Ludography
80/100
Players2 ratings
77/100
Critics3 reviews

Where to get it

Def Jam Rapstar cover

2010 · 4mm Games · Rhythm · Simulation

Def Jam Rapstar

Def Jam Rapstar is a rapping game developed by 4mm Games. The game was released on October 5, 2010 in the United States of America (U.S.), and released on November 26, 2010 in Europe. An official launch event was held at New York's Hudson hotel on October 6, 2010 to celebrate the game's U.S. release. As of October 5, 2011, the community site has been shut down with no official word on when or if it will be reopened, causing major features of the game to be inaccessible.

Released
5 October 2010
Platforms
PlayStation 3WiiXbox 360
Genres
RhythmSimulation
Developers
4mm Games
Publishers
Konami
Series
Def Jam
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Country
United States
Age ratings
ESRB T

About

Def Jam Rapstar is a music video game based on rapping, developed by 4mm Games and Terminal Reality. It was released on October 5, 2010 in North America and on November 26, 2010 in Europe.

Keywords

  • karaoke
  • achievements
  • hip-hop
  • user generated content
  • music and rhythm
  • playstation trophies
  • licensed soundtrack
  • downloadable content
  • musical peripherals
  • bundled with peripherals
  • kinect support
  • competitive co-op

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Def Jam Rapstar is a rap-themed karaoke game. There are two modes, Career and Party modes. The Career mode is in five stages. Each stage has eight tracks for the player to master, including a New Song Challenge which is unlocked as the player progresses through the stage. The Party mode allows players to simply pick an individual song and perform it.

Development

Executive Vice President Paul Coyne of 4mm Games said, "Internally, we used [Get on da Mic] as the architectural model of how not to do Def Jam Rapstar."

In using censored radio versions of every song in its setlist, Rapstar becomes the first Def Jam game to be rated Teen by the ESRB since Def Jam Vendetta. Players are also not obligated to sing profanities, and missing any does not affect their score.

Reception

The PlayStation 3 version received "generally favorable reviews", while the Xbox 360 and Wii versions received "mixed or average reviews" according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.

The Guardian gave the Xbox 360 version four stars out of five and called it "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."

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Wii5 October 2010North America · Europe 26 November 2010
PlayStation 35 October 2010North America · Europe 26 November 2010 · Australia 10 February 2011
Xbox 3605 October 2010North America · Europe 26 November 2010 · Australia 10 February 2011

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Collections3 collections

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.