Yeah, we'll admit it, we got bit by the bug, and what finally did it was the demonstration of the game's ability to read MP3s loaded into the game. The catch? It was shown off on a Xbox 360, where custom soundtracks are a part of the core OS, and where the PS3 has absolutely zero support. According to the folks at EA Chicago, though, they're working with Sony to try to get it all into the game by the time it ships. Given that it gives folks that aren't quite into the hip-hop lifestyle something to bob their heads to, and demonstrates just how well the game's levels adapt to different songs, it's something we're praying actually makes it into the PS3 version. Regardless of whether or not Sony finally gets the tools in place, we were told that the code would be in there, so a future patch might fix things up down the line -- but we're still keeping our fingers crossed.

It really is hard to express just how well the game has come along since it was first shown off a few months ago. At first the idea of an entire level bumping along with the foreground music, buildings hopping and clouds whizzing by and houses bucking, their window shutters flapping and porch creaking, it did sound a little stupid, and screenshots really don't do the whole effect justice. In fact, Icon is very much one of those "you have to play it to get it" sort of experiences, because the level of detail that actually went into making the little nooks and crannies of the levels react to the tunes -- and watching them get more and more surreally f'ed up as the fight goes on -- is one of the reasons why the game is so interesting.

Hell, if one were pushed hard enough, they might just call it innovative, something that EA hasn't been exactly overflowing with over the past couple years. But here, where slamming someone into a telephone pole to bring down a transformer onto a car that triggers a huge geyser of fire in time with the music, as little pieces of broken railing skitter and jump about on beat, here the word actually fits. Gasp! It's also nice to see EA Chicago's pedigree for providing impressive visuals actually getting used. Icon is an impressive looking game to say the least, and the previous games' sense of impact from hits when opponents stagger after taking a blow -- and indeed the sound from the blows themselves -- all help contribute to the feeling that these fights are brutal, personal affairs.

With the game getting fairly close to being done, it probably won't be long before we're staring at our own copy of the game, at which point we'll have time to sink our teeth into more of the single-player experience as well as rekindle a little inter-office rivalry that was starting to build as we goofed around with the game at EA. We're still not totally convinced that this is a direction that will please everyone, but there's no denying that before we actually got hands-on time with a far more complete version of the game, we were absolutely skeptical.

Now? Well, we'll put it this way: before EA's event, the game wasn't even on our radar. After a little one-on-one time, we actually found it to be arguably the most impressive game out of the lineup. Crazy talk? Yeah, possibly, but if it can convert us, guys all too eager to sing the praises of the AKI-developed games of yore, there's a good chance that more than a few of you are going to end up hopping on the same boat. We'll have updated hands-on impressions just as soon as we get our PS3 preview builds, but we do have some new screens you can take a peek at in the media section. Go have a looksee and tell us what you think.