@danielsoerensen
The Dead Or Alive series has always delivered a blistering-fast fighting experience, enjoyed by casuals and hardcore alike. And Dead Or Alive 6 is so fast and so aggressive. Here, players don’t have to study and practice themselves to death to pull off cool and impressive moves. It’s all about anticipating your opponent’s next…
While nothing new to the genre, DOA has had the clearer focus on strategy thanks to the rock, paper, scissors-based fighting system. Incoming attacks can counter with clutch timing. A flurry of punches can be dodged, and players can, instead, toss an opponent on their ass. There’s a constant mindgame with plenty of options; but like a game of speed-chess, fighters have to act fast while being strategic. Thankfully there’s a solid practice mode where gamers can improve skills as a ninja, wrestler or whatever type of fighting style they favor.
The fights themselves take place in very interactive arenas where surroundings can inflict even more damage. When is it not fun to throw friends into something that explodes? Or kick them to the edge where a giant squid can grab and smash them through a pirate boat? (The obvious answer: never.) On the other hand, DOA6‘s weakest point is the underdeveloped online mode. There’s only ranked play — no tournaments, no lobbies. It’s extremely bare-boned and Team Ninja should have given this more attention as fight gamers play online more now than ever. 3.75/5 Bibles.
-Daniel Sørensen
@thedcd
Dead Or Alive 6’s Story Mode is remarkable, but will probably lean more towards those that are fans of the series. It’s broken up into a series of chapters, including some with fights and some with likable (and sometimes bizarre) cinematic sequences. It all ties together into some hodge-podge in the DOA universe, but, again, it’ll appeal to fans. And Story does apply some meaty single player content to the game, which they’ll easily appreciate. Once you get through that, however, you can easily move on to Quest Mode.
Although Dead Or Alive 6 isn’t without its problems, it’s definitely a fun entry in the series. The single player content is stacked with the unlockable goods in Quest Mode and the strange — yet, again, enjoyable — campaign that covers a lot of bases. And, of course, it’s a gas when it comes to competitive action, especially if you’ve got local friends that don’t mind mixing it up. 3.75/5 Bibles.
-Robert Workman