Dead or Alive 2 (Ultimate)

Reviewed by Andrew Clark
September 7, 2006

Developer: Team Ninja Publisher: Tecmo Platforms: Xbox (DOA Ultimate), Dreamcast, Playstation 2 (DOA 2 Hardcore) Players: 1 - 4 ESRB Rating: M for Mature Website: Click Here

Screenshot from Dead or Alive Ultimate. Courtesy Microsoft. Click image to enlarge.

Dead or Alive 2 started out as an arcade game in 1999. Since then it has been ported to three separate systems. The first came in 2000 when it was ported to the Dreamcast, the second came in 2000 again when it was ported to the PS2 as Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore . The last was in 2004 when it was put on the Xbox as Dead or Alive Ultimate . When DOA went to the PS2 it carried a game play change that allowed you to sidestep without having to hold the free button, and it also had more costumes and updated graphics. The Xbox title carried a huge upgrade in the graphics department; a lot more costumes added, along with online play, and a character from DOA 3 was added. Also, the game play changed in that the mid counter attack was replaced by separate counters for mid kicks and mid punches. This didn't go over well at first, but in the end, added more strategy to the game. The music for the game has remained the same over all the different ports, and the voices have also remained fairly similar, along with what they say. On the other hand, the stages have been changed from game to game as Ultimate has more stages then the others as well as a few new ones.

Dead or Alive has always had some great game play features. One such feature is the tag system. The tag system allows you to choose two characters and switch them in-and-out at lightning speed, which can lead to insanely long juggle strings. These tend to be fun if you are the one that is not being juggled, so to avoid this, most people will stick with singles. Another thing that DOA is well known for is its counter system, which has come a long way over the years and has developed quite nicely. In the first game, the counter system was one button that countered all. Then developers made it more advanced in that you have three counters, a counter for high attacks, low attacks, and mid attacks. In DOAU they decided to add one more counter, the mid kick counter. This angered some fans at first but has made the game a little deeper and changed attack strategy for the better.

Being that DOA is a fighting game, it has high replay value. In my personal opinion the newest version for Xbox is the best since it has an online mode. With this feature you can play other people and really improve your game; just make sure that you aren't afraid of a little trash talk. Also, since the game is kind of old you can usually buy both the PS2 and Dreamcast versions for less than $10 used, and buy Ultimate for $20 brand new.

This game is an easy fighter to learn but takes some practice to master. As with any fighting game, it is something worth buying and having in your collection since you and your friends can play it from time to time and do online challenges as well. It's a 3D fighter with great sound and graphics. DOA is a great icebreaker and the prices have gone down making this a worthwhile game to have.