Original fighting game with a twist. Or should I say scratch.
Ok, first of all. Def Jam Icon is the first game I played in the series. I've seen gameplay footages of Fight for New York (FFNY) and I must say I was impressed. Creating your own character with purchaseable skill/blaze moves, which are missing in Icon. It's also something I would love to see in the next Def Jam sequel. Imo, it wasn't as realistic as in Icon. Sure, the background is hopping on the beat ain't releastic, but look at the details put into the game. The characters facial expressions and moves, background and it's enviroment hopping on the beat. Man, I love it. It even looks great on my normal old school 50/60 hertz television XD
Gameplay
Now comes the gameplay. Sure, the moves are too slow to perform and it takes a while to get familiar with the controls. Somewhat most of the people here dislike, because of the "realism". But once you get the hang of it (meaning you are ready beat the snot out of the CPU on Hard) you will be ready to take this to a higher level and show your skills online. There's a mode called "Build A Label" where you can create and pimp your own created fighter. It's a neat feature, but not as neat as how you could create your character in FFNY from what I saw from the video's. But hey, Icon is a realistic next-gen fighting game, so I guess the makers really wanted you to stick to one fighting style. It's quite balanced if you ask me. Because if it wasn't you would prolly get bad repped/scolded most of the time online an online (ranked) match...
Controls
I must say, even though I am familiar with the controls, I still have problems with right "dj-stick". Performing low hard punches/kicks with the stick (down-forward/backward) sometimes fails into a throw move. Same goes with the counters. Holy crap, what were the creators thinking? I mean, it could have made easier, just like the countering system of Dead or Alive. Pressing the RB and the Up/Down on the "dj-stick" ables you to counter high and low attacks. Which are either critical or useless online (for those who played the arcade version of Street Fighter knows what I am talking about) mainly the lag.
Sounds
The sound here in this game is well done. The sound effects are clear and brings the fight alive. Strikes and slams sound as they should with solid clarity. The music makes the day here since this game is about the rappers. Taunt sounds are also great during matches. I love to annoy people with Lil Jon's taunt ;P
Features
The neat features in this game is, you guessed it, is the "scratch"-stick. With it you can cancel your opponents scratch move and switch songs to make you temporary faster and stronger. And most importantly, you can use it and abuse the enviroment as your weapon. This "scratching" is new in the Def Jam series and I really want it to return in a future Def Jam sequel. I don't know if the countering system has been implented on FFNY, but it's handy to punish your opponent when he/she repeats the same move over and over again.
Replay value
I cleared the game myself and I must say this game is imo fun to play once you get the hang of the controls. It's a game you won't be playing repeatedly (Gears Of War anyone?), but play with friends for some brawling. Or if you are into "pimping" then the "Build A Label mode" will keep you busy for a while. It's a great game if you like rap music and realistic street fighting. IMO it's the slow version of DoA with rappers, without them booties ;D
Overall score
8/10 rating.