Def Jam Rapstar is a very fun singing game to enjoy by yourself or with some friends, even if you just have a passing interest in hip-hop. The gameplay itself is challenging but in a fun way, especially if you are familiar with other musical games. There is a wide verity of songs available from the very beginning if you are playing in free play mode. There is plenty to do, especially if you have a Sony Eye for your PlayStation 3.

I found the gameplay in Def Jam Rapstar to be challenging, but in a way, that kept my interest. I wasn’t frustrated by it at any point; it was more of something to learn, and in learning, there is a lot of enjoyment to be found. The basic play style has the player going between strait rapping without having to worry about being on key as much as being on beat, to actual singing.

During the rap sections, the words are presented to you, and you must follow a bouncing ball as it lands on each word in the correct rhythm for the song. This can be difficult if you are unfamiliar with a particular song, but if you play through the song a few times or if you just pay close attention to the beat, you can get the flow of the rap sections down.

If you have played other games that features singing, you have seen the gameplay mechanic for the regular singing sections of Def Jam Rapstar. The words are presented along the bottom of the screen with a bar that represents the tone to be sung. I found the game to be pretty forgiving in these sections, as I know I am a terrible singer, and I was still able to hit most of the notes according to the game.

One of the things I was surprised by, and the thing I found must fun about Def Jam Rapstar, was the verity of hip-hop songs from both the current era and oldies from when I was younger. Some of the old-school hits that include songs like “Push It” from Salt and Peppa and “Run’s House” by Run D.M.C. really add a lot of depth to an otherwise fun game. I found myself playing more of the oldies than the new songs just for the nostalgia of it. But for those people younger than me, and there are plenty of them, there are more than enough modern hip-hop songs for you, too. The licensing of songs for Def Jam Rapstar was done very well in my opinion.

An extension of the good use of licensing is the addition of the original music videos by the original artists on all of the tracks found in Def Jam Rapstar. It was fun getting to see the videos as you sang or rapped along with them. Again, in the case of the older music, the nostalgia factor made it fun for me. But the new hip-hop has some very fun videos that make the experience more fun. It was also a nice departure from the normal avatars on a fake stage that you see in some of the other music games. It gave the whole game more of the feel of a music video as opposed to a performance. It also made Def Jam Rapstar feel more like a karaoke game, and some people may not like that, but it worked for me. I think it worked well the way it was used in Def Jam Rapstar.

One of the other fun features — well I should say it looks fun, as I don’t have the requisite skills — is the Free Style mode. If you have a Sony Eye for your PlayStation 3, you can lay down your own rhymes and record a video of yourself doing so. After, you are even able to share your songs online with other Def Jam Rapstar users. For budding artists and rappers, this can be a fun way of getting something you created out into the world for other people to see. Like I said, though, I only messed with this feature very briefly as I am in no way able to rap or sing on my own.

I would recommend Def Jam Rapstar to anyone that enjoys singing games or karaoke. The experience is fun, and you will find enough things to do to keep your interest for a long time. The music is all good, mainstream hip-hop music so if that is the sort of music you listen to even a little, I think you will find an even more enjoyable experience. Gameplay can be difficult but rewarding if you give it enough time. Overall, there are a lot of things to like about Def Jam Rapstar, and I would encourage you to go out and try it for yourselves.