"A wonderfully crafted fighter. One of the best!"

DOA3... sheer perfection. No other fighting game (except for Super Smash Bros. Melee :P) may match this game up in sheer perfection.

Never have I seen a fighting game of this hybrid to be so... perfect! The graphics are clean and rendered perfectly, utilizing the XBOX hardware. The game is also fun, new and IMHO, it beats Tekken Tag Tournament!

GRAPHICS: 10
Sheer perfection! Everything is so smooth! The hands aren't square shaped, and the color of the sky, the water and the beauty of the characters' models show the early power of the XBOX. Every individual leaf in cut-scenes are individually rendered, giving them a wonderfully unique feel. Compared to DOA2: Hardcore and Dead or Alive 2, DOA3 is the best looking. Hands down.

GAMEPLAY: 9
3D gameplay at its finest! The fighting and environment interaction are well made, perfectly blended. The gameplay is also unique. The fighting moves are new, and wonderful. My only complaint is that they don't move nearly as well as any Tekken Tag Tournament characters. The endless worlds differing really make the gameplay unique.

SOUND: 9
The Japanese voice acting really give this a true feel of an original game, since most American translated games lose their feel (Shenmue). The sound of the arenas are well scored, with nothing annoying or overused. Good job, Tecmo!

REPLAY VALUE: 10
You'll never get tired of this game, ever! There are so many different options that by the time DOA4/DOA3:Hardcore comes around, you'll still be playing through all those options!

MODE OPTIONS: 10
There are so many things to do, from battling your friend to playing in story mode. There are so many things to do! You can even view ending movied from characters who have won is story mode! That is what I call innovative. It is fun to view the wonderfully fully 3D polygonal worlds on the XBOX hardware.

STORY: 10
The story mode is wonderful. Pick any character and they'll have to go through many target enemies and then basically slay the final enemy to redeem themself of whatever they did. The story is wonderful.

FUN FACTOR: 10
The game is fun. Plain and simple. Compared to Virtua Fighter 3, or Tekken Tag Tournament, DOA3 wins in every category of fun. I can't bring myself to play TTT again. You'll love every minute of this game, trust me!

OVERALL: 10
The game is fun, graphically impressive and replayable until DOA4 comes out. You'll love this game.

FINAL WORDS:
Grab the XBOX for this if you have to. DOA2:H doesn't come close, everything-wise.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/01, Updated 11/25/01