Legendary Lyricists Bust Rhymes, Skulls in Def Jam®: ICON™
By Matt Lachlan

As hip-hop fans know, every MC worth their weight in iced-down pinky rings and oversized gold chains is quick to spit game about "platinum hits."

Nonetheless, something tells us hyperkinetic, blinged-out one-on-one brawler Def Jam: ICON, coming this March from Electronic Arts for PLAYSTATION®3, isn't quite what they had in mind.

"We wanted to do something different," shrugs Kudo Tsunoda, general manager of EA Chicago and executive producer on the title, by way of explanation. "Being hip-hop doesn't just mean wearing your hat to the side and saying everything's all 'dope' or 'wack.' It's about doing what you do to the utmost and showing off your own style and flair – something most developers fail to take into account."

The solution, according to his team, also responsible for the critically-acclaimed EA Sports™ FIGHT NIGHT series: Build a unique fighting game where environments literally bounce and pulsate to the thundering bass of chart-topping background beats. And, of course, reward players for executing head-snapping techniques in time to the sounds of speaker-rattling joints like Ghostface Killah's "The Champ" or Paul Wall's "Sittin' Sidewayz," letting them more effectively maim opponents by mastering move timing – not simply mashing buttons.

Artists themselves are further placed at the heart of the action, with 25 playable lyricists like TI, The Game and Bun B offered from a roster of 38 total licensed characters. Heads can even look for a special cameo by label founder Russell Simmons. "The vast majority of games just pay hip-hop lip service," says Tsunoda. "We wanted to put the focus back on its most famed musicians and personalities, as well as positive elements of the culture (e.g. the music, clothes, lifestyle, etc.) as best we could within the given framework."

No surprise then: Customizable soundtra