Dead or Alive 3

The Good
Being a fan of Dead or Alive 2, I knew what to expect from Dead or Alive 3. And in some ways I was right. The same type of fighting styles are here, a good thing, as too much change isn't the best. And although the best control system in my mind for a game like this came from the PS2, the X-Box controls are decent enough for a fighter, so I don't have any problems here.

Graphically, DoA3 is a stunner. Not from the overall presentation of the game, which is great of course. But from the amount of detail that has been placed onto the characters and backgrounds. My favorite level (and I'm sure many will agree) is the one filled with trees. Everytime you hit a tree, leaves fall down. And the wind blows the trees here and there while you fight. Now that's what I call detail. Characters too are just as detailed. Clothes move in the breeze and flap around the character has he/she moves, and the textures on characters faces seem to have more detail then DoA2 (especially hair effects).

The graphics take center stage, there is no doubt about that. I'm glad as well, since many of the other X-Box titles didn't even come close to using the consoles true power.

The Bad
Two key elements upset me. 1) I was always distracted from fighting while watching the leaves fall to the ground. 2) My eyes hurt from sitting too close to the TV while watching the leaves fall too the ground!).

Seriously, the only thing that I feel should be improved upon in the DoA series is extra features. It's fine to have the single player game and a few multiplayer options, but there really isn't that much to keep going with for a long period of time. Tekken, for example, always has hidden extras for you to work for (Tekken Bowl and plenty of characters). I think a few more things like that would help the series go even further.

The Bottom Line
The big test for Dead or Alive 3 will come from the opposition, namely Tekken 4 and Virtua Fighter 4. Both won't appear on the X-Box for the time being, so DoA3 stands as the best on the X-Box. As for the best fighter of all time, ask me again when the above are released.

A valuable purchase and an important step in the right direction for the series to compete with long time challengers.

The Good
The graphics are gorgeous, the animations and fighting styles are so fluent. Back when I got Mortal Kombat for my Super Nintendo, I never thought I'd live to see the day when graphics would be this good.

The gameplay is pretty standard, and addicting. The music and sound effects are excellent as well. There's a lot to keep you entertained for a long time, tons of different modes, a good selection of characters, a few secrets, and hundreds of moves.

The Bad
The game is real easy to wear out. After all the secrets are found, and you've unlocked every last thing, you don't really have a reason to play anymore. You've seen every move, and very little will surprise you after that point.

One thing I disliked was how the female costumes were designed. Almost every costume is slutty, and exposes a little too much for fighting.

Not directly related to the game, but I also found their advertising misleading when the game first came around. It showed only female characters fighting, and would ocassionaly cut to a couple of nerds making comments. I refused to buy the game, because I was under the impression it only had half-naked ninja women fighting each other.

The Bottom Line
Despite the sexually referenced advertising, and half-naked female character costumes, Dead or Alive 3 is a great fighting game. The graphics are beautifully done, and the game is highly addictive. The game does get boring down the line, so you may want to rent it before you buy. It's definately going to set a new standard for fighting games.

The Good
The first thing that you notice when you insert the game into your XBox is the absolutely stunning graphics. This title really shows off the power of the XBox, and puts other titles to shame. Another cool thing is that the arenas are interactive, and many have multiple levels, for example, when fighting in the DOATEC building, if you are hit hard enough in the proximity of a window, you will go flying through the window, sometimes shorting out the neon sign as you fall down, the fight then continues in the street. The characters themselves are very detailed, clothes and hair move in the wind, the animation is very realistic, and there is a good range of moves for the characters. There are a few different modes of play, survival, versus, tag-team, and story mode. There is also a sparring mode that has a very helpful onscreen display of your button presses. The computer AI is fairly tricky and is quite the challenge on the higher difficulties.

The Bad
The soundtrack is generic and repetitive, as are most of the sounds. The split-second countering that is often necessary can be frustrating to learn, a tutorial mode would have been very helpful. This title could also be much better if they included more modes, and extra costumes and characters, they can certainly fit it all onto a DVD. These are small quibbles, though, and shouldn't keep you from playing this stunningly beautiful fighter.

The Bottom Line
A great looking, fun, fighting game that shouldn't be missed.

The Good
Let me get this out right off the bat. The graphics are awesome. Incredible. Breathtaking. Everything from the character models to the animations to the backgrounds are absolutely flawless. I couldn't find anything wrong with them... and trust me, I tried. Definitely one of the best games, graphics-wise, for the xbox to date... including all the titles that have been released recently. If they could make games that looked this good for FIRST generation titles, why do most of the second and third generation titles look like mocked up PS2 games? Huh? ANSWER ME THAT, MICROSOFT! ahem. Moving on. The frame-rate is good, too. I haven't seen this game slow down once. I had some pretty serious multi-player tournament fights going on... and, the load times were fantastic. Only... a couple times, when explosions happened did the game stutter quite noticeably, but... it was excusable.
The characters and their fighting personalities are wonderful. My personal favorite was Brad Wong, the drunken master. Absolutely loved that guy ;) The sound was... well, it was japanese, but it sounded good to me. There were some cool fighting options too, like the tag-team fighting tournaments. Also, the ending scenes were some of the most beautiful I've ever seen in a fighting game. Definitely top notch stuff here. Oh yeah... back to the environments... I forgot to mention (although most people know about it) the ability to throw your opponents through walls, off cliffs/roofs, into electric fences, and whatnot. That was definitely a lot of fun.

The Bad
Well... the music was pretty lame, i hate to say it... but, the action was so intense, it didn't really matter.
I also didn't really like the lack of options in the game. Like someone else mentioned, Tekken has a ton of fighting options in the game, and that's where DOA3 is lacking. It has the bare bones essentials and the tag team fights... and that's IT.
Also... the game is a bit short. Even on the most difficult setting, it won't take you long to beat the entire game with every single character. And the unlockable secrets aren't really enough to keep you playing for extended periods of time. Even your friends are going to get sick of getting their asses kicked after a while. Also... some of the endings just made me go "huh? what the hell was that?", as there is almost NO speech in any of them... and it can be difficult to understand what they were trying to explain in it. But you weren't playing it for the storyline, now were you?

The Bottom Line
The best fighting game for the X-Box... and definitely has the potential to be one of the best fighting games period. There are tons of moves for you to learn, lots of fun characters to use... and plenty of interesting (and beautiful) environments to play with them in. But, as far as longevity goes... this game is somewhat lacking. Sure, it'll be fun for a while... but, after a (fairly short) while, it gets tired.

The Good
In one word: Excellent! This game (like most other Xbox) is graphically perfect, all the exciting elements from DoA and DoA 2 are there, and what makes this game the best of the series? The new multiplayer options, the new fighting moves, and the ultimate reason, it's on the Xbox! The most powerful console!

The Bad
Nothing At all, no problems, nothing, dry as a desert!

The Bottom Line
Excellent, buy it or go play it at some pay per play shop! Play it! 10/10