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Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Tecmo
Genre: Fighting
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 28 Dec 05
User Rating
10 (1 vote) -
- The fourth incarnation of Tecmo's supreme fighter is another hit on the 360, showcasing jaw-dropping visuals and its trademark solid gameplay.
More Screens (5 total)
Overview
With the Xbox 360 being out for a few months now, we are already starting to see the new waves of games being released after the initial onslaught of the launch titles. The first game after the launch was a game that was expected to actually be a launch title and one of the more anticipated games of the bunch. The game is Dead or Alive 4, and it is by far one of the most successful and intriguing fighting series that has even hit the gaming circuit. Now Team Ninja and Tecmo have teamed up to bring the latest game in the series to the Xbox 360 in Dead or Alive 4. So can Dead or Alive 4 possibly find a way to live up to the hype? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
One thing that many people complain about when it comes to fighters is that they all are basically the same games with different characters. Although this is a common idea, many don't realize all of the little tweaks and twists that developers put into their games to try and make them standout in front of the rest. I will however say that the idea of button mashing will always be a part of fighting games, and that is one the reasons I love these types of games. With that being said, Dead or Alive 4 has in my opinion been a series more about combos and strategy than complete button mashing. But can this strategy prove to be a winning strategy on the next generation platforms?
So let's begin by jumping into the games modes, which include a Survival Mode, Story Mode, Time Attack Mode, and of course Xbox Live support. The story mode is what I was expecting to be my favorite mode of choice, but was completely mistaken when I found out that the story mode is as far from a story mode as they come. In fact to be honest I don't think there remember much of a story at all, and had they tried any less, there would have been nothing resembling a story at all. The Survival Mode is an interesting one and the time attack mode is good, but there really wasn't any offline mode that stood out to me, and that was a complete missed opportunity.
It's a different story online, though, as Team Ninja comes through very nicely by giving the player a ton of options and just a great online experience. The developers tried to make a very unique lobby experience that I found to be pretty neat, and from my experiences, the players in the game seemed to enjoy it as well. Once you get into a fight, you will see that once again the developers did a fantastic job of making a very smooth and entertaining experience. The online fighting is a bit different in the way it feels online, but I truly believe it is a great test of your fighting skills.
Speaking of the fighting, we should talk about the actual gameplay, which of course is the most important part of a game. As you can see I was happy, but not overly thrilled with the modes of choice in this game. But if the gameplay was good enough, it could still offer a great experience, and that is exactly what Dead or Alive 4 managed to do. The gameplay here feels a lot like the series has felt for many years, with some tightening around the edges. You could see right away that one area that the developer worked heavily on was the countering system, which is not only more intuitive this time around; it also seems to work in a much fairer manner. The fighting itself feels very balanced and when playing against the computer, the AI seems to hold up pretty nicely. The gameplay also works great when you are playing against someone locally, which brings probably the best fighting experience.
In the end, the gameplay of Dead or Alive 4 to me just felt like a mix bag of some amazing material and some missed opportunities. I struggled for many days trying to figure out if the gameplay was good enough on its own to not need some great modes to back it up. I came to the conclusion that for longevity purposes some great gameplay modes would have really helped this game. Sure the gameplay is smooth and solid, but having some better made modes (like story) would have been a tremendous asset to the game.
Graphics
Unlike in the gameplay where I struggled to figure out what rating to give the section, in terms of visuals Dead or Alive 4 ranks among the best looking on the console. Sure it's not perfect, with some animation issues here and there, but the character models are just so complex and so life-like that at times it can actually be a little freaky looking at this game. The amount of detail placed in both the environments and the character models is just an amazing accomplishment, one that just will blow you away at first. Like I said, the visuals are not in the perfect category, but you will be blown away to say the least.
Fun Factor
I am a huge fighting game fan; in fact I will never forget my endless nights of Street Fighter back in the days of the Super Nintendo. Dead or Alive 4 has a lot of great ideas that are thrown into it, but you can see that Team Ninja went with a formula that has proven to be successful over the years. This formula still makes for a very fun experience, but one that is dragged down a bit by a lack of great modes. This puts a damper on the continuous replay ability that could have been there had a great story mode been in place.
Overall
Is Dead or Alive 4 a great game? Sure it is, but it is a great game that is missing some very essential elements to get it to that elite level. Although the gameplay is generally solid, the developers never managed to provide a new or unique approach to the fighting genre. I will say however, if you own an Xbox 360 and are a fan of the series, then go out and get this game, for everyone else this game is a perfect rental.
- Gameplay
8.0 - Graphics
9.0 - Fun Factor
8.0 - Overall
8.0
