When I first heard that EA was planning a wrestling game for their next title in the EA Big line, I was interested. When I heard that they had hooked up with the developer Aki to work on the game, I was even more interested. When I heard EA had hooked up with Def Jam Records and planned on having their stars in the game, I laughed. Judging from a strictly superficial standpoint, Def Jam: Vendetta looks like a game that was developed by the marketing people. However, once you get into the game, you'll find that there's much more to it than its marketability.

When it comes to looks, Def Jam: Vendetta is on par with most EA Big titles. The characters are big, bright and full of personality. The game's artists should really be commended for being able to match the signature 'Big'-style with the game's real-life stars. Even Vendetta's made up wrestlers are bursting with personality. The arenas are each varied, and show just as much life as the characters. DJs play, crowds cheer, lightshows go off in the background and women pole dance. It's just like a rap video, only without the cars.

Considering the game is based off of a record label, you would expect the soundtrack to be its main attraction. Unfortunately, this turns out to be one of its weakest aspects. Although Vendetta features a decent song list, including songs like 'Buck 50', 'X Gonna Give It To Ya', and 'Fight the Power', most of the in-match music is little more than the song's beat and 'melody' (if it can be classified as that). The sound quality is also pretty weak, mostly due to the GameCube's diminished sound capacity.

Bling-Bling, a bottle of Cristal, some beeyotches on the side and an ass whuppin' in the back room of a bar or warehouse, welcome to the world of the typical gangsta rap star. This is the side of the story they didn't show you on MTV's 'True Life: I'm a Rap Superstar'. According to Def Jam: Vendetta, there's a big Fight Club-like wrestling circuit where all of the Def Jam stars fight to prove themselves. You were once one of the superstars of the circuit, until you got out with no intention of getting back in. This all comes to an end when your best friend, Manny, who was recently injured, comes to you with a problem. Manny's gambling debts to D-Mob, the kingpin of the Def Jam circuit, have gotten a little out of hand and he needs your help to repay them. Reluctantly, you enter the tournaments only to find out that your ex-girlfriend, Angel, is now with D-mob - making things personal. This stars you off on a quest to clear Manny's debt, win back the girl, and beat the hell out of 40 wrestlers including Def Jam Records top stars like Redman, Method Man, DMX, N.O.R.E., Ludacris, Scarface, Capone, Ghostface and WC.

The core gameplay behind Def Jam: Vendetta was developed by Aki - one of the premiere developers of wrestling games. These guys were behind the excellent WWF (sorry, WWE) games on the N64. With that said, the wrestling engine behind the game is very tight - making this game more than just a really good marketing ploy. By now I'm sure most people are familiar with the premise behind most wrestling games; beat-up the other guy, and pin him for a three count or make him quit. As with most EA Big titles, a few liberties have been taken, making this a much different game than other wrestling titles.

Perhaps the biggest change Vendetta brings to the wrestling genre, besides the inclusion of rappers as wrestlers, is the Blazin' Meter. The Blazin' Meter is nothing new to those who have played other EA Big games. As you unleash combos on your foe, the meter fills up. Once the meter is full, you can pull off one of two super moves, which either does a massive amount of damage or, if their health is weak enough, causes an automatic KO victory.

As much fun as the game is, there are a few problems that hamper its replay value. The first of these is the lack of a Create-a-Wrestler feature. Another is the lack of match types. Considering how over-the-top everything else is in this game, I was surprised that the only two matches that were offered were single and tag matches. The inclusion of submission matches or foreign objects would have really helped Vendetta.

The one match type the game does offer is the 'Girlfriend Match'. At certain points in the game, your character will be approached by one of five ladies, who will then ask you to choose between them. After choosing the girl you want, you'll enter the ring as the two ladies square off for your affections. Winning the match will not only win you the lady's hand, but will also unlock a few photos of the girl's real-life counterpart in the gallery.

Far be it from me to ever accuse an EA game of being too cheap - but Def Jam: Vendetta has to be one of the cheapest games I've played in some time. As expected, all of the Def Jam superstars are virtual gods when you fight them. For starters, the computer-controlled opponent's Blazin' Meters fill up at nearly twice the speed of yours (and a little faster for the Def Jam crew), while your meter barely fills up at all. It's not uncommon to have an opponent's Blazin' Meter fill up at least twice during a match. Another issue is that Def Jam guys are able to counter and block nearly every move you try to pull, while you're stuck with having to nail the .5 seconds of counter-time allocated for you to counter a move. You can try and balance things out by adding points to your Defense skill, but I barely noticed any change. In the rare times that you're able to get your Blazin' Meter filled, the A.I. has this really bad habit of getting out of the ring, limiting your win to just a KO, but only if their health is low enough. This isn't likely to happen, since Def Jam opponents gain health quicker than Snoop goes through dime bags. The difficulty level can be altered, but even on easy, the game is out right cheap.

The control setup for Def Jam: Vendetta is amazingly simple to pick up, but could take weeks to master the over 1,500 moves in the game. Each of the basic 'starter' moves is mapped to each of the face buttons. The A button initiates grapples, while the B button kicks and punches. Once you have someone in a grapple, you can set them up for moves depending on which button combos you use, the direction you press the analog stick in, or if it's a front/rear grapple. You can also press the X button and toss them into the ropes, setting them up for even more moves.

Once an opponent is on the mat, you can apply a submission move to him. Making a wrestler quit is a little different than in other wrestling games, and requires methodic planning to do correctly. Each body part has its own health meter, which is diminished each time you do damage to it. When the meter is low enough, you can use a submission move and force them to quit. This is a very useful way to handle submissions, but submission losses don't come very often since you're likely to pin or KO someone before you do enough damage to a body part. The ludicrous number of 'Rope Breaks' also puts a damper on this strategy.

Although it still may be hard for most wrestling fans to take it seriously, Def Jam: Vendetta is a solid wrestling game. However, the insane learning curve, as well as the usual cheap antics of the A.I. and lack of gameplay modes may be a turn off for some people and make it hard to totally recommend it.