Def Jam Vendetta (2003) — Release Date, Cheats, Price & Requirements

Def Jam Vendetta

The unlikely combination of Def Jam recording artists and underground wrestling is the subject of this Electronic Arts release, which features the 3D likenesses of such musicians as Ludacris, Redman, DMX…

30 1 April 2003

What Def Jam Vendetta is

Def Jam Vendetta is a fighting game developed by AKI Corporation and released in 2003. It was published by EA Sports BIG. It is available on Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2.

The premise, in the publisher's words

The unlikely combination of Def Jam recording artists and underground wrestling is the subject of this Electronic Arts release, which features the 3D likenesses of such musicians as Ludacris, Redman, DMX, Scarface, Ghostface Killa, Method Man, and more as playable characters. Developed by AKI Corporation, whose previous experience in the genre includes titles WWF No Mercy and WCW/NWO Revenge, Def Jam Vendetta offers an estimated 1,500 animations for each of the 45 included characters. A total of ten different venues are available, and one of the featured modes offers a storyline complete with soap opera-style drama to go along with the suplexes and body slams. Up to four players can compete…

Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a third person perspective. Its themes are action. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component. Available modes: Single player and Split screen.

How it was received

Def Jam Vendetta holds a critic score of 30 out of 100. That places it above 2% of the 981 rated fighting games in our database, which average 68. Games released in 2003 averaged 69, so it scored 39 points below the year average.

What it launched against

Def Jam Vendetta launched on 1 April 2003, within three weeks of WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, Championship Manager 4, Final Fantasy X-2 and Midnight Club II. All of them reviewed better.

Released around the same time: WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, Championship Manager 4, Final Fantasy X-2, Midnight Club II.

Official trailer