Dead Or Alive
5
5
---------------
X360
(also on PS3)
Dead or alive... It's been years since we last saw a real dead or alive game. Back near the launch of the 360, we were treated to the hi-def fighter DOA 4, with all it's female spartan unlocking glory. Since then, the only things we have seen from DOA are virtual boob galleries and the handheld DOA dimensions (3DS Exclusive) Which was essentially DOA 4 in handheld form and showcasing the story of the whole series.
Now that DOA 5 has been released there are some small changes, and some great updates. First off, It's easy to see that the characters have received a large update. Hitomi in particular seems to have had the biggest change in appearance. That's not to say that they are all changed drastically, the creators of the game simply haven't altered much of anything since DOA 2.
DOA has always had a reputation for looking good and moving fast, but it seems as if it was turned up to 11 in this entry. You can turn off the "hit effect" option in settings and change the camera to "action" and it will seem like you are watching a choreographed fight scene. This is made even better by the amazing ways in which they have done everyone's favorite part of DOA... the stages.
Each stage has a number of danger zones, and it was once expected that if you get knocked into one of these you are most likely going to be A.) Going through the wall, B.)Being Knocked off a cliff or C.) Going through the floor. This time around though, they have expanded upon this with lots of flair and you are guaranteed to see lots of explosions and chaos in the background and foreground as a direct result of your fighting.
As always with any good new fighter, there are a couple new entries in this years mix.
The newcomers are named Mia and Rig.
Rig is a tae-kwon-do fighter that has some seriously spin-tastic moves. He's fast and hard to predict.
Character-wise, he is a little cliche-boring... He's lost his memory, he works on an oil rig (he owns it for some reason) and now he's mixed up in DOAtech... blahblahblah... no one cares about fighting game stories except mortal kombat.
The other character, Mia, is an MMA fighter who is fast and direct with her strikes. Her twist is all her holds and throws are more like something Tina would throw at you, and it can throw off people who aren't expecting the flow to change. Character-wise she's a spunky american who loved Bass growing up and wants to enter the DOA tournament.
The online mode works much better this time around, there is only lag when you are connected with someone with poor internet speeds, and the lobbies are entertaining if everyone has a microphone. (By the way push BACK to disable the chat box) My only complaint is that there are more people playing simple matches and lobby matches than just "ranked match" Which seems unusual.
All in all DOA 5 was worth the awesome cash I threw down on the Collectors edition.
In case you wanted to know, it has some outfits (Bunny/Angel sutis) for the characters, a big metal case, a big poster, and (the reason I bought this) a hardcover art book.
Game Over
9 - 10
~SkyHighGam3r
