Def Jam: Fight For NY - Strategy Guide (Page 01)
Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Def Jam: Fight For NY - Strategy Guide (Page 01).
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o----------------------------o Currently version 1.0
Author: Barry Willemsen \
Copyright: 2005 and after \
Release: 03/27/2005 \
Updated: 07/13/2005 \
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I TABLE OF CONTENTS /
o===============================o
I ............... Table of Contents
II .............. Introduction to the FAQ
III ............. Crack those Chumps!
IV ............. Story Mode Walkthrough
V ............. Compendium
VI ............. Legal Stuff, Contact Info, and Version History
VII ............. Credits
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II INTRODUCTION TO DEF JAM /
================================o
This FAQ was meant to clear up one of the greatest beat 'em ups I've ever had
the good fortune to get my hands on. Should I say that this game is better
than the Tekken series, the Dead or Alive series, Soul Calibur, etcetera, I
would probably get a junk pile of hate mail in my box, so I won't. Though
perhaps a matter of taste, one can hardly deny that Def Jam: Fight for NY
does not deserve its high marks (8-9) given by people who know a lot about
games (or pretend they do).
Now, for starters, I will be very blunt: first time I played this game, and I
already made sure it was on EASY, I got my ass handed to me in a bucket of
Foundation steel. By the thirtiest time I gave it a try, and lost, I threw
the game into a corner for nearly a month. Eventually, scouring over the
Internet, I viewed the renewed interest in the Def Jam series, which gave
me some good ideas. Banning all chills of anger from my spine, I took the
Def Jam CD out of its box as calmly as I could, stomped it into my XBox,
created a new character for Story Mode... and kicked ass. Unfortunately,
most knowledge that helped me was spread over a wide range of sites, and
they are not anyone's particular idea, so I decided to compile all of them
into this document.
Also, keep in mind that I originally created this guide as a walkthrough for
newer players to beat the Story Mode, so strategies I suggest will probably
not work on the HARD level. But, if you're playing on HARD, what are you
doing here? You don't need any tips by now, I hope? ;)
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III CRACK THOSE CHUMPS! /
================================o
The scene may be original, and the possibilities refreshing, Def Jam: Fight for
New York remains - in essence - a beat 'em up game. So, you'd best learn how
to hold yourself out in the clubs if you want progress in Story Mode. The
basic controls are these:
----- ~*~*~*~* -----
<||||| Controls |||||>
----- ~*~*~*~* -----
LEFT THUMBSTICK
- In combat, it moves your fighter around.
- In menus, you may highlight different options with it.
- When in a grapple, you may press A and hold the Left Thumbstick in a desired
direction to throw your opponent that way.
RIGHT THUMBSTICK
- When your Momentum Gauge is full and blinking, move the Right Thumbstick to
activate Blazin' Mode.
- When in Blazin' Mode, grapple your opponent with A, and then move the Right
Thumbstick in any direction to execute a Blazin' Move.
- If your Momentum Gauge is not yet full, using the Right Thumbstick will do
a Taunt. A Taunt slowly increases your Momentum Gauge, and is quite funny
to see, though you're completely vulnerable during execution. You can
interrupt a Taunt at all times by using the Right Trigger to block.
D-PAD
- In combat, it is an alternate way to move your fighter around.
- In menus, it is an alternate way to highlight different options with.
- (You guessed it) An alternate way of defining a direction once you try to
throw your opponent somewhere once you've locked in a grapple with A.
A BUTTON
- Confirms a highlighted option in menus.
- In battle, press A when in close proximity to your opponent to try and
lock-in a grapple.
B BUTTON
- Cancels a previously selected option, transports you back to the previous
menu when not in battle.
- Pressing B while holding the Left Thumbstick in a direction will make
your character run that way. Beware, running detracts from your momentum
and if you're out, you won't be able to run anymore until it refills.
- When on the ground, press B to stand up, or press B and hold the Left
Thumbstick in a desired direction to roll and get up.
Y BUTTON
- Throws a light punch in the direction of the opponent you're fighting. Can
be used from standing position, from the ground and from a post.
- If well-timed, it can be used to escape from an opponent's grapple.
- Use Y + the Left Thumbstick to execute your desired move once you've
locked in a grapple.
X BUTTON
- Throws a light kick in the direction of the opponent you're fighting. Can
be used from standing position, from the ground, and from a post.
- Use X + the Left Thumbstick to execute your desired move once you've
locked in a grapple.
LEFT TRIGGER
- In battle, this is the Light/Hard Modifier Button. It basically means that
if you're holding the Left Trigger while punching (Y), kicking (X), or
grappling (A), your fighter will execute a "hard version" of the move,
which is more powerful, but also slower to come out and usually with an
abysmal recovery time.
RIGHT TRIGGER
- Use this in battle to block incoming punches and kicks. Notice that this
will NOT block grapple attempts. Can also be used on the ground.
- Press the Right Trigger and tilt the Left Thumbstick TOWARDS or AWAY
FROM your opponent to attempt a Counter. A Counter is hard to pull off,
but it will leave your opponent wide open for a crushing combo.
BLACK BUTTON
- No uses.
WHITE BUTTON
- In fights with multiple opponents, use the White Button to shift your
attention to another combatant.
START BUTTON
- Confirms a highlighted option in menus.
- Pauses the game during battle.
BACK BUTTON
- Use this in menus to return to a previous menu.
----- ~*~*~*~* -----
Unfortunately, such a schematic will hardly serve you, unless you're looking
for a quick reference guide. And that's why I'll give you the following
thorough explanation, a bit of a walkthrough on itself. Please don't think
that I'm acting like you're a small child, I'm not belittling you, just
trying to help you through the game as good as I can. There is some basic
strategy involved already, so even if you know the buttons, it will still
do no harm to look through.
----- ~*~*~*~* -----
<||||| Fighting |||||>
----- ~*~*~*~* -----
To make all workings clear, we should first take a battle as an example. For
this purpose, I will take the first battle you really fight in story mode. To
be more precise, we will take a custom character versus Trick at the damp
basement of the Foundation:
So, now the battle has loaded, and you two are standing perpendicular to each
other. Immediately you should crave to follow RULE NUMBER ONE: Agressiveness,
because that is what most people are lacking when they first play the game,
and not following the rule means becoming pissed off at the game, at the
guide, and therefore at ME, which I wouldn't like. So be as agressive as you
can without being reckless. There's a thin line to walk. At first, things are
easy. See, we can hardly be agressive from such a distance, so to get a head
start we will go and RUN for Trick now to grab his ass. Simply tilt the Left
Thumbstick towards him while holding the B button and your character should
automatically run up.
Unfortunately, running will do nothing if we don't make an action. So, as you
are close to Trick, press the A button to initiate a grab. Your character will
lunge out with both arms to grab the opponent. It should work if you're quick
and rush Trick right from the start. So now, Trick is down from your grappling
move. Will we just let him rest there and recover his health? No way. Walk up
to him by tilting the Left Thumbstick normally, and lay down a single strike,
with Y or X. Which one depends on your style, but I won't go in-depth on that
right now. Hit Trick once with one of them, and then back off. Why? Because
if you don't, Trick will hit you from the get-go and you will be stunned,
wide open to his dangerous Haymaker.
Right now, Trick will get up, and since you've backed up quite a bit to not get
hit by him, the guy's pretty pissed off. He will now probably run at you and
try to hit you with a punch. Simply hold the Right Trigger and your character
will block it, without taking damage. Trick will have some recovery time from
his reckless attacks, and so he is open to a grab. Press the A button to do
so. As you've locked in the grapple, quickly press Y to lay down a fierce
knuckle arrow right onto the poser's face. Notice that you can also use the
Left Thumbstick in conjunction with the Y button to lay down different kinds
of throws. This adds to your variety, and therefore to the sum of money you
receive at the end of any fight you win.
Trick will be stunned momentarily. Very momentarily. But it's enough for you
to go up to his downed body and press A to pick him up. Once the guy is back
on his feet, quickly do a 2-hit combo. A combo is basically a string of
commands consisting of Y and X. The best combo to take for this example fight
would be YY. Now pay attention: did Trick block your little combo? If he didn't,
continue tapping Y to finish the combo string and knock him to the floor. If
he DID, then be quick and press A to grapple him. This won't allow him any
time to counter your grapple. Once you're all locked in, tilt the Left
Thumbstick in the direction of a pillar or a jukebox, or - only if none of the
previous can be found nearby - into the crowd.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-= YOU THREW HIM INTO A PILLAR OR A JUKEBOX? =-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Follow up by quickly walking up to him and pressing A again. Your character
will automatically do an environmental attack: these are random and somewhat
dependant on your fighter's style, but they all lay down very heavy damage
for the moment. Not only do they diminish Trick's health bar, they also
leave him crippled right afterwards. You can see this as the poor guy
grabs for his face to claw away the pain. At such a moment, get up to him
and get him up with (A). Grapple him, whip him into the pillar/jukebox
again, and lay down another portion of great damage!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-= YOU THREW HIM INTO THE CROWD? =-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
First of all, you have to remember that throwing an opponent into the crowd
is but a last resort: you're far better off whipping him into a wall or
another thing that's solid enough to crack skulls with. Still, sometimes
you have no choice, and it only adds to your variety. If you throw an
opponent into the crowd with (A) + Left Thumbstick, they will ALWAYS throw
him back at you. Wait for Trick to come stolpering towards you and hit (A)
once again to give him a Running Counter Grab. These don't do as much
damage as an environmental attack, but they damn sure stun him. So quickly
pick him up afterwards, and this time, try to get him into a pillar or a
jukebox.
A small note on crowd attacks: apart from the "bouncing an opponent back",
there are another two varieties of crowd action. The first will happen when
you knock your opponent back into the crowd with a HARD strike, that is
the Left Trigger + (Y) or (X). Such attacks will make your opponent back
off quite a bit, but they are easy to counter, so only use them if you are
COMPLETELY sure that they will connect. Once the knocked back opponent
makes contact with a crowd member, the guy will be nice and grab him for
you. Be quick and walk up to your clutched opponent and perform another
grapple (A). You will perform a Crowd Double Team Move. These add to your
variety, score, but most importantly, they STUN and do about as much
damage as an environmental attack.
The second variety is quite rare, and it's not even useful. If you whip an
adversary into the crowd, RIGHT into the hands of a crowd member who is
holding up a weapon (or to the member right next to the weapon-wielding
one), the guy will smash his weapon into the opponent for some mediocre
damage. Though this stuns your opponent big time, you should NOT do it. And
why not? Because the damage is not nearly as much as when you would have
used the weapon yourself. You see, once the crowd guy has lain down his
strike, the precious weapon breaks and can no longer be used. Which is
not a good thing.
So now you've pounded Trick a good two times, so his health bar should have
suffered quite a bit. Not only that, if you have not been hit by him, which
should be the case, then your Momentum Gauge should be flashing right now,
with an "R" dancing next to it. It means you are ready to execute your
Blazin' Move, think of a fatality in other fighting games. First, activate
your Blazin' Move by moving the Right Thumbstick in any direction. The game
will pause and show a small cutscene of your character hyping up, which is
usually paired with a scream. The Momentum Gauge will be on fire, with the
word "Blazin'" engraved in it.
The hardest part is, of course, performing your Blazin' move. Trick should
have gotten up from his knock-out trip, so be sure to be on the offensive
after doing the blazin' taunt, before he can hit you. Do the YY combo
again, but this time, EVEN IF HE DOESN'T BLOCK, lay down a grapple and
attempt to lock him in. The Blazin' moment will only last for a short amount
of time, so you'll need to do this quickly. Once you succeed, all you have
to do is quickly move around the Right Thumbstick to do your Blazin' move,
and right then you can sit down and enjoy the brutal strikes evoked upon
Trick's battered body.
Once it's done, you may be surprised that your Blazin' move did not lead to
an instant Knock-Out. It certainly seemed painful enough. Don't worry, Trick
should be at least in Danger Zone, which is indicated by his health gauge
turning red and flashing. Beware though, you'll have to act quickly or he
will get back into safer parts (green) and you won't be able to knock him
out. Trick should be down and, inevitably, stunned. People are ALWAYS stunned
after taking a Blazin' Move, and for a fairly long time, yet their health
bar DOES recover, so you still have to act with quickness. Depending on
your chosen style, there are multiple ways to knock Trick out:
KICKBOXING:
Pick Trick up with the (A) button, and immediately lay down a Hard Grapple
by pressing (A) while holding the Left Trigger. Go berserk on the X button
and you should perform a seven-hit combo, which will KO Trick with its last
hit.
STREETFIGHTING:
Pick Trick up with the (A) button, then do a Haymaker. A Haymaker is the
same as a Hard Punch, so you only have to hold the Left Trigger and press
(Y) to execute it. It's a one-hit-knock-out.
MARTIAL ARTS:
This is quite hard. Pick Trick up with the (A) button, then SPRINT towards
a pillar as fast as you can while holding the (Y) or the (X) button, and
your character will perform a flying attack, which, if it connects while
Trick is still in Danger Zone, will knock him out.
WRESTLING:
Pick Trick up with the (A) button. Next, perform a Hard Grapple by holding
the Left Trigger when pressing the (A) button again. Do any Hard Grapple Move
in your repertoire and it will knock Trick out.
SUBMISSIONS:
Unfortunately, they have no specific way to KO. They'll have to do some
environmental attack/crowd double team to gain the victory. But, they DO
have the ability to make someone submit, so don't think that Submissions
style fighters are useless. Please don't. It'll be the last mistake you
make in the game.
It didn't work? Or have you chosen Submissions as your primary style? Yo, no
sweat bro, as Blaze would say it. There are other ways to knock Trick out
when he's in danger zone, but since they've been explained in the walkthrough
itself, above, I will only sum them up:
- Environmental Attack
- Crowd Double Team Move
- Weapon Attack - This may require some explanation. If you see someone in
the crowd holding a weapon, simply walk up to him/her and it should be
automatically given to you. Use the (Y) button to do vertical strikes,
and the (X) button for horizontal strikes. An opponent in danger zone
hit by a weapon will immediately be KOed. Weapon attacks are unblockable,
but they CAN be countered - which is dangerous, as the weapon will be
transferred to your opponent. You can block with a weapon without losing
it, but a succesful enemy grapple will make you drop it. If you dropped
your weapon, you can press A while standing on top of it to pick it up
again.
- Double Team - Does not apply to this situation, but will have to be
mentioned. If you and another fighter grab an opponent at the same time,
a double team move will be initiated. If the adversary is in Danger Zone,
the move will instantly knock him out cold.
There are others, but they are level-specific and I will mention them as we
get there. For now, remember these basics, but even if you do not wish to, at
least remember:
GOLDEN RULE NUMBER ONE: Be Agressive!
----- ~*~*~*~* -----
<||||| Tips |||||>
----- ~*~*~*~* -----
NOTE TO NEW PLAYERS: It's better if you NOT read these until you've fought and
won some battles. When compared to the previous text, which was intended for
you, it may confuse you and that's not what we want. Feel free to look into it,
but I don't recommend it until you are a "non-newb" player.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-= ON BLOCKING =-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Some people will tell you that blocking is your salvation in Def Jam, some
will tell you that you should never, ever block unless you want to burn in
gamer hell forever. To tell you the truth, they both hold somewhat of the
truth. As a newer player, blocking is NOT a good idea. This is mainly because
of the speed of the gameplay. If you have no idea of how certain fighters
will react to your blocking, they will grapple you and hammer you to death,
without mercy. In such a case, it isn't wise to block.
That doesn't mean blocking is entirely useless. In a sense, it can be a very,
very useful feature, but you'll have to know the situation you're in, and
you'll need some reflexes in case it all goes wrong. First of all, you've got
running attacks: these bitches come out so quickly that it is near-impossible
to interrupt them. In such a case, it would be wise to block, but don't block
to early, or the AI will shift to grappling moves (= you're dead).
Second, attacks like the Haymaker and attacks from the get-go when an enemy
is on the ground. Though a Haymaker can be easily interrupted, you may want
to deal some more damage than a mere combo. In that case, simply block the
Haymaker and your opponent will have to deal with its horrendous recovery
time. It gives you enough time to do a Hard Grapple on them. For the second
option, sometimes you're just out of space to run away, or you want to keep
the pressure onto your opponent. At that moment, it's better to block any
attacks from the ground and resume your combo- and grapple sequences.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-= THE COUNTER =-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Probably the most difficult feature of Def Jam, even for the players who are
used to Def Jam's lightning gameplay, is countering. Basically, a counter
comes out quick, so even computer opponents can be surprised by it. Thereby,
you receive no damage from your opponent's attack and, more importantly, it
leaves your adversary open to Hard Grapples or Haymakers the moment after
the counter is exacted. More than anything else, I'd say.
The input for a counter is quite easy. Tap the Right Trigger and move the
Right Thumbstick TOWARDS or AWAY FROM your opponent. A short animation can
be seen wherein your character heaves his hands in front of his chest, ready
to intercept an attack. If an opponent's attacks connects with you in one
of these few frames, the attack will be countered and you'll be set to pack
a LARGE amount of damage. Note that the timing has to be very precise for
it to work.
If you've got time, then Countering can be learnt, slowly. The easiest way
to start learning it is to get someone to constantly throw a Haymaker at you
in a multiplayer game, just for practice. The Haymaker is the most predictable
attack in the game, and therefore the easiest to counter. Once you get the
timing down, you can go and reverse quicker attacks. Even if you manage to
perfect this skill, you'll still need to learn all opponents' attack patterns
to become a master at it. Since nobody has that much times on their hands, I
think it better to NOT try and counter until you've played through Story
Mode several times and have got to know your adversary's attacks.
Because of the issues with countering, I will not incorporate it in any of
the strategies I employ during Story Mode. If you still want to try your
skillz and initiate your countering career, use the D-Pad instead of the
thumbstick. The D-Pad's input seems to work better than the analog one.
Countering throws is another story. It also requires timing, but it's easier
as you can see the lunge coming. As your opponent's hands are about to connect
to your character's shoulders, press the (X) or (Y) button to stomp them
away. Afterwards, they are open to Haymakers or Hard Grapples, though not as
much as they would from the strike counters.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-= STUNS =-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Knowing whether an attack will stun an opponent or not is key to victory.
There are some rules that apply to stunning, though the length of the stun
(sometimes even the possibility to be stunned itself) are dependant on your
opponent's general health and toughness. Still, here are some small helps,
that can make your fighting more efficient and less time-consuming.
- An opponent can be stunned by the following: a Grab, a Hard Grab, Hard Kicks
and Hard Punches, Environmental Attacks, Crowd Double Teams, Weapon Attacks,
and Running Counter Grabs. The length of the stun depends on the power of
your attack: an environmental attack will yield you more time than an
ordinary throw move. When an opponent is stunned, he will sometimes (but
not always) claw away the pain at certain parts of his body. There are
situations where they will just lay still and not get up.
- The algorithm for stuns is quite easy. Basically, the first time you do any
of the attacks above, the opponent will be stunned. Your second attack,
they will not be stunned so watch out for any assaults from the get-go. You
get it? Any odd number (1st, 3rd, 5th) of attacks will get you a stun.
- A Blazin' Move ALWAYS stuns, and relatively it is the longest stun available
to you.
So what should you do when your rival is stunned? Take notice that you can
only pull off one move (aside from getting your opponent to his feet) before
the enemy is destunned. Also, if you wait to long, the stun will wear off,
so make sure you act quickly. These are the best things you can do when
your opponent is stunned:
- Get him to his feet and perform a cheap, yet damaging environmental attack,
or a crowd double team, or use the time to get a weapon.
- A stun is the PERFECT time to do the Blazin' Taunt and make sure that your
move connects. Always be on the lookout for this. Simply get the opponent
to his feet with (A), activate Blazin' Mode, quickly grab the adversary
while he is still endazed and your move should come out succesfully.
- Sometimes, especially with Blazin' grabs, your opponent will be in Danger
Zone, AND stunned. Get him to his feet and then perform your style's special
KO-attacks on him to still get the knock-out. This saves you a hell a lot
of frustration.
As you can see, stuns are valuable assets in your road to victory.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-= ON STYLES =-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Wherever you search on the web, whenever it concerns Def Jam, it's always
about which style is best. Usually, these discussions end in the useless
conclusion that it's a matter of taste. Maybe, but those people argueing are
not beginners, and can probably beat the game with ANY style. But a beginner
reading this may be confused, because there are some fundamental features
in particular styles that make them more effective to begin with than the
others available. So here they are, and I arranged them from MOST effective
(top) to LEAST effective (bottom). Note that this doesn't mean these styles
are "bad", they're very balanced, but some are just easier to master for
beginning players.
1. STREETFIGHTING
Definitely the easiest style to start with, mainly because of the problems
most people have with KOing their opponents when they're in the Danger Zone
of their health gauge. To be a good streetfighter, a character needs a
superior Upper Strength and lots of Speed to keep the upper hand. They
do very well when employing the YY-to-Grab combo, and their Upper Strength
also means that they can grab and throw an opponent every once in a while.
Still, their most important feature is the Haymaker. This is just a Hard
Punch (L+Y), but actually it's much more damaging. And more importantly,
a Haymaker can KO someone in danger zone. No longer you have to search
for environmentals or crowd doubles, it all can be done with a single,
powerful punch. Be wary though, the Haymaker may be powerful, but it's
the most predictable and one of the slowest attacks to make up for that.
2. KICKBOXING
There are lots of people that say Kickboxing is best to begin with, but I
prefer to differ. It simply requires better attuning to Def Jam's quick
gameplay to be as effective as Streetfighting, and its special KO move
is not as straightforward as the Haymaker. As a kickboxer, a character
has dire need for Lower Strength and Speed. Instead of YY, they can do
a quick XX-to-Grab combo. A special feature of the kickboxer is the
"clinch". A clinch basically means that, whenever you grab your opponent,
your character keeps locked in to him/her, and can deliver punches from
there. From a normal grab, a kickboxer can lay down a maximum of 2 blows,
while from a Hard Grab, you can get in the whopping amount of 7. If such
a 7-hit combo is completed succesfully, and the opponent was in danger
zone BEFORE THE LAST BLOW, he will be knocked out. Yes, this means that
a kickboxer can knock-out an opponent without the adversary being in
danger zone by tapping X rapidly enough from a clinch.
3. WRESTLING
We all know it, we all love (or hate) it. In Def Jam, it's definitely
a showman style we pursue. Wrestlers have a wide arrays of throws, but
with them lacking in the speed to succesfully string combos together,
you may want to try with Wrestling later on, after you're accustomed
to Streetfighting and Kickboxing. Once mastered, however, their throws
become a lethal weapon. To enhance your skills, take Upper Strength for
your character, and Speed to make sure you get your throws in. General
Toughness could help too, to fend off all those quick attacks martial
artists tend to throw at you. Hard Grapple WHENEVER the opponent is
stunned for insane damage. When your adversary is in danger zone, you
can finish him off easily by performing a Hard Grapple move on him while
the health gauge is red. It yields you an instant KO.
4. SUBMISSIONS
Meh, submissionists are a mixed bag. On one hand, they're totally average
and not really weak against anything, but at the same time, they are not
versatile at all and they do not have a special KO move. Instead, these
fighters gain the ability to make an opponent submit by constantly
crackling their joints, until they're eventually broken. Submissionists
need a little of everything, but I recommend Speed, Health and Toughness
to make sure they last through the fight. Weaken the opponent with normal
grapples or environmental attacks to stun them. Once stunned, Hard Grapple
them and work on their arm/legs/head/whatever. Two small bars should pop
into view, a red one and a golden gauge. If the red one depletes, the
opponent will submit. The golden gauge fills up quickly when rapidly
tapping any button, and once it has reached its end, the submission will
be released. In order to have success with this fighting style, you should
always work on a certain bodypart, and don't spread your attention over
several limbs: remember when fighting with a submissionist, the longer
the match takes, the more chance you'll have to lose.
5. MARTIAL ARTS
Speed is the keyword when it comes to martial arts. Difficult to master
fully, and requiring some quick reflexes, this fighting style, has some
great, beautiful moves and very quick combos. Choosing martial arts as
a style increases the amount of animation frames in which a counter can
take place, adding to your defense. Unfortunately, they are not very good
offensively, especially at low levels. Lots of people tend to choose this
for their first character, and I can't blame them for it, because the
flying thingies look really, REALLY cool. If you are intent on being a
martial artists, you'd best make sure you get Speed and either Lower or
Upper Strength (depending on what you like more, punching or kicking). If
you master the timing of the flying attacks, you can do some great damage
and deliver stuns easily, but I'll warn you: it takes time, and lots and
lots of practice to make full use of the Martial Arts' power. Also, try
to counter some moves, you'll notice that it's easier if you have this
style in your repertoire. Though martial arts are very tricky to use
correctly, a master in them could probably take on any other style with
ease.
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IV STORY MODE WALKTHROUGH / *BEWARE: SPOILERS!!!*
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*=*=* SCENE 1: THE STREET SWEEPER *=*=*
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So, the story mode presents you with a nice way to test your skills against
computer-controlled opponents. It all starts when D-Mob, quite an imposing,
black man gets arrested by two police-officers. On their way to the station,
Starks and Jervis - the policemen - have a ridiculing chat about something
we all don't understand, but then the action starts. Starks shouts out in
surprise and disbelief as a giant truck rams them on the crossroads. We see
someone getting out of the car, but we can't see how he looks as we are
actually viewing the crime scene through the suspect's eyes. D-Mob crawls
out of the car and looks up in bewilderment as the not-so-legal chump signals
him to follow into his truck. However, the camera shifts backwards and we
see that Jervis has got a clear view of the man, before the screen fades out
to black.
Once all goes to normal, we see a sad Jervis sitting at a desk, a red-haired
woman walking up to him. The woman's name is Lauren, and she is a mug-shot
sketcher. She asks the policeman to describe the person that rammed their
car. If you hadn't already noticed, this is the moment to create the chump
you're gonna forge into a legend. Make sure you like his looks, though,
there ain't nothing worse than fighting with a character you don't like ;P
Just for giggles, here's my character. Feel free to copy, though I suggest
you make up your own:
+--------------+
My Character
+--------------+
NAME: BLITZ
HEIGHT: 6'2"
WEIGHT: 245 lbs
BODY SIZE: L
SKIN TONE: 2
FACE: 7
EYES: 6
EYE COLOR: Dark Green
BROWS: 2
NOSE: 5
LIPS 5
EARS: 4
HAIR: 4
FACIAL HAIR: 2
HAIR COLOR: Jet Black
VOICE: Gruff
When you're done, the camera changes scenes and we are presented with D-Mob's
little hideout, his headquarters. You can catch a glimpse of Doc sleeping on
the couch, and Sticky Fingaz and Method Man as "Blaze" playing against each
other on... well wouldn't you know it, an XBox... anyway, Sticky seems to be
winning as D-Mob comes in. Of course, Blaze and Sticky are startled by his
appearance, thinking that their boss was arrested and taken away. Behind the
big man you can see your own character, looking straight at the two men, but
none speaks to him. Instead, the two chumps go asking D-Mob whether you are
in or out. Without a doubt D-Mob replies with a gruff "He's in!". Still, they
are not convinced of your fighting prowess, and therefore Blaze suggests a
practice match to see how well you'll fare with them. This little tutorial
match will take place against anoter one of D-Mob's fellas, a large guy called
House.
Before you face him, you'll have to pick a style. Pick Streetfighting for your
first time, otherwise, choose anything you want. Do notice that this guide
will always act like you've chosen "Streetfighting".
+-------+
House
+-------+
VENUE: Practice Ring
REWARD: 75 Development Points on EASY
100 Development Points on MED
125 Development Points on HARD
I won't write down stats for House, because this is a tutorial
fight, which means that House won't fight back unless you are
required to block. Blaze walks you through the basics of the
game, but I've explained them thoroughly before, so I'll give
in to the temptation of saying: "Simply follow Blaze's orders
and you'll be fine."
+-------+
After your peformance, Blaze seems impressed with your talent, but Sticky
isn't as convinced. He says that he will only believe in you if you win some
real fights. And that's exactly what we're gonna do. D-Mob also gives you
some money to spice up your gear. Because, as he says, if you want to run
with his crew, you'd better look the part. Finally, Blaze shows you your
crib. Your crib is your own little base of operations, from where you travel
out over the map, change the way your look by using your wardrobe, set the
different options available, and look at different trophies you've earned.
The crib will be described more in-depth a tiny wee later on.
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*=*=* SCENE 2: YOUR CAREER STARTS *=*=*
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Yay! So now we can go out and beat up those punks everywhere without showing
a sign of fatigue! Uhmmm... no way. First of all, you should take a look at
your crib and get accustomed to all its different options. Right at the start
of your adventure, you get a pop-up saying you've got some new messages on
your special organizer, prompting you whether you wish to read them or have
them wait for a later time. It's always a good idea to stay up-to-date of what
is happening, so let's just listen to what these people have to say.
FROM: Blaze
MESSAGE: "Hey man, it's Blaze. I just talked to D, and here's the deal.
He wants you to hit the clubs, start putting them to work. We'll
give you a call when we got something for ya. Peace."
FROM: Rollins
MESSAGE: "So D-Mob wants me to put your ass to work and get you in shape
for the circuit. I can teach you new moves, new styles, and help
you improve your fighting skills. Come down to Stapleton when
you're ready to sweat."
Henry Rollins is your "personal trainer", as to say, but don't think that he's
not worth worrying about, as you'll be facing him later. We'll go to the gym
later. First, we'll have look at the crib. There are six icons in the bottom
of the screen through which you can scroll. Choosing "Map" will allow you to
travel to different places to fight or to shop. "Messages" lets you review all
messages you've received. With "Wardrobe", you can change your outfit to
whatever's in your locker. "Options" should be straightforward, and so should
"Exit". But the second one from the left, "Trophies", deserves some special
attention. For now, these shelves are empty, but as you accomplish certain
objectives, you may gain more and more trophies. Some are harder to get than
others. If you want to know what the objective for a certain trophy is, simply
select its shade with the D-Pad and an explanation should appear in the bottom
right corner of the screen.
Since there's not much more to do here, choose "Map". You'll be brought to a
schematic of New York City. From here, you can scroll through different places
with the D-Pad. Press (A) to go there. Whenever you access this map, your
cursor will always be on a spot with a dollar sign. If you press (A) here,
you are taken to the shopping district. Do so now. You get five new choices:
you can go and purchase clothing from Syndicate Urban Streetware (SUS), get
your body tattooed at Manny's Tats, let Stingray do your hair at his Barber
Shop, or buy shiny new bling from St. Jacob. Finally, there's the Stapleton
Athletics gym, which is where you should go first.
Rollins welcomes you as you tread in. Immediately after you'll get a menu in
which you can choose what to do: "Train Skills" allows you to use your earned
Development Points to increase your expertise in certain areas (Upper Power,
Lower Power, Speed, Toughness, and Health). "Learn Styles" is very expensive,
but against the price of $2,500, you may learn up to two new styles in
addition to your first one. Needless to say that this isn't anything to be
happening in the close future. "Learn Moves" gives you a chance to buy new
Blazin' Moves. Usually, as you beat other fighters, you unlock there Blazin'
Move in the gym. Costs vary per move. Usually, the cooler moves will cost
you a bunch of Dev Points. Finally, there's "Assign Moves", in which you can
assign the moves to the four directions of the Right Thumbstick (so you can
have four different Blazin' Moves at the same time, though this will probably
never happen on Easy difficulty). Assigning Blazin' Moves doesn't cost you
any Development Points.
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