It has been around a year since Team Ninja first unleashed Dead or Alive 5 on the Playstation 3 and Xbox360. Following the trend present in a few of the earlier numbered editions they were not content on simply publishing one game per number – subsequently releasing an enhanced “Plus” edition on the Playstation Vita in March this year.
While they could have simply moved on and produced Dead or Alive 6, they weren’t content with just leaving it at that. Instead Team Ninja and Tecmo Koei Games chose earlier this month to release Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate on the Playstation 3 and Xbox360 consoles, with a number of the new features present in the Playstation Vita release in addition to new features such as five additional characters, new costumes and many varied improvements to gameplay.
The issue with enhanced re-releases such as this however is that they guarantee that there is enough content to encourage players to return. Does this stand out as a worthy title on its own? Read on to find out in my review of Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate – typed all the while my hand is comfortably resting on a busty mousepad featuring Momiji (Who makes her first playable debut).
Storyline
Perhaps the one issue I have with many fighting games is that the developers tack on a storyline which offers little rather than a purpose for the characters to fight. A couple of 2D fighting games such as Persona 4 Arena have managed to achieve a balance between storytelling and fighting, inevitably due to it being supported by a pre-existing RPG series heavily oriented towards storyline, however with a grand total of 29 characters in the game – not all get the attention they deserve while some are more interesting than others.
Unfortunately there is very little new here as well, with much of the plot being lifted straight from Dead or Alive 5. If you haven’t had the opportunity to play the original release however, it still remains a decent experience and one that is worthwhile checking out.
Design / Music / Voice Acting
As with its original release, the visual quality of Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is stunning, with the character models for each of the fighters carrying across anatomical accuracy and fluid movement that isn’t always done well in other 3D fighting games on the market. The designs of the characters can occasionally react to their environment, and come with a number of costume options – either initially unlocked, unlockable or paid content. It is evident however that while attention has been put towards each of the characters, there is a lot more fanservice appeal with the female characters.
I had a major issue with the music which if I didn’t have another Playstation 3 lying around the house would have resulted in this category walking away with an F-grade. Booting the game up on my PS3 console it worked perfectly fine, however not a bleep of music played through my TV speakers no matter how many times I restarted the game and console. Once on another console however I enjoyed the sound effects and music which offered variety of tracks that can have their presence in the game customized to your liking.
Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate also features dual (English and Japanese) audio, with all the new characters featuring adequate voice acting from the likes of Yuri Lowenthal and Kate Higgins among other well known VA’s.
Gameplay
Do note that growing up I didn’t really have access to an arcade or a reasonable number of fighting games, therefore I will say in writing this section that I am not what you would call an expert in the genre.
For those who have played any installment in the Dead or Alive series before, or any fighting game for that matter, the gameplay mechanics present in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate shouldn’t be too unfamiliar to you. The game pits you against another opponent in a three-dimensional battle field and using the four attack buttons (Square, Triangle, X, O on the PS3 and A, B, X, Y on the Xbox360), you can throw different punches at your opponent. Combinations of these attacks alongside movements of the directional stick can also yield different attack styles including guards and counters. Each of the move types have different pros and cons, and require balance in order to go up against your opponent – especially if your opponent is a human player.
If your first step in the game is to go through the Story Mode, then by the time it ends you should be ready to tackle anything that the game is willing to throw at you. But for those who want to forgo the mode or want a refresher – Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate features an extensive training mode ranging from actual tutorials to a mode which allows you to simply practice inputting the commands shown for a particular move you might not effectively be able to execute on the field.
After the main game modes are concluded, you are provided access to a number of other game modes ranging from the general Versus mode where you go up against a computer player or a friend ti a team fight mode where you fight with a team of not one but up to seven characters against an enemy group of the same number. These modes are fun if you have a bunch of mates around and take advantage of the new characters, but otherwise offer little different from earlier installments and series. The biggest update of them all however lies in the online mode.
Rather than simply making use of what was already available, Team Ninja have incorporated Tag Team gameplay into their online mode, which allows yourself to go up against your opponent with a team of two. Building upon this one step further, they offer proper 2-on-2 online gameplay through the tag team system, allowing you and a friend to join the same tag team and switch in and out of battle. This is in addition to improvements made to the matchmaking system and additional ranking options.
Overall, while it may not be the best purchase for those who have already picked up both Dead or Alive 5 and Dead or Alive 5 Plus, this is nevertheless still a visually pleasing fighting game with enough gameplay opportunities to last a considerable time through single and multiplayer options. While I feel they have now reached their limit for the console installments for DOA5, I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this franchise.
