Dead or Alive Ultimate

"Another great submission from Team Ninja and Tecmo"

Well, they have done it again. Dead or Alive Ultimate is basically DOA 1 and DOA 2 packaged together. The main draw to it is the remade version of DOA 2. Read on to find out what is so great about it.

Story: 9/10

The story in the game is excellent especially considering the fact that most fighters don't have a good story or even any story at all. The story can hold its own and it seems that the developers wanted a lot of it to be pieced together by the players (the opening movie even needed to be pieced together somewhat). Overall, I have no complaints about the story.

Graphics: 10/10

This game looks superb. The environments are excellent and the models are the ones used from Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball except maybe even a little bit better. The levels are easily the most gorgeous part of the game. The level for the final boss fight is amazing. It changes the seasons right in front of your eyes. All the levels are highly detailed and some have constant leaves, flower petals, or snow flying all ovet the place. The graphics are excellent and there is nothing negative about them at all that I can think of.

Sound: 9/10

There is nothing wrong with the sound. A lot of people get turned off by the fact that it's in Japanese and I can find no way of making it English. Personally, it doesn't bother me and there are subtitles. You can choose the Japanese voices from the previous DOA games or the ones from the more recent DOA3 and DOA:XBV. The voiceovers are done really well but the music is kind of old. All the techno that's been heard in the previous DOA2 is back and it's a bit old now. The ability to have Custom Soundtracks would have been much better. The big plus is that they play Aerosmith in the opening movie and it's a great song. Overall, the sound is great except for the annoying techno music that has gotten old by now.

Gameplay: 8/10

I can not really find anything wrong with the gameplay either. The one thing that bothers me though, is the difficulty. On easy, it's really no challenge at all but Normal really pumps up the difficulty level. Not to overwhelming standards but for those who start on Easy, they will be in for a bit of a surprise. Hard gets a little bit tougher as the CPU starts to spam their cheapest moves constantly. All the ones that do the most damage, the throws, and the counters. Even though you can no longer die from being thrown off a cliff or down stairs, the damage you take from falling, throws and counters (especially counters) is insanely high. Another thing is how strict they are being in the Settings menu. You can absolutely NOT change any settings in the Gameplay part or you won't be able to unlock characters or costumes. The only things you can change are the Time Limits and the Difficulty level. Anyway, to really get through this game you better be playing with the largest life bar, so that's really no big deal. There are a lot of unlockables as well. There is a collection mode where you collect things in Survival mode and get to see what you got. There are at least 20 costumes for a few of the girls but most girls have close to 20 costumes while the guys have a bit less, some as low as 6-10 costumes. But, anyway, the main draw to this game are the female characters anyway. I mean, not only do they have the best costumes, they are the least cheap to play as or against. They don't do nearly as much damage as the guys so they provide a better fight. The game balances out a bit better with the new 4 point counter system as opposed to the old 3 point one. Also, a lot of the moves from DOA 3 are harder to do. The new slope moves, where you press grab when you have an opponent near a slope are a nice touch too. But the 2 characters that still don't balance out are Zack and Jann Lee. Combined with the damage throws and counters do, they make very tough, cheap, and lethal adversaries. They do a large amount of damage and have insane juggles so they feel cheap. The ultimate in cheapness would be the final boss, Tengu, and Ein (Hayate). Ein counters waaaaay too often and Tengu does waaaay too much damage and has an almost unblockable ranged attack. The DOA 3 boss was much simpler to beat but was a bit cheaper. This boss fight at least seems somewhat fair so it's all good. I don't have any gameplay problems other than difficulty and balance but that can be overcome with practice practice practice.

Entertainment Level: 9/10

This game is very fun and with it being online and all, it's great. You can play tag team and versus with and against friends and there really isn't a better fighting game on the Xbox.

Replay Value: 8/10

The fact that it's a fighting game brings replay up pretty good but the difficulty may turn some people off because you are forced to play on easy, normal, and hard to unlock everything. But it's online so that's a great way to practice. There are a few hiccups online here and there but no big deal. There are also a few other issues with the online part but that's okay, it's still a great experience.

Rent/Buy: If you are a fan of the DOA series this is a must buy. If you like fighting games I would suggest buying it or at least renting it. This is not a game to pass up. If you are not sure about the difficulty rent it. I don't care who you are if you like fighting games this game is at least worth a try.

Overall, the game is great fun and should provide lasting value for most. I give it a 9/10 and is highly reccommended.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/04