For years, Dead or Alive and the Xbox experience have been nearly inseparable, with each new iteration helping showcase the best qualities of the other. But with a changing of the guard over at Team Ninja comes the first multi-platform DoA installment in over a decade — and the only one to come toward the tail end of a console generation instead of the beginning. It’s also the first traditional DoA to release since Street Fighter IV re-ignited a fighting-game boom, necessitating that it appeal to lots of curious new players. It’s all left us wondering: Is the new Team Ninja up to the task? Thankfully, yes — though DoA 5 isn’t without a few blemishes.
3D fighting games have always been a bit daunting for new players to leap into, but Dead or Alive has traditionally been very accessible thanks to its simple, forgiving control scheme and ease in making awesome-looking stuff happen. DoA 5 continues the tradition of feeling like an “entry-level” 3D fighter. It’s certainly not devoid of depth and high-level complexity, but grasping the basics and doing cool moves is much easier than in other games of its type. Getting the nitty-gritty on gameplay systems, however, requires that you play through the game’s elaborate story mode, which doubles as a tutorial. It’s a great concept, but annoying in execution if you want to learn fighting skills without watching character vignettes that advance the overarching plot (DOATEC’s being reformed, Kasumi’s clone is on the loose, and a tournament’s taking place all the while).
DoA’s distinct over-the-top visuals and backgrounds have always added to its novice appeal, and DoA 5 may just be the best-looking fighting game on the market. Its completely redone, ultra-detailed character models now look like human beings instead of eerie porcelain dolls (phew!), and the expansive backdrops are awe-inspiring. These backgrounds are laden with various tricks and traps, and smashing your opponent into the “Danger Zones” on the field will cause everything from a rooftop collapse onto a burning street to a missile attack to the release of circus tigers that deal massive mauling damage. These factors aren’t truly random, thus adding thrill and strategy to the positioning meta-games during fights (though they can be turned off easily in the game’s options menu).
The game has loads of extras, too. Besides the standard array of single-player and versus/tag-team modes, DoA 5 offers replays, photo taking and galleries, in-depth training modes (complete with online functionality), and options to display detailed fighting data at all times. Advanced players will appreciate this feature for learning the new elements, as sidestep commands are different, holds have been toned down to give defenders less of an advantage (a big issue in the previous game), and two new systems are at work: the cinematic Power Blow and the guard-annihilating Critical Burst. New faces add freshness to combat, too: taekwondo fighter Rig and spunky, cheerful MMA-hopeful Mila bring new styles to the arena, while Virtua Fighter guests Akira, Sarah, and Pai are transplanted faithfully, so VF veterans will feel right at hope picking them up (once they’re unlocked, of course).
It’s a solid, fun fighter for sure, but it also lacks that special something previous installments had. Dead or Alive is a series known for pushing the envelope in many different ways, and DoA 5 simply doesn’t deliver that same sense of daring design that previous titles offered. The gameplay is mostly just a tweaked version of DoA 4, with additions like the Power Blows augmenting existing gameplay rather than delivering a true game-changer. The well-known fan service has been dialed back, although water-balloon breasts are still the norm on ladies like Tina and Helena. Rig and Mila, while both fun, are strangely conservative character designs compared to previous, outlandish additions to DoA’s cast (like Luchadore scientist La Mariposa/Lisa). Even the Virtua Fighter guest appearances play it safe, featuring basic characters instead of the oddballs of that cast. DoA 5 doesn’t fail to deliver its ballyhooed “fighting entertainment,” but the spectacle still feels like it could’ve done with a bit more oomph.
PUBLISHER: Tecmo Koei Games • DEVELOPER: Team Ninja • ESRB: Mature • MULTIPLAYER: 2–4 locally or on Xbox Live • ACHIEVEMENTS: Supple, yet firm • COST: $60 • RELEASE DATE: September 25, 2012
+ Easy-to-learn, solid fighting engine that’s received some welcome tweaks.
+ Crazy, over-the-top stages and costumes that lend the game’s atmosphere a distinct flavor.
– Feels somewhat lacking in innovation compared to previous Dead or Alive games.
? Who let the tigers out? (who, who, who, who?)
