|
Developer
Team Ninja |
Publisher
Tecmo |
Genre
Fighting |
Players
1 - 4 |
ESRB
T |
Does the third game
in the series really deserve three seperate
reviews? Why not. Here's the third.
Tecmo loves you. Really, they do. After playing through the story mode
in DOA3 with all of the characters and witnessing some of the most mind
numbing awe-inspiring CG cut scenes it becomes obvious that Dead Or alive
3 has raised the bar for all future videogames. As godly as Tekken 4 and
Virtual Fighter 4 look for the PS2 neither one of them even comes close
to capturing the graphical magic that DOA3 has.
"there are so many nice touches that stand out in this game..."
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The fine folks of the Team Ninja (the magicians who developed this stunning
bit of gaming heaven) did a remarkable job of capturing the various fighting
styles from around the world. Pro Wrestling, kung fu, the Bruce Lee type
style of fighting and more all make a appearance in this game. You choose
from the motley crew (no, not the 80s heavy metal band) of 16 fighters.
Besides, can you name any other game that allows you to fight a hulk hogan
look-alike with the ninja who looks like he was in Ninja Gaiden? I think
not.
DOA 3 uses a rock, paper, scissors type of game play. The real key to victory
is the reversals. Almost any one can pick up DOA3 and proceed to lay the
smackdown by mashing the buttons. But the masters realize that reversals
will ultimately win the match. The best part of DOA 3 (besides the graphics)
is the controls. Each fighter has a huge assortment of bone crushing moves,
throws and reversals. The standard control setup is this: Y performs a
punch, B a kick, X allows you to block. To some the block button may be
a problem, especially those who prefer the Street fighter series. It's
really a matter of preference but the block button becomes necessary because
of the layout of the stages. The white button is Y+B, which unleashes a
powerful striking attack. A is the throw button, and the black button is
used to tag your opponent in the tag team mode. The option to customize
the controls is much appreciated, since the standard default control setup
is not the most intuitive seen for a fighting game. Another small gripe
is not really with the game but with the controller. If there is a game
that made buying a third party controller a necessity then DOA 3 would
be it. The standard Xbox controller unfortunately was not made for these
types of games. After only a short time playing my fingers were begging
for mercy and when I stopped playing they hurt for a few minutes afterwards.
 
"...witness some of the best double team moves ever seen in a video game."
|
Sound wise, DOA 3 does every thing very well. From the opening track by
Aerosmith to the satisfying thud of your opponent being thrown against
a brick wall. DOA3 really gives the Xbox sound chip a work out. All of
the voices are spoken in Japanese and they're also done well. The in-game
music offers a nice variety of tunage. Its mostly heavy guitar riffs but
its not distracting enough to take away from the over all experience.
Graphically, your going to be hard pressed to find a better looking title
on any system. DOA3 features some of the best looking fire, snow, water
and ice effects ever seen in a videogame. The fighters are also well put
together and look solid. You wont find any missing seams here. They look
real and they look like they could kick your but without breaking a sweat.
There are so many nice touches that stand out in this game, for example,
when you're fighting in the snow level the snow forms around the fighters
feet and you can see your foot prints as you fight. When you kick you can
see snow lift off and drift back down to earth. On the beach stage when
you throw your opponent to the tree coconuts drop from it and litter the
stage through out the fight. The boss stage is also very impressive. Have
I mentioned how good this game looks?
DOA3 has a nice variety of modes to keep you busy. You have the meat and
potatoes of the game in the story mode, where you can pick the fighter
of your choice and fight through to the end as the story unfolds in several
cinematics featuring the game engine. You have the time attack mode where
you attempt to beat as many opponents as you can in a set time limit. You
have the survival mode, a tag team battle mode that gives you a chance
to team up with another player. This is the mode that allows up to 4 players
to play at the same time. This also gives you the chance to witness some
of the best double team moves ever seen in a video game. THQ seriously
needs to take note about some of the creative damage you can do when you
double team. You also have the versus mode (which I personally have spent
a considerable amount of time with) and a sparing mode where you can learn
and perfect your fighting techniques. Also included is a theater mode where
you can watch the ending movies.
A problem with this game however is that once the initial wow factor resides
you are left with a game that you already played on the Playstation 2 in
DOA2 hardcore. The addition of a few moves and a few secret costumes really
does very little in lengthening the game time. This may not be the game
you play two years from now, but while you do, it will satisfy your fight
crave.
Mike Regan
Likes the game because of the per pixel shading bump mapping.
|
Dead Or Alive 3: The Scores |
|
|
Graphics |
Sound |
Gameplay |
Depth |
Presentation |
Overall |
|
9.9 |
9.0 |
8.5 |
7.2 |
9.0 |
8.9 |
|
The
Final Word:
Tecmo and developer Team Ninja have really outdone themselves.
Dead or Alive 3 really takes advantage of the Xbox hardware
with producing one of the most graphically satisfying
titles released for the big black box. Everything is
very polished, and if you are in the market for a game
to showcase what your new console can do then you can
look no further then Dead or Alive 3.
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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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