What happens when you take the latest up-and-coming rap artists and combine them with a wrestling game very similar to the superb WWF No Mercy and throw in a bit of trash-talkin', some cat fightin' supababes and some badass trying to rip off your head and spit down your neck for glancing at his latest supermodel accessory? You get Def Jam Vendetta, that's what! EA Sports has released a wrestling game hailed by rap fans and wrestling afficionados alike as an absolute classic. How does it fare for the average Joe, coming to wrestling games for the first time? Well, I have to say it was a bit of an eye opener.

The in-game story is pretty limited but is more than a enough to provide an excuse for a lot of big wrestlers and rappers to get down on the mat and try out their moves. Your best friend Manny has hit some trouble with his debts. Hoping to pay them off by starring in a few high profile underground wrestling matches, he unfortunately gets injured and calls you in for help. What's more, the head of this underground organisation is going out with your ex, who you desperately want back. Can you take Manny's place in the ring, work your way up the ranks of wrestlers and win back the heart of your ex by defeating the top dog? Well, only time and a lot of controller tapping will tell.

My initial impression of this game was that it's quick to learn but takes a lifetime to master! Although there are many different options to choose from including a Survival mode and several multiplayer modes that you can dive straight into, the one player story mode is the heart of the game and with only a cursory look at the instructions and the in-game tutorial your can get straight to it. The controls are not too tricky, although it may take you an hour or so to get to grips with them. One button for grapple, another for strike, yet more to defend from strikes and grapples and another to run at your opponent or the ropes. How long you press the grapple or strike button depends on how hard you lay it onto your opponent. You have to follow up a grapple with the strike button and a direction on the control stick to pull off a variety of different moves, depending on whether you've engaged your opponent in a light, medium or heavy grapple. However, the key to using them is timing! If you mis-time a grapple then more often than not your opponent will throw you off or they'll reverse the move and do an even nastier one on you! Just when you think you're going to take the man to the ground with a seriously bitchin' move he reverses it on you and you end up in a rather nasty arm, leg or body lock. This means you can't just wade in, tapping buttons in some finger straining frenzy - quite often you have to plan ahead tactically and time your moves to the hilt to stand a chance of taking anyone down.

You can end a match in a variety of different ways, such as a submission, a pin, or a knockout. If you're constantly locking the same leg or arm, eventually the energy for that arm will be gone and your opponent will submit. Also, if you wear your opponent out then the next time you get him on the floor you could roll him onto his back and pin him with your foot. However, the quickest way to end a match is to exhaust him, use a special blazin' move and knock him out. To do this, you're going to have to return to the instructions and in-game tutorial to look into the more advanced moves and controls. In fact, if you don't do this you're probably not going to get past the fourth or fifth opponent, because each has a completely different approach and style, so you are constantly having to learn new moves, revise your timed strikes and grapples and try and build up momentum on your blazin' meter. Once you've figured out a few advanced combos and applied them correctly, you can waggle the control stick, enter blazin' mode and perform some seriously over the top moves that should KO your aggressor. You have to be careful though, because if he avoids you or hits you with a few strikes, you revert back to your standard moves and have to build up your momentum meter again.

As with a lot of games of this genre, the more you fight and win, the more things are unlocked. In Def Jam Vendetta these include different arenas, new fighters, and *ahem* more photos in a gallery of your latest female conquests. This was where I became a bit wary of the game, as it does emphasise the 'bling' lifestyle - gold, respect and girlfriends as decoration. It does come across as being very misogynistic at times, particularly when you get to choose which womea will have a cat-fight over you. You then play that woman - if she wins, you get to open more photos in her gallery. If you lose, you get none. These pictures of your honeys are shots of real models and appear to get more risqué the further into the game you get. My partner gasped in outrage when she first saw this, as it is downright sexist. She started to laugh eventually, as the whole thing has a very tongue-in-cheek manner about it and approaches the subject with a very amiable and over-the-top attitude.

It's all very well to look at pictures of attractive women via your console but ultimately you have to take into account the whole graphical presentation. As a whole, I'm very impressed indeed. You have the option to choose one of four distinct characters in story mode and you go on to unlock all your opponents for the multiplayer as you get through the game. They are all very different looking and nicely rendered, although I sometimes thought the polygons became a little obvious. However, via the visuals you do get the impression of some very powerful men and women. Each one has a distinctive takedown or move they will try on you and as a result you're always treated to some fabulously over the top finishing move graphics. Although you may be frustrated at losing, you can't help but be impressed by the visual form with which your demise comes!

The arenas within which you fight have been given a lot of care and consideration. These vary from factory floors and outside arenas to underground stadiums and more. The whole feel of it is rough, ready and outside of the law. A shouting and booing audience that is very lifelike is also there to add to the atmosphere. Normally in a game like this you expect to see the same person multiplied over and over but wearing different coloured clothes. Not so in this game! The audience is almost always as unique and individual as the characters you take on in the ring. While I always encourage the majority of the spit-and-polish being on the foreground graphics, it's nice to play a game where the background and foreground are given almost equal importance.

Between each bout there is often a nice story sequence, which helps the game along. The same figures used throughout the game provide the mainstay for these short film clips and the backgrounds within which each vignette is set remains true to the arena where you're about to fight. As well as projecting a story of lost love, jealousy and vengeance they can also be extremely comical.

Where the game really stands out though, is the sound. For the record, I'm not really into rap at all (except that one Run DMC did with Aerosmith) and wasn't expecting to enjoy that area of the game. Oh, how wrong I was! Each fight has a different track to it and quite often you'll find yourself up against the author of the track you're listening to! Although the in-game soundtrack doesn't include the lyrics, you still find the music being the perfect background to whatever rumble you're involved in. Outside of the game, amongst the various menus either before or during a game is where the tracks include lyrics, although I get the impression they are the toned down radio versions rather than the colourful originals that artists such as DMX, Ludacris, Method Man and N.O.R.E. intended them to be.

These smooth grooves, combined with some trash talking and the rather hectic fight commentary of real-life DJ Funkmaster Flex all go down extremely well and tie in nicely with the very meaty thunks of heavy body blows and take downs. The crunching sound of arm locks and strikes involving broken noses can't help but make you wince and cringe, as if you were watching it for real, or actually taking part! The effects used around the actual wrestling moves really help emphasise the weight, power and technique involved. The story mode as a whole may only keep the dedicated gamer amused for a few days though. Once you've been through it the chances are you're not going to return unless you want to unlock all of the arenas, fighters and honeys. However, like all good beat 'em ups, this comes with a series of single and multiplayer options. Survival mode pits you against a sequence of 40 different opponents - can you take them all on? Multiplayer modes include tag team, handicap and battle royal. The opportunity to take on four of your mates, or team up with one to take on two, is too good an opportunity to pass up and will help this game run and run! Based on this game alone I think it's time I invested in a couple of extra controllers.

Def Jam Vendetta provides a very polished and enjoyable experience from whichever angle you view it. If you're a graphics aesthete like me you're not going to be disappointed and even if you don't particularly like rap you can't help but be drawn in by the mood and setting each track helps create. When you combine this with some very tactical and involved gameplay, there's no way you can avoid thinking that this is one quality game that deserves to be on even the most casual of gamers' shelves, whether they like wrestling games or not!

Reviewed by Dave Wynn for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).