Sunday, November 28, 2010

Def Jam Rapstar ? review

XBox 360/PS3/Wii; �49.99; cert 12+; Konami

Between Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Singstar and Just Dance it would seem there's little room in the market for yet another music game franchise. But for those of us whose taste is of the more, er, urban variety, the arrival of Def Jam Rapstar is something of a revelation.

No more feeling left out when someone whips out their plastic guitar at a house party, no more scrolling through endless metal tracks to find anything with Zack De La Rocha on ? hip-hop fans have finally got their own way to horrendously embarrass themselves, and it's been a long time coming.

By now the basic format of a game like this barely needs explaining ? rap in time, score some points. Rap out of time, don't score some points. With only a microphone as an input device however, this simple formula becomes a lot more complex for the game to process. Accurate reading of your timing and annunciation is crucial.

Thankfully, developers 4mm have invested a huge amount of time and effort perfecting the voice recognition software ? and it works fantastically well. Unlike other karaoke games where pretty much any correctly pitched vocal sounds will count, Rapstar penalises you for even the slightest fluff or miswording. It even compiles a report once you've finished, highlighting in red the words you've had trouble with, and for all of us who've spent the best part of our lives trying to perfect Juicy, this is something of a godsend.

As is standard for this sort of title, you can play both on your own in a half-baked career mode, or team up with your friends to battle or collaborate. A social setting is where the game comes into its own however ? there's nothing quite like sharing Nuthin' But A G Thang with a friend as Snoop and Dr Dre.

The 45 tracks on offer (with DLC extras available at about �2 a pop) offer an excellent cross-section of the genre, meaning everyone from Tinchy Stryder teeny boppers to G-funk geriatrics are well catered for. A smattering of R&B duets are on offer too, meaning those more singing-inclined can take on the role of Ashanti or Mary J to your Ja Rule or Method Man.

Beyond the overall polish of the game itself, what makes Rapstar really impressive is the forward thinking nature of its online functionality ? the scope of which could be a real game changer for both the music and video games industry.

A set of instrumentals by top producers are available to freestyle over ? fun in and of itself, but using a webcam these can be then uploaded to the Def Jam Rapstar website where rival MCs can battle, comment on each other's efforts and perhaps even get talent spotted by an A&R.

While this may not appeal to the middle-class games reviewer from Tunbridge Wells (I've found very little rhymes with Xbox), the potential here for budding rappers to showcase their talents is really exciting ? and not something that's ever really been seen before in a video game.

Every Channel AKA wannabe who didn't have the resources to showcase their talents previously now only needs an Xbox, an internet connection and a copy of the game, and I'd be surprised if someone hadn't been signed to a label via Rapstar by next spring, even if its primarily a marketing gimmick. Hey, it could be you. It could be me.

No, it definitely won't be me.

Still, the game itself isn't without its flaws. The at times absurd and often inconsistent censorship of lyrics can be dissatisfying ? while Rapstar won't penalise you for saying the bad words, the blanks on screen can completely take you off guard and ruin your timing. I suppose getting a lower age rating on the game may boost sales but let's face it, if you're rapping a flawless Gin n Juice you probably know what the f-word means.

I'd also warn that the sheer difficulty of rapping along to even one of the simpler tracks means Rapstar isn't nearly as accessible as it's guitar-based counterparts. While Mum or Dad could probably handle the easy mode of Beatles Rock Band, they aren't going to get very far with Fix Up Look Sharp.

This isn't helped by the fact that customary karaoke bouncing ball which tells you when to spit (ahem) each word is almost entirely redundant ? you have to really know these songs to be able to beat them. The game is very forgiving ? you can make as many mistakes as you want without any kind of "game over" ? but the fact that the hardest setting gives you no lyrics at all shows you what kind of audience 4mm is catering for.

Still, for that hardcore audience Rapstar is an absolute must. If you've found yourself mouthing the words to A Milli on the tube, there's a huge amount of fun to be had here. And while it doesn't have the universal appeal of its more mainstream counterparts, the potential of its online feature means it could well become a huge sleeper success.

? Game reviewed on XBox 360

Rating: 4/5


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