Everyone’s favorite jigglelicious fighter goes online with a rebuilt version of the classic title Dead or Alive 2
ighting games are all about the spirit of competition. Sure, playing through the single-player mode is usually fun, but let’s face it: this genre is all about gathering your closest and dearest friends together for a nice evening, and then schooling them hardcore with your mad skills. This holiday season, two long-running fighting franchises have gone online: Mortal Kombat and Dead or Alive. The great news for fighting fans is that both games are awesome and have different enough feels that both are worth picking up.
Dead or Alive Ultimate offers faster, more flowing battles than Mortal Kombat: Deception, and, in keeping with the tradition of the series, focuses largely on countering. Pulling off a successful counter is trickier than ever before, as gameplay is even faster than it was in DOA 3. Since punches and kicks fly at you so quickly, perfecting the timing of your counterattacks is a tougher chore than it was in previous entries. Luck will seldom help you reverse an attack, so mastering the countering system and learning the combos of your opponents is essential to survival.
Other than the slightly faster feel of DOA Ultimate, little has changed gameplay-wise from Dead or Alive 2. The graphics have been rebuilt and surpass even the stunning visuals seen in DOA 3. Without a doubt, this is one of the best-looking games on the market right now. If you are a fan of the famously sexy DOA girls, you won’t find better-looking versions of them than this. The original DOA is even included (with added online play) so you can see how far they’ve come. It’s nice to finally have a U.S. release for this classic title (it is the original Japanese title, not the modified version American gamers got), but is clearly not the main draw. It’s also great to finally have all three DOA games on one console, but the biggest feature of this release is the online play for DOA 2.
On Xbox Live, the DOA Ultimate experience is every bit as smooth as it is when playing against a friend in your living room. The online framerate is simply awesome; lag and dropped frames were nearly non-existent. The only minor instances of lag I encountered were so small and infrequent that they are hardly worth mentioning. The bevy of online options offer several ways to play that replicate the feel of the arcade. Waxing fools online is every bit as satisfying as it is when they’re sitting right next to you.
There are really no flaws to point out in DOA Ultimate, save for the fact that it looks, feels, and plays similarly to DOA 3. Personally, I would like to see the series take some strides forward, but I can’t fault it for sticking to its well-polished formula. Like the name implies, this is the ultimate entry in the DOA series, and a must-have for fighting game fans ready to test their skills online.