I was up bright and early this morning harvesting fresh gaming news, so I decided to download the Def Jam: Icon demo off of Xbox Live. I wasn't expecting too much. I had tried to play the first two games, but a lack of familiarity with the source material coupled with my inability to master the fighting system had me moving on to other things before too long. Expecting more of the same, I was pleasantly surprised at the latest entry in the series.

The style grabbed me immediately. I hit the menu system and the multilayered stylized background started pulsing along with the beat of the music hypnotically, causing me to spend almost a minute just watching the effect before attempting to play the game.

I have to confess that I have no earthly clue who Big Boi and T.I. are. I know, I suck, but at least I got the second name right. Still, the visual style had hooked me so completely that I didn't really care who they were. I just wanted to play.

The included stage takes place outside of a convenience store gas station. While the station itself is rendered in a realistic fashion, the background behind it is exaggerated, almost as if it were living graffiti. As the music starts, the whole world begins to pulse with the beat. The sky, the buildings...the effect is simply awesome.

As the battle rages the scene changes. I get slammed into the gas pumps, and a leak starts. I get thrown into the convenience store door, breaking the glass, and the Asian store owner stars intermittently spraying something out the window at us. Soon the gas station is engulfed in fire, with flames shooting out and explosions rumbling at what I first thought was random, but it definitely wasn't. The world moves to the beat.

The game tells you to master the beat to win the fight. As you get into the music, you see the patterns. You know when a good time to toss your opponent towards the black SUV because you know fire is going to shoot out of it once the next beat hits. Then comes the mixing option. Hold down the left trigger and you can use the analog sticks like a turntable to speed up, slow down, fast forward or reverse the song, in turn effecting the world around you. It looks kind of silly watching your fighter spin his fingers atop an imaginary record, but the results can't be argued with.

I eagerly await a game manual so I don't suck at fighting so much. Playing Big Boi I simply swung away with my fists as T.I. performed elaborate flip jumping moves and kicked me in the face. I'll have my revenge once the real game comes out. And maybe a strategy guide. And a really skilled guy to play in my stead. *sigh*

The first two Def Jam games sought to combine hip hop and gaming together into a singular experience, but they only succeeded in dressing a fighting game in hip hop clothing. Def Jam: Icon looks to finally accomplish what the series set out to do in the first place. Michael Fahey

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