"What you leave behind..."

Being a launch title, Dead or Alive 3 was succumbed to the hype. Along with Halo, Dead or Alive 3 was seen as one of the must have titles for the Xbox. Being the sequel to the much improved Dead or Alive 2, the game was met with great anticipation. Deriving from Dead or Alive 2, it would seem that the Dead or Alive series was on the fast track to stardom. And who could blame that presumption? Dead or Alive 2 compared to the original Dead or Alive was leaps and bounds ahead. Dead or Alive 2 had frantic action with plenty of crazy combos. Dead or Alive 3 to many extents mirrors it, but it feels more like a beefed up version of Dead or Alive 2 rather than a full fledge sequel.

Being a Dead or Alive title, the first thing that you will notice is definitely the appealing ladies of the series. They might have a finely tuned body, but their deadly capabilities make them a machine equipped for battle. Then you have the gentleman, which includes the likes of Brad Wong, our favorite drunken master. Or perhaps Ryu Hayabusa rings a bell? The legendary ninja from the good ol' Ninja Gaiden games is here, and he is ready to lay some serious ownage. Each character has a unique set of abilities. These abilities are matched with flair and dramatics. The characters are certainly packing with a powerful punch. The characters certainly play differently. With a large set of characters, the game's variation among characters allow for plenty of midnight practices in fine tuning and honing those skills for a specific character.

In Dead or Alive 3, there are plenty of fast paced action sequences. While DOA3 caters more to simplicity, the game still has some depth. For the most part, the game's combos are rather easy to pull off. The countering system is also fairly easy to pull off, which makes it rather easy to play. The problem with Dead or Alive 3 is that it doesn't necessarily feel like a sequel. And in some ways, it feels like Dead or Alive 2 is the better fighting game. Yes, Dead or Alive 3 still retains the fast pace action that the series is known for, but the game just doesn't have the same effect. This is mainly because the game isn't much of an improvement. Rather it just feels like a new coat of paint has been put on.

Another main part about the game is its interaction with the environments. The player can use the environment at your disposal. More importantly, it adds more eye popping visuals and more flavor to the fight sequences. The game's story mode for the most part is solid. But there are instances where the story mode just isn't that good. And it certainly is nowhere near the depth that the second installment had. While the story mode is solid, there are definitely other modes that are attractive; mainly the tag mode, which features a team of 2 players that can battle it out.

The graphics in this game are certainly some of the best. It showcases the graphical prowess of the Xbox. The animation is spot on, and the interactive environments reinforce this feeling of cohesion. More importantly, the game runs extremely smooth. The character models are also gorgeous. The graphics are definitely topnotch, which makes the game very immersive. The best part is definitely the cutscene, which offers some of the best eye candy that can be found anywhere.

The voice acting in this game is in Japanese. And while I can't understand what they are saying, their voices definitely sound appealing. For those that don't understand Japanese have no need to worry. The game will have subtitles that will let you in on the story. Also, the voice acting was also able to bring out the tension during the fights. Now, the music for the most part was solid, but there were instances were the music did not set the mood. The sound effects are also quite impressive. Smashing the opponent's face in with your fist or kicks is not only fun, but it sounds incredibly real also.

Dead or Alive 3's lasting appeal isn't quite as strong as Dead or Alive 2 for the simple reason because DOA 2 is more fun. While both games are similar, Dead or Alive 2 at the time felt new, as DOA 3 feels just like a new coat of pain. Now don't get me wrong, the game is still solid, but the game fails to make the strides that are necessary to set this game apart. Certainly, the strides from the first Dead or Alive to the next was drastic, but for Dead or Alive 3 that stride was minimal.

Dead or Alive 3 is definitely a solid fighter. There is no question about the amount of polish behind it, but the gameplay mechanics doesn't necessarily impress like its predecessors did. By failing to make the strides of improvements that Dead or Alive 2 did, this game has a “been there and done that” type of feeling. But even with that said, I would still recommend for the simple fact that the Xbox doesn't have a strong library of fighting games. Dead or Alive 3 is still a solid fighter that should still offer plenty of fun.

Pros
+ Interactive environments
+ Gorgeous graphics
+ Voice acting
+ Frantic fast pace action
+ Plenty of characters
+ Easy to pick up

Cons
- Not much improvement
- Doesn't have a strong sense of replay value
- Not too many unlockables
- Feels like DOA 2 will a new coat of paint

Gameplay - 7/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 8/10
Replay Value - 7/10
Overall - 7.5/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/06