Please let this happen.
Def Jam Vendetta was one of the wildest, weirdest fighting games of the PlayStation 2 era.
It all came about when WWE bought out WCW back in 2001. EA had previously had the rights to make WCW games, but since that company didn’t exist anymore, they had to find someone or something else to star in their wrestling games.
The answer was somewhat unexpected, but also genius - instead of wrestlers, they had real life rappers duking it out in the ring.
The original 2003 Def Jam Vendetta featured a host of rappers signed to the legendary hip-hop label at the time, including DMX, Method Man, Redman, Ludacris, N.O.R.E., Ghostface Killah and Joe Budden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wtC3mU1II8
Clip via Life and Death
Then in 2004, the sequel Def Jam: Fight For NY, went even further, adding in an expanded story mode, different fighting styles and most importantly loads more rappers, including Snoop Dogg, Lil Kim, Busta Rhymes, Ice T, Xzibit, Fat Joe and Sean Paul.
Both games were completely over the top and totally beloved by hip hop fans who grew up in the early 2000s. A third Def Jam game, 2007’s Icon, ditched the wrestling set up for a more traditional 3D fighting game, and it’s attempt at a more serious tine failed to capture the imagination of fans.
But in the years since, fans have hoped for an updated version on the game, featuring a roster of today’s greatest MCs.
It looked like it would never happen – but at the weekend, Def Jam tweeted this:
https://twitter.com/defjam/status/1012811592218628096
Okay, that “HYPOTHETICALLY” is in pretty big letters. But we can hope, right?
If this is just market research, it is certainly going down well, with over 5,000 likes and over 1,000 replies. And just the fact that they are officially mentioning it makes you think something could be in the works.
Def Jam’s current roster includes the likes of Kanye West, Pusha T, Vince Staples, 2 Chainz, Desiigner and Nas, so it’s not like they’d be short of stars.
Make it happen, guys...
