Dead or Alive 3

Whenever I buy a new console, I'm always dying to know just how powerful it really is. Now I know...and I am in awe. When Tecmo said that Dead or Alive 3's high level of realism prevented them from developing the game on any console other than Xbox, they weren't lying. No fighter on the PlayStation 2 or GameCube looks this good. Not even games that are still in development for those platforms look this good!

Dead or Alive 3 is like an interactive CG movie. All of the backgrounds are fully rendered and react perfectly your every movement. The water is gorgeous, featuring some of the most beautiful reflections that I have ever seen in a video game. Just wait till you start fighting. The movement of the water is unlike any other. Believe it or not, the water in DoA3 is more realistic than the water in Wave Race: Blue Storm. And best of all, that's just one stage. Several of them have water, but there is one snow-covered stage that really took my breath away. I meant it, I was stunned before, but I could not believe my eyes when I saw Kasumi fighting in the snow. There was about 12 inches of snow on the ground, and every footstep left a perfect print inside of the snow. The snow moved and clumped together in ways that I never thought would be possible during this generation of gaming. And it wouldn't have been possible had it not been for Xbox.

I could go on forever about DoA3's visuals. I don't usually encourage someone to purchase a game because it looks amazing, but I'm making an exception for DoA3. You waited in line for hours to get your Xbox (or spent an exorbitant amount of money on one of those over-priced bundles), so you owe it to yourself to get this game. On top of the stunning graphics, DoA3 is a lot of fun to play and is definitely the best fighting game of the year. It's not revolutionary, and some of the moves were ripped off of other fighting games (mainly Tekken and Virtua Fighter). But like the scientists in Jurassic Park, Tecmo took the knowledge that others had gained and created a monster that everyone will want to see.

DoA3's controls are quick and responsive. Kudos to Microsoft for manufacturing a controller with such a high-quality D-pad, allowing game companies like Tecmo to make port or develop brand-new fighting games without having to sacrifice anything. I love the Dual-Shock 2's D-pad, but it isn't always accurate for fighting games. The developer of the particular fighting game is usually the one to blame, but either way, the Xbox's D-pad feels more precise.

The problem with Dead or Alive 3 is that the more I played it, the more I began to realize just how shallow the game really is. Fun to play? Yes. Highly addictive? Yes. As deep as Tekken? No way! A fighting game doesn't have to be deep to be fun. However, after being spoiled by Tekken and Soul Calibur, I've come to expect more from my games. Fighting didn't become my favorite video game genre because of Virtua Fighter. Truth be told, Dead or Alive 3 is little more than an extremely advanced version of the world's first 3D fighting game. There are many more moves and tons of reversals, but all of them are executed with one or two buttons! Some gamers prefer Dead or Alive's simplistic style, but if you compare DoA3's initial sales to the initial sales of Tekken Tag Tournament, you'll see that most gamers prefer Tekken's depth.

If Tekken, Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter or Mortal Kombat 2 is your favorite fighting game, then you're not going to enjoy Dead or Alive 3 as much as a neutral gamer would because you already have an image in your mind of what a fighting game should be like. It's hard to play DoA3 without thinking, "If only it had a deeper combo system like Tekken..." On the other hand, if Dead or Alive 2 is your favorite fighting game, then Tecmo just gave you the ultimate reason to buy an Xbox. Otherwise, DoA3 is pretty much a secondary game. If you're buying an Xbox and have a little extra cash on hand, then pick up DoA3.

Gameplay: 8.9
Dead or Alive 3 is the most complex simple fighting game ever made. You can perform so many moves with just one of the three buttons that it makes you wonder how complex Dead or Alive 4 would be if it used a six-button configuration. Of course, it's the three-button configuration that brings this game. I want to be able to do more than punch, kick and block in a fighting game. The reversals are great, but they just aren't enough for me.

Graphics: 9.3 
Fluid animation, extremely detailed faces, superb mouth movements and beautiful water are just some of the highlights of Dead or Alive 3. The backgrounds are incredible -- the forest stage is so realistic and so deep that you'll never be able to look at another video game again without nitpicking it to death. This is the first time that the trees actually look like trees! Leaves slowly fall out of the tree any time it is struck by you or your opponent. In the winter stage, clumps of snow fall out whenever a tree is hit. The list goes on and on...

Sound: 8
I don't believe my ears. Dead or Alive 3's soundtrack is comprised of techno music that is actually good! Not that techno music is bad or anything, but for a while there I had given up on the genre. Most of the tunes are accented with a hint of classical music, similar in style to Tekken 3, only better.

Difficulty: 5.9
Fighting masters will pummel Dead or Alive 3 into the ground, but will casual gamers will likely find the Story Mode to be somewhat of a challenge. Really though, with the exception of Soul Calibur, I have never played a fighting game with a challenging single-player mode.

Concept: 6
This is a great game and all, but what's with the rehashing of all the fighting games lately? Tekken 4 is an "enhanced" version of Tekken 3; Virtua Fighter 4 is Virtua Fighter 1 with better graphics; Capcom Vs. SNK 2 is yet another Vs. fighting game, etc. And now Dead or Alive 3 is here, and it isn't a whole lot different from Dead or Alive 2.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Dead or Alive 3's multiplayer experience isn't as rewarding as Tekken 3 because there aren't enough characters or special moves to make the fun last. It could take you and your friends several weeks, if not months of practice to master every character's moves in Tekken 3. It won't take fighting veterans nearly as long to master DoA3. The game is still fun to play, and perfecting the reversals will definitely take you a while, but the overall replay value is quite a bit lower than the fighting games of yore.

Overall: 8.5
Every great video game console launches with a great fighting game. Saturn, PlayStation, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 and now the Xbox. Dead or Alive 3 isn't as innovative as Tekken or Mortal Kombat 3 was six years ago, but it is almost as much fun. I wouldn't go out and buy an Xbox just for Dead or Alive 3, but come 'on, it's not like there aren't plenty of other reasons. DoA3 isn't exactly icing on this delicious Xbox cake -- it's more like a piece of apple pie. The cake is good enough to eat on its own, but why have only one dessert when you could have two?