I don't know if this is a fighting game, or a wrestling game, even though there is some elements of martial arts...
GRAPHICS
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Graphics are very well done. Much detail was put, not only on the players and characters, but also on stages. Since you can utilize certain parts of the stages, (E.G. Use the door of a car as a weapon or using a barrel to bash your opponent) you can do a lot of different kinds of damage to your opponent. Even the scene where you fight your opponents on the Subway is classic, especially when you time it just right so they fall in the subway rails right when the train is coming. :-) You just can't beat the themes of certain stages. One of the major pluses is that they bleed so well. Punch them enough times, and blood just starts pouring out from their bodies. Most of your opponents consist of famous R&B rappers of today ranging from Ludicrus, Ice-T, Ice-Cube, David Banner, Bone Crusher, and introducing Snoop Dogg as the games bad guy. There are a few females to play as, such as Carmen Electra. All the characters are very well drawn and designed.
CONTROL
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This is where it gets weird. When I first played this, I figured, since it's from THQ, it should be a decent fighting game. This is not really the case here. The fighting is based on 2 things...
1.) Your basic punch, kick, grab, & block buttons with your Power attack
2.) The 3 martial arts techniques you chose during your character making
Once you made your character and gotten some ways into the game, you also gain a list of super moves that you can use with your choice of 4 out of a huge amount of other moves from a list. Most of the moves are from some of the recent wrestling games such as from WWF No Mercy for N64, WWE Smackdown Vs Raw, etc. My main thing about this game is that the attacks are a little too basic, not that it's a bad thing, but I would have liked a little more complexity in the attacks, not just do Punch, Punch, Punch, or Kick, Kick, Kick, then do your finisher. Plus, sometimes, even if your opponent has half a health bar, the super move will do more than enough damage to finish off your opponent. Don't get me wrong, there is some complexity, but I was hoping for a little more variety in attacks, not just your basic punch and kick then finish them. I mean, you got 8 buttons, 2 analogs, and the control pad to work with, you would think that they could have thought out the attack system a little bit better. But I guess beggers can't be choosers. Overall, it's not a bad game, but don't expect a lot of attack vareity when you are in battle.
OVERALL
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The only thing I can say about this game is that it's FUN to play, nothing more. The only real vareity is the amount of characters you can get when you find them in Versus mode. Same also for the types of battles and stages you can get. So if you are looking for a new kind of fighting game, this is not the game for you. It's really nothing more than Virtua Fighter mixed with wrestling while adding your variety of R&B opponents as well as playable characters in Versus mode. So, if you get this game, just get the game for the Variety of characters and stages, not nothing else. This game is mostly just for fun, not for people who are looking for some kind of new fighting game.