|
Developer
Team Ninja |
Publisher
Tecmo |
Genre
Fighting |
Players
1 - 4 |
ESRB
T |
Does the game live
up to the hype or does it get lost in all that
digital um… just read on.
If there's one phrase to completely
cover Dead or Alive 3, what would it be?
Sorry, but "she kicks high" is not an option.
In fact, I don't think a single phrase could
completely describe Tecmo's Dead or Alive
3. But what makes it so much different than
it's predecessor, or any other fighter for
that matter?
On top of the list is its graphics.
We've all heard how great they are, but once
more won't hurt. Because Dead or Alive 3
was built from the ground up to take advantage
of the Xbox hardware, it's no wonder they
are so good. The characters are insanely
detailed, from hair to clothes. Everything
about them looks and moves fluidly, and it's
definitely noticeable. I often found myself
looking and trying to find every detail on
the fighters; as well as the great animation
put into every part of their body, clothes,
and hair. One of the big things I noticed
was the lighting and reflection effects.
As the characters move, the shadows on and
around them change to the degree of light.
I did, however, have only one complaint.
As with Dead or Alive 2, character clipping
is apparent, and you'll see legs cross through
the other players often. Thankfully, it doesn't
affect gameplay, and it's not too noticeable,
as you'll mainly be concentrating on the
fight.
While the characters look great,
what really stands out are the levels. Water
seems to be a definite plus in detail on
the Xbox, and it's no exception on Dead or
Alive 3's levels. Puddles, ponds, and oceans
move and splash as you fight your way through
and in them. Reflections throughout your
arenas are everything, from burning lights
on surfaces to lights on buildings. Snow
will fall from branches as your virtual body
crashes into a tree; fall struck leaves will
flow through the air; and glass will break
on contact.
One of the big things Dead or
Alive 2 had was its level interactivity.
It's certainly here in the sequel, but in
almost every arena! See that wall, lamp,
tree, snow, glass, or huge electric bolt
of energy that you shouldn't touch? Want
to throw your enemy into it? Go ahead! It's
all possible, and most definitely adds to
the excitement of battles.
There should be no concerns
about audio, as Tecmo did an excellent job
on it's voice acting. During cut scenes and
beginning/ending taunts, the actors sound
like they're in the game, and not some crazy
stereotypes. Sound effects are also done
very well, from your usual grunts, snorts,
snaps, and crashes. It's also fun listening
to some of the characters noises during play,
especially Jann Lee's 'waataa'!
Gameplay is definitely fun,
and feels in some way different than it's
predecessors. It's like a whole new bag of
jellybeans. [Uh, jellybeans? - Ed.] But why
does it feel different, and what sets it
apart from other fighters, are the one billion
dollar questions. Let's first take a look
at the characters. Of course with every sequel
you get new fighters. In Dead or Alive 3,
you get three of them. You'll be able to
play as the young female Hitomi, drunken
master Brad Wong, the beautiful woman assassin
Christie, and of course, all of the originals.
Total, there are 16 characters to play initially
(there are surprises). Each character comes
with more moves than before, and different
extra costumes. A big plus is the added freedom;
you now have the ability to move around more
freely than before, which adds to the overall
speed of the game.
 |
|
At
the end of Christie's story mode
we get arrested for, oh nevermind.
|
There are nine self-explanatory
modes within the game. Story Mode is your
basic main course, which allows you to play
a story involving the character you have
selected. Once you complete the game with
the character, you'll see an ending movie,
which will be stored in a new section called
Theatre, where you can watch them as many
times as you want. Time Attack is a mode
in which your score represents the time it
takes to clear the game of computer opponents.
If your score ranks among the top 10, your
name can be entered. Next up is Versus Mode,
where you can play your friends in a single
or tag team match with all 16 Dead or Alive
3 fighters. Survival Mode makes you fight
against a succession of computer opponents
until your health is depleted, and points
are added according to the time it takes
to complete a match. Luckily, your health
will recover a certain amount after each
round is over, so you shouldn't be sweating
beads and bleeding from the fingers.
In Tag Team Mode, you choose
two characters that you will use throughout
the match. It's basically a two on two match,
and it's pretty damn fun. You can even perform
tag combos, in which both of your characters
will attack the enemy together. Team Battle
Mode is a little different. You choose five
characters this time, and fight against other
teams. I recommend playing Sparring Mode
first, otherwise you'll end up getting owned
very quickly. Sparring Mode is your basic
training mode, which will let you practice
your moves on a non-moving to moving A.I.
Finally you have Watch Mode, which let's
you watch two A.I. duke it out; and Options
Mode, which allows a player to change game
settings to their preferences.
 
Some people just like to watch - and now
they have a mode of their own.
However, let's not forget, there
is a story behind Dead or Alive 3 and not
just the characters. The prologue begins
with Ryu Hayabusa, who defeated Tengu Bankotsu-bo
in the previous tournament. However, it was
too late to stop the destruction, and a worldwide
collapse occurred. The planet becomes hunting
grounds for power-hungry scam artists. This
is when DOATEC's Development Department completes
the Omega Project, producing a new superhuman,
Genra. Genra was once human, but unfortunately
no longer. This is where the World Combat
Championship, Dead or Alive 3, comes in;
the exclusive domain of the Omega superhuman.
There are a good number of modes
to play with, as well as characters and levels.
With the variety of fighters, moves, levels,
and being able to move more freely, the game
feels faster. Dead or Alive 3 is certainly
a good solid fighter, and you should undoubtedly
have fun.
The controls are pretty much
the same as it's predecessors, but it sure
does feel a heck of a lot better on the Xbox
controller pad. The directional pad is for
movement, X is for free (hold and guard),
Y is for punch, A is for throw, B is for
kick, white button is punch + kick, black
button is for tag change (in Tag Team Mode
only), and right trigger is used as free
+ kick. The control is pretty easy to use,
and doing moves will soon become second nature.
There are no complaints coming from this
hungry hippo.
 
Overall, the game looks, sounds,
plays, and feels great. It's a great fighter
for the Xbox launch, and plays smoothly.
Playing through the modes is enjoyable, especially
watching the movies throughout Story Mode.
Dead or Alive 3 is definitely one to check
into if you like fighters, and should be
in your library for quite some time.
Scott "VeX" Kuss
Dear Christie, call me at 555-5683(LOVE).
|
Dead Or
Alive 3: The Scores |
|
|
Graphics |
Sound |
Gameplay |
Depth |
Presentation |
Overall |
|
9.5 |
9.5 |
9.0 |
8.5 |
8.9 |
9.0 |
|
The
Final Word:
Graphics are great, not many complaints there - except
the issue of clipping. For a fighter, the audio is as
good as it's going to get, as the voice actors did a
very good job. Gameplay is fun for a fighter, fluid and
fast. As a fighting game, there are a lot of options
available, adding to the shelf life. It's hard to wrap
up such a neat package in any prettier bow. DOA 3 should
be a must have for all fans of the genre because it looks
good, it sounds good, it feels good, and gosh darn it,
it plays good!
|
gamerweb
reviews policy
|
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- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [1] 5.90M
MPEG
Hayate
VS the beautiful newcomer Christie,
in the game's flagship forest
stage.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [2] 5.85M
MPEG
Brad
Wong VS Bayman at the stunning
tropical beach.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [3] 5.41M
MPEG
Brad
Wong VS Bass on Bass's rooftop
- courtyard stage. Check out
the way the fighters jump and
fall from the top of the building
to the courtyard floor!
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [4] 7.19M
MPEG
DOA2
newcomer Hayate VS Zack in
the AWESOME snow-forest.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [5] 5.27M
MPEG
Leon
VS Hayate. The staggering jumps
down entire mountains might
just make your stomach turn.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [6] 7.22M
MPEG
Four-player
tag battle: Gen-Fu, Brad Wong,
Helena and Zach in the breathtaking
aquarium level. If you thought
the aquarium in VF4 was good,
prepare to reset your standards.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [7] 5.00M
MPEG
Four-player
tag battle: Zach, Helena, Tina
and Kasumi. Look at the awesome
special tag-techniques...
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [8] 4.12M
MPEG
The
character select screen and
options / menus.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [9] 6.46M
MPEG
More
Hayate VS Christie at the forest
level.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [10] 3.21M
MPEG
Four-player
tag battle: Zach, Tina, Hayabusa
and Jann Lee all fight it out
in the electricity-filled 'electro-dome'.
This is AWESOME.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [11] 6.92M
MPEG
Christie
fights Helena in the snow.
Can you handle the kinkiness
of DOA3?
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [12] 4.24M
MPEG
Christie
(mmmm) VS Leon in the beautiful
mountainous surrounds.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [13] 3.15M
MPEG
Old-hands
Kasumi and Lei-Fei fight. And
they look more gorgeous than
ever before!
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [14] 4.77M
MPEG
Brad
gets a kicking from Tina, in
her all-new costume (tight
zebra skin pants and small
blue top).
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [15] 2.26M
MPEG
The
return of Lei-Fei's legendary
three-hit combo! Unfortunately
for Ayane, who is on the receiving
end of this finishing move
at the beach, it's gotta hurt.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [16] 2.89M
MPEG
Christie
VS Bayman fight in the tower
at night time. Look at the
awesome scenery view from the
panoramic window.
- Dead
or Alive 3 (Xbox) In-Game [17] 4.58M
MPEG
Jann
Lee VS Christie in her sexy
'suited and booted' costume.
This fighting stage boasts
incredible visual effects -
look at the reflective floor.
- Xbox:
Dead or Alive 3 - New, Full
Video! 31.2M MPEG
MUST
SEE! We present this exclusive,
four-minute, full-length DOA3
trailer, with stunning all-new
scenes, including Hayabuse
morphing from a whirl of leaves
in the forest, and BOTH of
the brand new female fighters.
- Xbox:
New DOA3 Trailer, Part 1 1.5M
MPEG
Hayabusa
smashes opponent through third-floor
window and onto street!
- Xbox:
New DOA3 Trailer, Part 2 4.7M
MPEG
New
fighter, the drunken kung-fu
master, in a gorgeous-looking
ice cave.
- Xbox:
New DOA3 Trailer, Part 3 4.6M
MPEG
New
female fighter 1: Sexy white
hair and luscious breasts,
complete with praying mantis-style
actions.
- Xbox:
New DOA3 Trailer, Part 4 4.9M
MPEG
MUST
SEE! Oh my GOD! This forest
stage looks UNBELIEVABLE -
and just wait until you see
what happens there!
- Xbox:
New DOA3 Trailer, Part 5 5.2M
MPEG
Breathtaking
mountain-top scene - and yes,
one fighter gets chucked off.
Another brand new scene.
- Xbox:
New DOA3 Trailer, Part 6 4.6M
MPEG
New
female fighter 2: Cute, brown-haired
martial artist, showing what
she can do in an authentic
fighting arena, vibrantly lit
by fire.
- Xbox:
New DOA3 Trailer, Part 7 5.0M
MPEG
In
this final part, we see Ayane,
followed by the most realistic
beach environment you've ever
seen in a game, culminating
with a "shattering" finish
in that ice-cave level. Awesome!
|
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