The EA Chicago Studio.

Dinner at Harry Caray's in Chicago.

Guest Kenneth Arnell getting his pinball on.

GamerSpeak:

Def Jam: Icon Community Day

Xbox MVP Shogun of Live gives us the lowdown on the Def Jam: Icon Community Day at EA Chicago.

The Def Jam: Icon Community Day Guests.

EA and Def Jam Interactive invited gamers to the Def Jam: Icon Community Day event on January 25, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois. We started off the day with a tour of EA's brand new Chicago studio led by Kudo Tsunoda, the head man himself. He introduced us to various members of the team, from level designers to sound mixers and programmers.  Along the way we also got a close glimpse of how certain aspects of Def Jam: Icon are put together.

David Seeney (Konsole Kings) speaks with Jesus Correa.

Kudo explained that each musical artist in the game allowed themselves to be laser scanned and then digitally photographed to provide the most realistic representation of their virtual counterpart. Some insight on how each artist found their way into the game was given to us by Def Jam Interactive rep Adair Curtis, who shared a few funny stories, such as how Ghostface Killah's bracelet was broken during a particular energetic photo session.

Bruce Loatman and Cliff Bakehorn mix things up in Icon.

After some lunch we were finally able to get our hands on the game. Each of us got their own HD station equipped with the game and a great sound system. All of the community attendants were able to spend time learning the controls and the combat system.

EA Chicago GM Kudo Tsunoda and a Spike TV Video Game Award.

Then we got to challenge some of the Icon producers themselves. They were surprised how quickly myself and my fellow MVP Coola were able to pick up the game and give them a run for their money.

Hanging out with the Audio team.

Toward the end of the day everyone was paired off for a mini tournament, mixing it up with some of the EA crew. The battles were all close and everyone had a great time. I was fortunate to walk away as the winner of the tournament and to be deemed the Icon Champ (for now).

EA Chicago Studio GM Kudo Tsunoda leading a tour.

The game itself is an absolute joy to play. Each character in the game looks just like their real-life counterpart, and the environments are all incredibly detailed. The team behind the game also produced the Fight Night series, so you can be sure they brought the same level of intense action to Def Jam: Icon.

Guest Lance Jackson watching one of the game artists.

One of the biggest components to help them do that is the music. Yes, that's right, in Icon the music isn't just playing in the background that goes unnoticed, it's at the forefront of the gameplay. The game has an amazing soundtrack featuring songs from everyone in the game, including hits like The Game's "One Blood," and Jim Jones' "We Fly High."

Kudo Tsunoda explaining character modeling to the guests.

Each level moves to the beat of the music, setting off traps like fire hydrants and moving cars in the "Southern Corner" level. And while the game has a great soundtrack, one of the best features is that with the power of Xbox 360™ you can load your own music into the game. So if you want to fight to Clay Aiken, you can plug in your Zune or other MP3 device and give someone an Icon style beatdown while jamming to an Idol.