Dead or Alive Ultimate is actually two games in one. It contains a visually stunning remake of Dead or Alive 2, and a slightly polished version of the Saturn Dead or Alive 1. Obviously, though, the main draw of this package is DOA2, and it’s there that gamers will spend the bulk of their time. Naturally, this review will focus on DOA2. Both games feature some exciting modes for Xbox Live, and that’s what makes this package worthwhile. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer much beyond that, and for us, the online play is generally very laggy.

Many serious fighting fans scorn the DOA series, writing it off as a button-masher that puts all of its focus on well-endowed female characters. While it’s hard to argue that the ladies aren’t a major part of DOA, there is an extremely solid fighting engine underneath all of that fan service. No, it isn’t nearly as deep as something like Virtua Fighter and it’s fairly easy for a new player to just jump in and learn the moves, but there’s a lot of strategy behind the fighting. This element of strategy comes directly from the unique countering system.

Nearly every move in Dead or Alive can be countered. When a move is successfully countered, the damage is stopped and the attacking player takes a heavy hit. It almost feels like the counter damage is a little too high, with the average counter taking between a fifth and a third of your health bar. Thankfully, though, counters are difficult to execute. The countering player needs to determine the height of the incoming attack to be successful. There are high attacks, low attacks, medium punches and medium kicks, each of which require a slightly different button input to counter. A failed counter leaves the player wide open, naturally.

Because of their power, counters can completely change the flow of a battle. Avoiding a counter means being unpredictable in battle. Someone that continually executes the same moves will be easy to read, and therefore easy to counter. If you have a habit of always doing a low kick to start your combos, a skilled player will see that low kick coming and counter you. The rules obviously work the other way, too, meaning that part of doing well in the game is watching your opponent’s moves. All of the moves themselves are easy to execute, meaning that with a little memorization, even an average player has full access to the move list.



The fighting arenas are definitely worth mentioning. Most arenas play a big role in the fights. Knocking your opponent off of a cliff or through a stained glass window not only causes massive damage, but also takes the fight to a new location. Ending a combo by kicking someone down a flight of stairs is very satisfying, and it adds a layer of depth to the fighting. Some of these stage effects do a little too much damage, though. On the Great Wall of China stage, right at the beginning of the match, there’s a fall that can knock off about half of your health bar. It’s hard to win a fight after that.

All of that makes the combat highly enjoyable, but unfortunately the game doesn’t offer a whole lot to the single-playing gamer. There is a bare-bones story mode, which doesn’t really tell much of a story, and is simply a reason to take each character through a series of fights that lead to a boss. There’s a survival mode, pitting the player against an endless supply of computer opponenets, and a few team and tag-team modes, but it’s all the same thing, basically. There’s nothing like the mission mode in Soul Calibur 2 or the fantastic Kumite mode of Virtual Fighter 4.

There are lots of costumes to unlock, though. Most of the females have between 10 and 20 costumes, some of which are quite nice. They range from school girl outfits and bikinis to standard ninja gear. The men have extra costumes as well, but not nearly as many. Unlocking the costumes, sadly, is supremely tedious. To get all 20 of Ayane’s costumes, you’ll need to play through story mode 18 times with her. Yeesh. It’s worth doing for your favorite characters, but not really worth the effort for everyone else – even though there are a couple neat things to unlock after you get everything else.



Visually, Dead or Alive Ultimate is a stunner. The characters, females especially, look fantastic, and the arenas are impressive as well. The animation is super-smooth and the frame rate stays rock solid. What more could we ask for? It’s a visual marvel. On the audio side of things, DOAU does an adequate job. The various “wa-tah!” and “ugh!” fighting sounds are clear and varied enough, and the music sets the tone for combat.

Basically, though, Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate is the same game we all played on our Dreamcasts and/or Playstation2s years ago. The gameplay hasn’t changed much, even if the graphics have gotten a boost. The only major change is Xbox Live support, and that, potentially, could absolutely make the game worth a purchase. It all depends on your connection speed, apparently.

On our connection, most matches are seriously laggy. It’s bad, almost to the point of unplayability. Even if we suck it up and play anyway, most other players will quit the game due to the lag we seem to be causing them. We’re in the minority with this problem, because most matches are running smoothly until we join them, but I have encountered other people on DOAU with similar lag problems. It’s particularly strange because other Live games play just fine on our connection. Others with the problem say the same things.

The only exception to the lag was on Halloween, where I was actually able to play all night long without any lag. What a tease, as that was some of the best Live gaming I’ve experienced. Here’s how it works: a host sets up a virtual arcade, which can then be filled by up to 8 total players. The most enjoyable mode, winner stays, plays very much like a real arcade. The champion plays until he is defeated while the other players take turns going up against him. During the matches, the waiting players can watch the fight and talk amongst themselves and the competitors. As with most Live games, the quality of your waiting experience will depend on the group of players you’re with.



Article By: Joe Mackie