Def Jam Rapstar

"Those who've been waiting for a great hip-hop singing game will be at bliss.  GameFocus.com
"...a huge step in the right direction for Konami's musical approach, and we certainly hope more follow in their footsteps.  GameZone.com

IGN.com 7 of 10
I've been dying for a great rap video game for years now, ever since I played Get on da Mic on the PS2 and wanted to kill myself because it was so bad. Other music games have tried, but they never figured it out. Rock Band just gives you points for saying anything you want during the spoken word portions. Rapping in Singstar is so broken you'll never get a good score. Developer 4MM Games has been working for years to create a rap game that will finally give gamers that true hip hop experience. Def Jam Rapstar is miles better than any other alternative, and is almost a fantastic game, but its attempts for widespread appeal keep it from performing at its peak...The karaoke genre has been around for almost a decade now, so you can probably guess how Rapstar works, but here we go. Like all games of this type, words appear on the screen and you "sing" along. The music video plays on the screen, though that can be swapped out with footage of the players if you have a PSEye or Xbox camera. I was all psyched to record video of myself rapping the hell out of these songs. But did you know I sound/look/dance like a prepubescent white kid? Seeing the video playback for some of these songs has been the most humbling experience of my life...There is already DLC on the store, though not a lot. 4MM says every week new songs will pop up on there, so fans of any particular genre of rap should be able to customize their catalog. Personally, I'm hoping more R&B with rap bridges make it onto the store, instead of just limiting it to pure rap (can I get some Usher up in here?). Also, there are some artists that are painfully absent from this game. How is Jay-Z nowhere to be seen? Fix that, ASAP...Is Def Jam Rapstar perfect? Hell no. Is Def Jam Rapstar fun? F**k yes it is! As just a party game I've had a blast with it. The censorship is annoying, and hurts the game more than the developers would like to admit. But even that can't change the fact that it's a fun game, pure and simple. The online features are what save the title. Showing off your skills (or lack thereof) on the Internet and schooling fools in front of the entire world feels really good. If you're a hip hop fan, get this game. Then get online, find me, and prepare to get clowned. - Jack DeVries