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::PUBLISHER::
Tecmo
::DEVELOPER::
Team Ninja
::GENRE::
Fighting
::RELEASE DATE::
12/29/05
::PLAYERS::
1-4
::LIVE::
Multiplayer, Scoreboards, Live Aware
::COST::
$59.99
::FEATURES::
Dolby Digital 5.1, 480p, 720p, 1080i
Good: Nice presentation, challenging gameplay
Bad: Doesn't feel as next-gen as it could, not for beginners
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Dead or Alive 4 Review
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The premiere fighter for Xbox consoles is finally here complete with counter attacks, bouncy women, and over the top stories. Is Team Ninja’s latest effort a stunner or does it fall short? Find out in our full review.
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Team Ninja is an important advocator of Microsoft consoles. They supported the original Xbox until the very end with high quality games. Dead or Alive 3 had a successful beginning when the Xbox launched in 2001. Team Ninja followed up with a spin-off of the DOA franchise with volleyball on Zack Island. This title, Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball, was viewed in multiple ways as both hardcore fans disregarded the series as being serious anymore and casual fans ate it up. The next project for Team Ninja was in the form of Ninja Gaiden that earned several Game of the Year awards from various publications. Dead or Alive: Ultimate represented the last project for the Xbox outside of the Hurricane Packs for Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black.
After that brief history lesson, it’s easy to see the great relationship Team Ninja has with the Microsoft consoles. Dead or Alive 4 missed its scheduled release date for the launch of the Xbox 360. Team Ninja has already ventured into the online world with Dead or Alive Ultimate providing the first 3D fighter to be online. What really is left for Team Ninja to prove with their fighting franchise? A lot of work is needed and they addressed several of them with Dead or Alive 4.
First off you’ll notice the graphics are once again improved but this margin isn’t a wide one. The background environments are outstandingly impressive. More expansive than ever, Dead or Alive 4 is beautiful to watch in motion. The Taizan Temple is a perfect example that shows the layers Team Ninja has implemented in the levels. Being knocked down the stairs is one way to get to the bottom of this amazingly beautiful stage, if that’s not the way you want to go, feel free to knock your opponent over the rail onto the shingles. One level that is going to become a favorite is Gambler’s Paradise. Moving cars that showcase the dangers each level have now increase the intensity of each battle.
Does anyone else see what I see in this picture?
Disappointingly though, the characters haven’t taken a quantum leap in detailing. The style is present but the emotion of each character isn’t. If feelings like anger, joy, sorrow, fear, and even love were expressed while fighting, this truly could have been a jump into the next generation. Team Ninja did a bang up job incorporating the new characters. Kokoro, La Mariposa, Eliot and Nicole fit in nicely. Kokoro is gorgeous geisha apprentice that I found to be my favorite addition to the cast of characters. Eliot is old man Gen Fu’s apprentice that is only the age of 16 years old. La Mariposa’s is a masked Luche Libre wrestler that’s identity was hidden from Team Ninja for the longest time. She is an excellent addition to Tina and Bass as the wrestlers in the DOA series. Nicole is more of an oddity but once you fight with her on her own stage (Nassau Station) selected, you’ll begin to appreciate her.
The animations and speed of Dead or Alive 4 perform strongly. Each character moves at a lightning pace that is excellent all around. Running at 60 FPS, there’s never a hiccup. With so much power that the Xbox 360 exerts, there’s a so much room for the graphical prowess that Team Ninja needed with their console of choice for their beloved Dead or Alive franchise. The fluid movements and animations highlight one of the better looking Xbox 360 games currently on the market. There’s none of the clipping found in so many other fighters and wrestling games. There are tons of objects that are destructible throughout the levels. The character selection has been bumped up to 22 characters (18 main + 4 hidden). Overall, the graphics are graceful with art direction and stunning on the technical side too.
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