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 Dead
or Alive 2
Tecmo
Fighting
Dreamcast / PlayStation 2 / Arcade
In the fighting genre, there is always room for more. Every series
has a fan base because every game has a character for everybody.
It used to be the battle between Street Fighter and Mortal
Kombat but when Midway's MK series choked hard after MK
II, it opened the doors for many other fighters to slink their
way through. There was always the under-rated Fatal Fury
and King of Fighters by SNK, Tekken by Namco, Sega's
Virtua Fighter and of course Capcom's Street Fighter.
How could there be room for another?
 The
dozen characters in DoA2 are simply amazing. Each
compliments the styles of the others and creates some intense
battles. Unlike Tekken Tag which has a cache of
characters so huge that everybody essentially has the same moves, DoA2
has the right amount of characters to keep everybody happy. Each
one is unique and has a story behind them. Dead or Alive is a
martial arts tournament, much like the Tekken, King of Fighters
and Street Fighter tournaments. However, each character shares a
link with a few others that aren't explained too deeply in DoA2
but more-so in the first installment of Dead or Alive.
Graphically, this game rocks. Each character has their own style
and movements patterned after martial arts experts raging from
ninjitsu, karate, tai chi and even professional wrestling. But
what everybody knows about Dead or Alive are the amazing
female combatants. They are simply beautifully modeled with
graceful movements and even hotter bodies.
 Game-play
is incredibly simple, but vast in what a person can do with the
controls. With three basic buttons and a joystick, what could you
possibly do? Combining punch and the free button allows players to
pull grapples and holds while another free button combination
allows countering of moves. Tag-mode is even more intense as each
character has custom combinations with other characters in the
game as the tag-team against opponents and tag their partners in.
With incredible an incredible combo system to boot and special
attacks, what more can you add? Tecmo outdid all other fighters by
not limiting the arena to a small square. Arenas can either be
mulit-tiered where opponents are knocked off the edge of a balcony
and fall 20 feet to the next level only to be thrown over another
ledge. Add in electrified walls and explosives that are triggered
upon the impact of a body and you've got a solid fighter with the
most expansive terrain imaginable.
When contrasting all the fighters I've played in my time, while I
am still a fan of Street Fighter Alpha, King of Fighters and
Busido Blade, I do believe that Dead or Alive has
entered to challenge for the throne of one of the best fighters
ever. It is sheer fun with great characters and an absolutely
stunning combat system with a stupendous graphics engine.
Final Verdict: 9/10
Tecmo:
Dead or Alive 2 |
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