As I understand it, Dead or Alive 4 is actually the 10th game in the Dead or Alive series, however it’s the first one I have ever played. You may think this makes me underqualified to review DOA4, and you may be right, but the way I look at it a fresh set of eyes on anything is always a valuable exercise.
Title: Dead or Alive 4
Genre: Fighting
Platform: Xbox 360
Rating: M
Retail Pricing (NZD): $94.95 @ gpstore
Release Date: 13/4/2006
As I said this is my first time with any of the DOA games because I think it’s fair to say I haven’t had any interest in fighting games since Street Fighter II on my Super Nintendo back in the day. I’m not sure what happened to my inner fighter but I just seemed to grow out of it once things started getting all 3D on me. Well I’m happy to say with DOA4 I have returned to my giddy youth (OK so I’m only 25 but you know what I mean) and have fallen in love with fighting games again. When it comes down to it, fighting games are all about multiplayer. Back in the day with SFII the name of the game was kicking my brother’s butt, but as you get older this funny thing happens, you leave home. So with no one to play with in house, fighting games suddenly become far less interesting. Thankfully with the combination of DOA4 and Xbox Live I’ve got the answer to my retro gaming nostalgia
Playing DOA4 over Live is a fantastic, if not occasionally laggy, gaming experience. My first online game was against the raining Australasian DOA champ and fellow Geekpulp blogger Wugga. This wasn’t exactly an even match up, but none the less I had a great time playing… all the way up to my 20 straight losses achievement. The control system allows players of all skill levels a great pick up and play experience. If you don’t really want to become the worlds greats dead or alive player but do enjoy the odd bout with mates DOA4 is the game for you. Likewise if you are the competitive type, looking to compete with the best players, the controls can be used in an advanced manner to provide a more sophisticated style (think counters and special moves) of play. So if you’re a button masher like me, or a super skill player like Wugga, you can expect to have a good time.
Interestingly the graphics and sound in DOA4 are nothing overly spectacular (to my eyes at least) which isn’t to say they aren’t good, just nothing I would call ground breaking. In saying that they both do their jobs very well and I would question if there’s a need to improve things when it’s really the gameplay that drives a good fighting game. One thing is for certain, if school uniforms are your thing, DOA4 will not disappoint.
Just to add to the list of things DOA4 has going for it I’m going to throw in value. At only $94.95 from gpstore and a multiplayer game experience which provides an unquestionably long life, it’s hard to beat DOA4 on value. It’s just one of those games I can see myself popping in my console for years for a “quick” game after a hard days work. The of course there’s also the single player aspects like survival mode which will keep things interesting even in an offline environment.
In conclusion DOA4 is an excellent addition to any Xbox 360 owners collection particularly those who are connected to live with a gold account. The multiplayer aspects are not only social but also highly entertaining, even if you’re only a spectator. So if you’re a long time fan of the series or an old school fighting gamer looking for “the good old days” of butt kicking, DOA4 is a must have title for your Xbox 360.
Rating: 8.5/10