a crazily long battery life. So when everything else packs in I’ve still got my trusty PSP.

I only wished that you announced the list for next year a little earlier. In two chunks maybe?

Three Word Review: Highly Specialized Soundtrack!

^^^^Thanks!

Danke schön!