Review Statistics

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1,386

Comments

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Plot Synopsis

No plot synopsis or other information available for Dead or Alive

Story & Playability

I've only gone as far as playing Dead Or Alive 2: Hardcore on the PS2. I haven't played all the rest of the games in the series due to the fact that I don't own an XBox. However, I believe that this review MAY apply to all of the games in the series. You be the judge.

In anycase, the Dead Or Alive series is a fighting game. Each game is revolved around a tournament in which fighters from around the world battle against each other to become the best fighter in the world. . . . That's it. This sounds like the story behind many other fighting games that has been released. Okay, so the characters in the game have individual reasons to be participating in this tournament. However, their stories don't seem that original to me (a runaway ninja, her half-sister hunting her down, a fighter searching for the assassin that killed her mother, etc.). A few of the characters stories are a little intriguing (Tina and Bass' little family feud is fun to watch) and worth checking out. But, overall, story-wise, there's nothing new here. If you think that there's a grandiose, epic tale being told here, then you are seriously mistaken.

Rating

4 (below average)

Graphics

Obviously the best thing about the DOA series is the high quality character and level design. Each of the stages and backgrounds in the game are highly detailed and very realistic looking. The player will often believe that the levels can actually be found in the real world. As for the character design, it is nearly flawless. Tomonobu Itagaki has succeeded in giving each and every character (both male and female) in the game a serious sense of exotic beauty and sexiness that will make you forget about any of the so-called "Sexiest People Alive" in real-life. My minor gripe about this is that the girls will be getting a LOT more attention in the game than the guys. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Katsumi fan myself, but because of Itagaki's determination to create a game with sex appeal, the luscious ladies will be hogging the entire spotlight.

Rating

9 (very good)

Sound

The soundtrack and SFX are pretty decent. The music is pretty good, but not really catchy. The music for each stage is not an earsore and easily fills in the stage you are fighting in; however, I was too busy looking at the graphics and the characters to even give a damn about the soundtrack. As for the sound effects, they range from realistic to nearly ludicrous. I say this because I keep wondering how you can cause an earthquake when you kick someone into a wall or the ground. As for voice acting, the Japanese fits each character nicely, but don't bother with the English. The English VA's will butcher the characters personalities.

Rating

6 (average)

Fun

The Dead or Alive series has always presented itself as a graphically beautiful game, which is a real treat for the eyes. That's the big focus. If you're able to accept this, then you'll easily be able to ignore the fact that game-play itself doesn't have much to offer. Keep in mind that this if a fighting game. Usually the premise of fighting games is to beat each other up until the one left standing is the winner. Granted, there are various modes to play in order to enjoy the game (for example, Story mode, Survival, etc.), but the premise is still the same: beat the crap out of each other and survive in order to win. It's a lot of fun to play with a friend, but when you're playing by yourself (if you start thinking about DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball as I said this, get your mind out of the gutter. ) it will become a huge bore. It is also worth noting that the more you play the game you may actually get tired of the graphics and want to play the game in a different manner (by this, I mean mini-games where fighting is not just the focus). So, I end this section with this in mind: if you're looking for a fighter with excellent eye-candy, get into the series, NOW. If you're looking for an innovative fighter, go somewhere else.

Rating

6 (average)

Final Verdict

5.83 (average)

Reviewed by cygnuslover78, 3y 5wk ago