Dead or Alive 5 is a fighting game and is the latest game in the Dead or Alive Series, it was developed by Team Ninja and was released in September 2012 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 making it the second cross platform game in this series other than DOA2 to make this transition.
If you have played any previous Dead or Alive games you will know exactly what you should be expecting, and the fifth instalment in the series doesn't disappoint! However it does seem that Team Ninja have realised they needed to up their game if they ever wanted Dead Or Alive to become anything more than the "fan service" title it has rightly given itself.
Dead or Alive 5 offers you everything you want from any good fighter, an incredibly well versed battle system with extremely quick combos and blocks, a comprehensive storyline which couples with a tutorial to ensure you learn as you play, the unique arena stages in which literally everything blows up knocking players all over the place while giving you awesome stage movements not only the traditional up down left right, but every direction you can think of and fantastic characterization. It doesn't boast the huge character roster that its rivals Tekken and Mortal Kombat do, but the characters it does have are very well thought through and each have their own individual play style to suit how the player plays the game. Unfortunately this is pretty much where the positives end with the game play, realistically although DOA5 has successfully brought the game back to its former glory, it actually doesn't give you anything that you couldn't pretty much find in any "current generation" fighter game. That coupled with the fact that online play is only free if you buy the game brand-new with a toss-up between the restrictions of DOA5 or the free play of Tekken tag, realistically which one are you going to have a better time finding a variety of different people to play with?
Graphically DOA5 is phenomenal, the stages are extremely well made, the characters are incredible, even the animations are smooth and completely unique for each character and move, infact they even have a variety of different animations for the exact same block or stagger, Team Ninja have delivered a near perfect fighter graphically, and have still given the "fan service" that all you dedicated fans wanted. Unfortunately during a lot of the cut-scenes the camera will pan in areas that really just make it laughable and it is really difficult to take it seriously when suddenly there is a close up of a random characters breasts. It seems as though on one hand they want DOA5 to be taken seriously and yet they still try to maintain their previous state of fan-servicing.
DOA5 provides the player with a fun-upbeat soundtrack which is barely noticeable behind all the gimmicky unmatched text and crashing of cars and doors breaking. It is unfortunate because I found when I listened to the OST it was very enjoyable and was very fitting for all the different stages. It's strange how on one side the game can provide incredible varieties of animations and movements and yet simple things like characters intros have been completely messed up. In one match I used a character who shouted "Let's Fight!" and the other character just said "No!”.. Now I’m not sure if this is just a mistranslation from Japanese to English but when you play and you hear this you can help but think "What the hell" it sounds shoddy which is unfortunate in the near perfection of the rest of the game.
As with any fighting game, they rely on having that replay ability factor and DOA5 certainly has that, especially on multiplayer online, that is if you can actually find anyone to fight against. In comparison to Tekken Tag Tournament in which a matchup is found almost instantly, you can be waiting considerably longer for a matchup on DOA5. However if you have friends who all play the game you can get lost for hours, it is definitely successful in keeping you playing, until you are bored with the tiny amount of available roster in which games that have huge rosters keep the players engrossed for longer periods.
In all DOA5 is definitely a good fighting game and if you are a fan of the genre then it is a no-brainer to pick a copy of this up, although similar to nearly every other fighter in one-way or another, it still has its charm and uniqueness and has imprinted itself in the online competitive scene. I give Dead or Alive 5 a 8.5/10!
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