If you ask EA Games, nothing makes more sense than Method Man power-bombing Ludacris in a junkyard, or maybe they just want to slap a wrestling engine on a game devoted to rap music fan service. Either way, the sequel to the best selling Def Jam Vendetta, Def Jam: Fight for New York, once again stars a plethora of your favorite hip hop artists laying the smack down with everything from submission style UFC wrestling, to Kung Fu fighting. Word.

Method Man, Redman, Ice-T, and yes, even the notorious D-Oh-Double-G all make an appearance to give Def Jam more star power than most games can dream of having. Nearly every role in Fight for New York is played by a rapper or celebrity, whether it be Busta Rhymes starring as "Magic" or Carmen Electra playing herself. While the result does initially seem to be nothing more than a cheap cash in on the appeal of names like Omar Epps, Def Jam is actually much more.

Gameplay:

Fighting games traditionally don't have very deep storylines; Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter hardly have the complexity of an RPG. while Fight for New York certainly doesn't have the depth and nuance of Breath of Fire, it still goes out of its way to have an impressive and entertaining single player story. Even if it's nothing new (and I won't spoil the big plot twist that comes half way through the game) it still manages to stay interesting, which says a lot about how much work EA put into making Def Jam 's story worth paying attention to.

The foundation of Def Jam, however, is the phenomenal game play. Developed by Aki, Fight for New York features a modified version of what many consider to be the best wrestling engine of all time, WWF No mercy's grappling system. With two buttons devoted to punches and kicks, a third allows you to grapple and perform further moves like Suplexes, combination strikes, and Pile-drivers. By using the Left Trigger, you can also strengthen all of your moves, making a kick or punch more powerful or executing a harder grapple for more powerful moves. Oddly enough, however, there is absolutely no customization option for your own move set when you begin the single player story. The style you choose (and eventually styles) determine your moves, which can be frustrating for players who want to control their fighter's every detail.

Sound:

Not surprisingly, the entire sound package in Fight for New York is one of the best you'll ever find, but the real stand out here comes from the voice acting. The vocals are spot on and provided by the artists themselves, and they did such an amazing job that, frankly, it's some of the best vocal work you'll ever find in a game. The music is perfect and appropriately written and performed by many of the fighters themselves (Xzibit and Ice-T among others). While there is very little difference in the selection of menu and fight music, the volume of each is well done - you can enjoy a song in the menu, and can make it out while fighting without it blaring over the sound effects, which are also top notch. All of the punches, clanks, crunches, and cracks sound especially sick, adding a great deal of impact to all of the already devastating moves.

Graphics:

Surprisingly, Def Jam doesn't just sound good, but has a pretty face to match. While most of EA's outings are infected with "portitis" Fight for New York looks gorgeous on the Xbox despite being a multi-platform game. Snoop Dogg and Method Man, in particular, look damn near photo realistic, and everything from clothing to jewelry looks spectacular. The environments look great as well, and the crowd, while not quite as pretty as the nicely rendered Lil' Kim, are actually polygonal instead of the traditionally flat cardboard stand-ups we're used to seeing. Combat looks smooth and crisp, and using one of Def Jam's finishers triggers an extremely cool slow motion sequence to show off your move from a more cinematic angle, and speaking of moves, Fight for New York features some of the best animation to date. Everything from lip sync to the way fighters walk and move looks perfect, natural, and well done.

Overall:

Def Jam Fight for New York looks and sounds great but not having the option to tweak your moves is absolutely unforgivable. The single player is woefully short as it is, and not having the ability to customize anything on your fighter other than his outfit doesn't help. Even if you take your time you're only looking at three hours before you'll have everything unlocked and finished. While there is some replay value if you have three friends to play with you, it still isn't enough to justify such an amazingly short game, especially without Xbox Live play. We're waiting, EA.

Def Jam: Fight for New York is a very "hit or miss" game. If you aren't in its target demographic (those who like either wrestling or rap music) this definitely isn't for you. Parents are also strongly cautioned to pay attention to the "M" rating, as there is no shortage of "B" and "F" words. Still, if any of the above is your cup of tea, Def Jam is definitely worth a purchase, or at least a rental.

Pros:

• Method Man, Redman, Snoop Dogg, WC, Ice-T, and Mack 10 all did music for World Wrestling Entertainment's WWF Aggression CD in 2000, so the notion of them throwing down in a ring isn't all that foreign.
  
• An incredibly fun game for its demographic.
  

  Cons:
  

  • Pitifully short. Three hours? For shame.
    
  • Questionable AI. Sometimes easy, other times Godlike. Where's the happy in-between?