Def Jam: Fight for NY: The Takeover [PSP]

EA's Def Jam series has redefined the term "rap battles," with its violent gameplay and star-filled roster. Fight for NY, the second console entry, cuts enough weight to fit on the PlayStation Portable -- where the fighting game competition is slim. Even still, living up to its name as The Takeover is going to be one fierce battle.

Def Jam takes the soul of a deep wrestling title, and adapts it into a more mainstream one-on-one fighter: The venues are varied and entertainingly interactive; characters have several distinct brawling styles; and winning is a matter of decisively knocking out your opponent. It was a fresh concept back in 2004, and it's still unique today. Problems do arise, however, when the preciseness of some timed moves and the need to uncomfortably hit two buttons at once makes some techniques unusable. Luckily, Fight for NY: The Takeover has depth to spare, and offers some intense match-ups.

Likewise, the single-player mode is a monster. Your customized character throws down with a never-ending roster of enemies -- both celebrity and fictional. Between battles, swing by the various retail establishments to make yourself look so fresh and so clean (clean), or head to the gym to train with punk icon Henry Rollins. The stream of unlockables flows steadily, and affects other modes of play. There's always something new to spend cash or development points on.

One area Def Jam shows its age, ironically, is with the Def Jam license. One can't help feeling a lot of the rappers both appearing in the game and on its soundtrack are a little played out. Hip hop is an ever-evolving animal, and this series definitely shows its age like a pair of Reebok Pumps. A lot of the content and cast are not old enough to be retro, but not recent enough to be current. Such is the risks you take when releasing a port of a game that came out a few years back.

"Port" is a key word here. EA and other big publishers somehow don't feel comfortable releasing original content on the PSP, instead being satisfied to release slightly updated yet compromised versions of old console titles. The Nintendo DS is winning the handheld war because there aren't enough LocoRocos and Lumineses on the PSP.

Nonetheless, Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover is a good fighting game on a system that lacks them. But its gameplay sacrifices and slightly stale taste make it no match for Tekken: Dark Resurrection. While it may not be tops, Fight for NY does look decent, it plays well, and has enough content crammed in the UMD to warrant a look from both Def Jam faithful and the general gaming consensus. Just don't expect the new hotness.