Dead Or Alive 3

Written By Style Rodriguez

Tecmo brings their third installment (not exactly but it's the sequel) of Dead Or Alive 3. This time it's on the X-Box, being released on the same day as the system is. This is one very impressive launch title. If fighting games are your cup of tea then this is definitely the title for you (it was for me).

Ok what's new is the big question; the answer is great graphics and new characters. These characters are Christie, Brad Wong, and Hitomi. Christie is the Assassin that was sent by Doatec to kill Helena and the character to have the most storyline in the game. Another new thing is the cool CG endings that seemed to have been forgotten in the Dreamcast and the PS2 versions of Dead Or Alive 2. The character line up is up to 17 now. This is great because you have Story mode, which tells you what it is right from the start. Then Versus battle, where you can either chose from single battle or tag battle. The other game modes also include Time attack and Survival mode. Survival mode has a new twist because you can chose from either single or tag. There is also Team battle, in which you can select up to four characters that are controlled by four different players. Then there is Watch mode; this is where you square off computer-controlled opponents against each other and see how they fight. This is new because endings are new in Theater mode. In Theater mode you can watch the endings of your favorite characters or just watch your favorite ending. Last is the Sparring mode, this is where you come to hone your combat skills.

Sounds fun so far, right? Wrong! Here is my point; I guess I'm being too harsh by saying wrong. Dead Or Alive 3 is fun and I love the game but my gripe is that there is no replay value to this game other then finding Kasumi's third outfit, unlocking Ein and his third outfit and last and least is Zack's third outfit. This is where I feel this game is lacking. Replay value was one thing that I loved about the original Dead Or Alive and I'm not talking about the one on Playstation one. I'm talking about the import Sega Saturn version. This one was great because the Saturn had the clock in the system so that some things where time released while others had to be earned by beating the game in one manner or the other. For instance, each character had about eight different costumes that had to be released by beating the game in story or the different game modes that where unlocked by time release. This is what helps make a great fighting game.

All right I sound a little negative but this game still rocks in my opinion. I guess this is because fighting games are my favorite. My last complaint is the fact that you cannot choose the beach or the ice cave or the forest and the snow level in tag battle versus mode. Let's get back to the strong points in the game. Each area is beautifully detailed. Each combatant looks amazing! There is more detail with clothing moving, like Hitomi has the best flowing hair in the game. Hayabusa has lots of detail when it comes to the clothing and so do most of the women. Control this is a very important aspect to having a great fighting game and Dead or Alive 3 has it and so has the rest of the series. In this chapter the counter system has been changed slightly. In this version of DOA there are different levels of counters. There is the High Punch counter, which is back and up and the free button. Then there is the High Kick counter, which is done the same way. There is the Mid-Punch and the Mid-Kick, and hitting back on the controller and the free button at the same time does these. Last, the Low-Punch and Low-Kick, the counters for these are done by hitting back down and the free button.

As I had mentioned before the levels are in rich detail and there are many different levels for the different types of game modes. You can choose any of the levels that are available in the game in Tag Battle when it comes to Single player battle, but when it comes to Tag Battle you are limited to certain areas. The only areas that cannot be accessed in Tag Battle are the ones with multiple levels. My favorite area is the Beach and the Ice Cave. When it comes to Tag Battle my favorite is the Octagon. So, you wonder is this game still worth the price of games in Japan? Yes it is. Tecmo has created a game that is out right amazing. I just hope that in the next installment that they remember to add to the replay value of the game.

Publisher   Tecmo Inc.   Developer   Team Ninja   Platform   X-Box   Player   One to Four Players

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