It's has been a little while since we last saw D-Mob and his crew in Def Jam: Vendetta, but they are back and there is a new recruit in their crew -- you.

Def Jam: Fight for NY is a graphically stunning game. The venues, shops, Crib and other locations are full of detail. At times when my character was dazed and standing there swaying back and forth (against my better judgment of course), I would just look around and be in awe over the level of detail each locale had. Each dusty, dirty, dank location gave me exactly that impression. I could tell just by a quick glance that this was the underworld of New York. This is where my character could prove himself. This is where he would make a name for himself.

The character models were just as outstanding as the locales. Each of the star characters looked just like their real-world counter part. Whether it was Snoop Dogg as "Crow", or Ice-T as himself -- there was no guessing as to who was who. This, along with how well the game integrated my character (which can be created from a very wide array of features) made Fight for NY stand out.

The music playing throughout Def Jam is the best of the best in the hip hop genre. As you progress through the game, you will be able to unlock more songs by more of your favorite artists. I heard songs by Method Man, OutKast, Busta Rhymes and Sticky Fingaz.

D-Mob is being taken into custody for a shooting. But before the fuzz can bring him to the station, the police car is T-boned and flipped. The driver of the assaulting car then helps D-Mob escape. At the police station, the two officers are asked to identify the assailant. Here you can either choose from several pre-made fighter looks, or you can have a police sketch artist draw out your character. This Create-A-Fighter mode gives you the ability to define weight, height, face structure, eyes, ears, lips, hair, skin tone, body build and more. The model you come up with will not only show up in the fights, but in the VS. screens before fights and in in-game movies that look as if they should have been pre-rendered.

Now your new fighter must prove himself in the New York underworld. You will need to fight your way through every thug that crosses your path in order to keep D-Mob's crew together and to stop Crow (Snoop Dogg's character) from taking over.

In the beginning, you choose one fighting style. This style determines the moves you perform and what situations you can handle the best. These styles are called Street Fighters, Kick boxers, Martial Arts, Wrestling and Submission. Each has its own pros and cons, for instance, Submission is for those fighters who like to wear down the enemy. These people will last a long time and keep the enemy on the move. And when the time is right, they will take the opponent down. But you don't have to stay with that style if you don't want to. Fight enough fights and earn enough development points, and you can go to the gym (Stapleton Athletics) and master a new style.

At Stapleton, you will also be able to buy and assign moves that you have unlocked, as well as build up your upper body strength, lower body strength, speed, toughness, health and more.

You can also modify your character's appearance by buying things at the local stores. You can get some new street wear at SUS, add some tattoos to your body at Manny's Tatts, buy some bling (chains, watches, rings, etc.) at Jacob & Co. or get a new hair style at Stingray's Barber Shop. You want to keep your character in good style because that is one of the things the crowd will be looking at while you are in the ring. If you want them behind you (which you do) then you want to make sure you look good for your fans.

I found Def Jam: Fight for NY to be just right in the difficulty department. Once I got the hang of the controls and exactly what I was supposed to be doing -- I started flying through the game. That doesn't mean that the opponents are easy though. There were many occasions when I had to go back to the gym and spend some of my development points to improve my fighter. There were also plenty of occasions where my winning streak was stopped cold by one of the major fighters (the first one being the Iceberg himself, Ice-T).

In general, if you are having problems getting through a particular thug, then head back to Stapleton Athletics and work on your moves and body strength.

Def Jam: Fight for NY does a good job of taking what could possibly be a complex combat system and simplifying it enough to make it usable and still more than just the same punches and kicks over and over again.

You punch and kick with the Triangle and Square respectively, grapple and throw your opponent with the X and use the shoulder buttons to enhance your attacks or guard against your opponents. If you've gained control of the fight, then you will be able to go into a Blaze by rotating the Right Analog stick. Then all you have to do is grab your opponent and execute your move.

Once I got into the flow of things, and I got a good feel for how the combat actually works (aka. no more button mashing), I really got into Fight for NY, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves the fighting genre and likes the ability to create and tweak his or her own thug.