I’ve always been a pretty huge fan of fighting games. I’ve never played them enough to be a “pro” but I play them enough to learn the intricacies of a fighting game: the balance, the timings, combo systems, etc. That said I never had a huge interest in the Dead or Alive series of fighting games. However one day a while back, I played a little bit of Dead or Alive 3, which was (and technically still is) the latest in the Dead or Alive series. I quickly came to realize that the Dead or Alive series was a pretty solid fighting game. Now with some interest in the series, I grabbed Team Ninja’s latest release, Dead or Alive Ultimate, as soon as it hit store shelves.
Dead or Alive Ultimate comes with two games in the Dead or Alive series: Dead or Alive Ultimate and Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate. Dead or Alive Ultimate is a perfect port of the original Sega Model 2 arcade game that came out back in the 90’s, and Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate is a remake of the sequel that came out on the Playstation 2 and Dreamcast.
I’ll go ahead and talk about Dead or Alive Ultimate quickly to get it out of the way, as you’ll probably spend very little time playing it vs Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate. The first title does indeed sport an arcade perfect port of the Arcade game, however thats really not saying much. The graphics are bland at best, and the character models are not too interesting. The fighting system is actually quite different from the next two titles in the series. You have your basic punch, kick and throw buttons, plus a counter button. Unlike the later Dead or Alive titles, you simply have to press the counter button at the right time to counter an opponents attack. This makes it very easy to counter your opponents, but also turns the fighting into a really defensive match.
One interesting thing in Dead or Alive Ultimate is the danger zones. Your arena is a small enclosed area, and the boundaries of the arena are set with a danger zone indicated by flashing tiles. Any time you or your opponent falls in the danger zone, the tile explodes and the character is set flying through the air, dealing extra damage and giving you an opportunity to juggle for a higher combo. Danger zones were probably the coolest element in this game, and makes it stand out as a different title from the second and third titles in the series.
All in all, I would say that the first Dead or Alive was tossed into this collection as an extra, and most probably won’t play it much. While it does have a few different elements than its sequels, and while you can play it online using Xbox Live, its just not that fun to play. Turn it on for novelty, play it a bit, then put it in the box and get to the other game in the Ultimate collection.
Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate is the reason most people will purchase this collection. It is a remake of Dead or Alive 2, and features a facelift that brings it to graphical levels beyond Dead or Alive 3, a couple of extra characters, tons of costumes, huge multilevel arenas, and most importantly, Xbox Live capability.
This game features a fighting system that encourages aggressive fighting, and even more aggressive defense. With a counter button and a four point counter system, your character has the ability to counter any attack your opponent can throw at you. However countering an attack isn’t terribly simple, and it involves knowing each characters combo’s and a little bit of predictive abilities, and maybe some luck. This is good, because the damage dealt from these counters is a little imbalanced compared to regular attacks, taking as much as 1/4 of your life bar. This problem was fixed in Dead or Alive 3, which is kind of irritating to see in this later release, even though it was originally released before Dead or Alive 3.
Also added to Dead or Alive 2 is Dead or Alive 3’s 3d movement system, which is good and bad. I found it difficult to move around some characters head on attacks, which should be easy to dodge with just a sidestep.
There is a lot of good in this fighting system however. I really like ability you have to adjust the timing on a combo, and the variation of each characters moves. The action is fast paced and intense, and when you hit someone with a powerful attack and they are sent flying through a wall, you can help but think that this game is bad ass.
Since I’m on the topic of looks, this game looks amazing. The arena’s are huge, and there are a ton of different places that you can smash through to get to a new level. There are probably more levels in each stage than you can reach before depleting your opponents life meter, but its always fun to try to get as far as possible (also a good demonstration of skills if you are in a real competition with your friends). The final bosses stage is also a sight to behold, as with one of his techniques he changes the weather in the hole level. Its definitely something to see.
The character models are also very detailed. Each character has a ton of unlockable costumes, some with as many as 20 different outfits. The animation is very fluid and the game seems to run at a high frame rate with no stuttering. I even got a chance to view the game on an HDTV, which looks great. However like many XBOX games, the picture doesn’t seem to fit correctly when you’re running 480p, but its not anything to worry about.
Of course, the one thing thats most important with this game, is the XBOX Live gameplay. I fired up my XBOX and connected to a game with no problems. While I was fighting, I did not notice a lot of lag during the gameplay, though there were a few instances where there was a little slowdown. Overall its very good, and it won’t mess up your matches with laggy response to your commands.
Matches are set up so that you are in a room with multiple other players. While two people fight, you can comment on the match and talk to the other players. The only problem I found is that you end up waiting a long time to play a round, as there can multiple people queued up ahead of you. If you lose your match, you are sent to the back of the line. So you can end up waiting a long time to fight against one opponent for maybe a minute. Its really not that bad, but it can get irritating if you want to get in a quick match before work or something.
While I do have a couple of issues with this game, I’d have to say that I still think its probably the best fighting game on the XBOX currently. I do believe Dead or Alive 3 has a little more going for it in the combat system, but the extra features and the online play make Ultimate a much more worthwhile purchase.
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