Developer: 4mm Games
Publisher: Autumn Games / Konami
Rating Guide: How I Review Games

Review:

Don’t call it a comeback, it’s been here for years!  Karoake says knock you out…I’m gonna knock you out.  The music singalong game genre isn’t new but Def Jam Rapstar marks the first time that you’ve had Hip Hop be the center of attention.  It’s no surprise to me considering the fact that so many games these days are infusing Hip Hop in their soundtracks. 

But will these genre blend successfully with the Hip Hop culture?  Are there really people out there wanting to rap and battle on a video game?

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

Def Jam Rapstar isn’t a game that will wow you with its visual presence nor wow you with its gameplay mechanics.  It is as most karoake games are.  You have a microphone and you sing along to the words you see appear at the bottom of the screen.  Naturally instead of “singing” you’ll be rapping or doing your best lyrical impression as you drop bars.  One of the cool things about the game though is that if you have an Xbox Live camera, you can swap the music video in the backdrop to record yourself performing the song.

For some, recording themselves might be a little dangerous and embarassing but that’s fun isn’t it?  You can rap to quite the selection of music which stands out as the strongest point about Rapstar and yet at the same time once of its most challengin.  From Ice Cube to Snoop Dogg to Biz Markie to Drake, there are songs for every decade of Hip Hop fan.  Let’s face it though…the genre of songs isn’t going to resonate with most of the gaming audience.  And if you can’t find a track you lack which I highly doubt, Def Jam Rapstar already has a good selection of downloadable songs to browse through.  Each song costs 160 Microsoft Points.  (praying for some Goodie Mob soon)

Yes there are “white boys” who buy Hip Hop music but for the most part the gaming population is comprised of gamers who probably don’t know what a Drake is.  That’s not a diss by any means but it’s just a reality.  Rapstar definitely faced an uphill battle because these songs aren’t at karoake bars across the country.  And that might unfortunately mean that the “brothers” out there who normally bootleg their music aren’t at all into dropping $60 on a game that they can’t burn on CD for the homies. (smile that was an inside joke)

I enjoyed the songs in the game though because I grew up on Hip Hop.  I didn’t like the fact that there was so much editing done on the songs.  I understand they had to adhere to the ESRB ratings or what not but I can take only so many edits.  Sometimes I’d like to say “bitch please” ya know.  It definitely ruins some of the artistic flow if you know what I mean.

If there’s one thing besides the music though that 4MM Games really kicked ass with is the community around Rapstar.  You can edit your videos, share them with friends, create your own etc.  You can add stickers, audio effects, filters, animations etc.  You can essentially make this game work as your own private studio.  Once you upload your video to the Rapstar site, others can rate it, watch it, battle against you and see you shine (or not).  There’s potential in the Rapstar community to make this game a cult favorite even if sales don’t.  Yes I promise to upload one of my own classic Hip Hop joints for all to see soon.

Conclusion

Do you have to have a specific love for Hip Hop to enjoy Def Jam Rapstar?  Duh, of course you do.  But even beyond that, the game is perhaps one of the best put together karoake games I’ve played going on setlist alone.  Visually you’re not going to be knocked out of your seat.  But the community and freedom to act a fool that Rapstar gives you is really refreshing.

It ain’t nothing but a Rapstar thang baby…grab the mic, just blaze and get crazy!  Or something like that.  I think this game is a no brainer for any fan of Hip Hop music and I think even if you’re a casual fan of the genre, you’ll find a good time getting your friends to laugh at you “rapping”.