Customer Reviews

Dead or Alive 3

5 star:		(108)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Sure, we've been spoiled recently with incredible graphics in fighting games. Tekken, on the Playstation 2, is one of my favorites, with its shimmering waters and floating leaves. It's pretty amazing that barely a year later, it's been blown out of the water!

First, I have to admit that the 'story mode' is very cheezy. Well, that's the same for any fighting game. You choose one of the many characters, choose an outfit, and jump into battles. Your person says a few words, the enemy says a few words, and they fight. With some good button-mashing, you can zip through any story in no time at all.

That's not what these games are built for, though. They're best when played multiplayer against a real human opponent! The story mode and other training modes are just to get you to learn the moves. And this is where it truly begins to shine! There are a variety of fighting styles represented in the game, and each one has a wide number of moves. They're truly amazing once you get them down, and the graphics are incredible. Their movements are smooth and fluid, from the slice of the hand to the bouncing of the pom-poms.

The backgrounds are true eye candy. There's a level where you're playing surrounded by aquariums, and even the floor you're on is the glass top of a fish tank! Another level has you fighting in the snow - and your feet mess up the snowdrifts! You can fight in a candle-surrounded room, with beautiful flickering fire, and knock them over with your opponent. Smash through a wall, and you're out on the roof! Roll off the roof, and you're down in the courtyard! It's truly like watching a fighting animation on tv, but you can control the action.

Half the fun is figuring out the secrets of each level. Can you smash through the trees? Can you throw your enemy through that plate glass window? The water splashes with each step you take, the electric fence zaps your enemy, the neon sign flickers as you fall against it.

This game definitely shows off the incredible capability of the X-Box, and is a must-have for anyone who loves fighting games. Even if you don't currently, this game might convince you why they're so much fun!

Okay, so we all know that Halo is the best Xbox game out there. But we need more then one game to play on our shiny new Xboxs right?

DOA3 is a sheep wrapped in wolf's clothing (well a very cool sheep anyways). I'm not the biggest fan of fighting games, but I found this title to be quite entertaining. From a purely gameplay standpoint it certainly holds up. Not the best fighting game in the world, but a damn solid one.

The really exceptional part about DOA3 is the graphics. Animation is smooth and fluid with breathtaking effects (yes I know it's an overused term, but the graphics really are amazing). This has to be the most graphically inspired game I have ever played. If your looking for a showpiece title, this one qualifies easily. The anime style characters are nice to look at, and the level design is borderline obsessive. Seriously, levels look confined at first until you knock your opponent out of a window and see them fall 100 feet to the ground and continue to fight.

If you like 3D fighting games or if your looking for a showpiece title then by all means pick this one up. However, its hardly a must have title. Lots of fun sure, but not nearly as much replay value as Halo. Of course nothing in my recent experience has the replay or fun factor of Halo but as far as a great looking 3D fighter goes this game rocks.

First off, fighting (kung-fu) games are not for everyone. The gameplay can get repetitive quickly, because basically all you do is punch the buttons in order to hit the other guy. Games like DOA 3 have characters with different fighting styles, but if you are not into fist fights, you'd better stay away and save the money for something else.

That said, DOA 3 is more alive on arrival than dead. In fact I think it's the best fighting game ever made. No, I don't get bought out by great graphics only, but one has to admit the graphics is simply breath-taking, and more so than any previous games on any previous consoles (plus GameCube). The background adds so much enjoyment to the overall gaming experience, and the smooth gameplay showcases the prowess of the Xbox system.

What I truly like is how much fun I have with the fightings. There are many characters to choose from and each one has his/her fascinating style. While I don't think you can learn kung fu this way, you are free to experiment with various styles. And it's even better when playing with friends.

In short, if you enjoy fighting games, this is *the* one to have.

The DOA series is notorious for 2 things... extremely gorgeous graphics in its backgrounds and its buxom fighting women. The fighting is smooth with some spectacular moves, but the gameplay mechanics remains to be a button-mashing game exactly as previous DOA incarnations. It carries the same flaws in its fighting engine that DOA2 had. The most notable of these flaws is the reversal system being implemented. While the reversal command is simple to do, there is no escape when an attack is countered and the resulting damage is still too much. However, as mentioned earlier, the gameplay often will degenerate into erratic button-mashing due to the game's fighting formula, meaning that even very practiced DOA players will fall more than periodically to a beginner who is just frantically hitting buttons.

The creator of this series, Itakagi, has traditionally focused less on gameplay though. DOA's strengths will lie in its incredible fighting stages and extremely well modeled characters.

DOA3 does take a step up in the graphics department compared to DOA2, but the innovation stops there. A few additional new characters, with unfortunately the same fighting engine.

So whether to buy this game really comes down to one thing...

Gamers who enjoy beautiful CGI girls, this is for you. If Itakagi were to take away this element from this fighting game, popularity would definately drop drastically. He knows what guys like though, given that Japan is famous for drawing seductive animated females.

Yet, if you're a serious gamer who wants a fighting game with depth in its gameplay... it would be much better to pass this up.

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 stars being the best)

Presentation ****
- Good loading times, cool attitude
Gameplay **
- Unimpressive fighting engine, haphazardly press buttons and still look like a good player
Graphics *****
- Excellent framerate, massive and beautiful environments, fluid character animation
Sound ****
- Very good soundtrack, cool voices, background noises are well implemented
Lasting Appeal **
- Multiple characters to play with, lack of solid gameplay will soon bore the more serious fighting gamers

(final rating at the top is not an average)

Dead or Alive 3 is in every way a superb game.

The graphics, needless to say, are THE most impressive ever seen for any fighting game on ANY console. This is eye candy at it's best, but also has much depth to it. The gameplay could not get better. Many people say that DOA3 is "masher friendly," that a "rookie can take on pros without practicing." Statements like those simply are not true. It has just as much depth as Tekken or Virtua Fighter. Veteran players can truly utilize the counter system and interactive objects instead of getting lucky like newbies do. Positioning, wall combos, wall throws, and "late" counters are just a few of the ways that veteran players can use to easily dispose of a "button masher".

Along with being truly 3D unlike Tekken, DOA3 also takes items like wall combos and multi-tiered stages to a whole new level. Some stages are so small that you can't help but send your opponent off a cliff or smashing into a wall. This really forces you to strategize against an experienced player and shows that this game does in fact require some strategy. But enough about gameplay.

I LOVED the music in DOA3. Now I'm no fan of Aerosmith, but the character themes are completley un-orthodoxed, but very original. I really liked Hitomi's theme as well as Lei-Fang's. The sound effects are crisp and ride nicely over the music. The one area DOA3 comes up short is, unfortunately, its replay value. There isn't much to unlock in DOA3 and a lot of players were expecting dozens of secrets like in number 2. But that just didn't happen. Still the reason I give DOA3 a perfect 5, despite it's lack of replay value, is because it REALLY didn't come up short in this category. The game already has a booster disc available (found on the demo disc in the June 2002 issue of OXM) with extra costumes for the characters, extra moves, and a new intro movie found in the Japanese version. What this means is that instead of having little or no replay value, DOA3 could have INFINITE replay value. And for a hardcore DOA fan like myself, it doesn't get any sweeter than that!

Pixel for pixel. Poly for poly. Dead or Alive 3 has NO short comings.

I ended up with DOA 3 since it was included with one of the XBox "packs". Fighting games never interested me so I was surprised that I initially found this game very enjoyable. Part of that enjoyment probably came from the graphics. Just about every other review has raved about them, and they are right. The graphics are great. On several occasions I found myself looking at the detail of the sets and not fighting.

However, once you've gotten past the eye candy you'll find there isn't too much there. Playing through the story mode is somewhat interesting since you learn a bit about each of the characters and get to see some cut scenes, but story mode is much too short (in terms of the number of fights) and the stories are laughable at best.

This game is worth having around to play against other people, as it is the only way it provides lasting entertainment. Other than that, it isn't worth keeping on the shelf. If you don't think you'll be playing against other people, go rent it for a couple days and enjoy the eye candy.

Like a kid in a candy store, I just can't have enough of DOA3. The game looks so sweet it makes my eyes ache. DOA3 has established itself as a formidable contender in the fighting game genre, along side with other great titles like Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and Street Fighter. This installment on the XBox IS the best looking fighter game currently available.

Graphics 10
Tecmo's Team Ninja has really showed off XBox graphics power with DOA3. I don't want to be repetitive, just let me say every graphical aspects of this game, i.e. character models, background, lighting, shadows, different effects, etc., are Perfect. Everything runs smoothly and beautifully. One thing worth mentioning is that XBox has great built-in anti-alias function. Most of other XBox games "look" and "feel" dull and blend because anti-alias blurs out sharp edges, so the 3D models don't "stand out" as much. Miraculously, Team Ninja utilizes this anti-alias technology discretely and make the proper things look "stands out" and others properly blended into the backgroud.

Sound 7.5
Music and Sound Effects are well done. I cannnot say I am impressed with the soundtrack, or that any of the sound effects are special. The game sounds good... I don't believe Team Ninja put too much emphasis on the sound department.

Gameplay 8.5
Button mashing? Skills? I do not think it is relevent. Like many other games, you can invest a fraction of you life and perfect those 200 chained combos and whatnot, or you can just button mash! The game does provide those 2 options. Which ever way you choose to play your game, most importantly is that it's fun!

Value 9
Not as many features to be unlocked like other installments, but it still has extra goodies to keep you interested in discovering the whole game. The Tag Team mode can be a whole new game by itself because the tag attacks are fun and very well done. The recent release of Add-Ons Discs for North America consumers adds even more costumes (quality costumes, not chessy ones) to the game. When you want some quick fighting action, you can always come back to DOA3... or when you are extremely lonely, you can always come back for Tina.

Overall 9
I really like this game. It is FUN, and BEAUTIFUL. It is definitely worth purchasing if you own an XBox. I don't usually recommend purchasing a game; however, this game is SO SWEET to look at that you should just buy and play the game on "Watch Mode" to show off to yourself and your neighbors =). With what they have accomplished so far with DOA3, I can't wait for the next Team Ninja title on XBox.

The xbox was shaping up to be another run of the mill gaming system until DOA3 was written for it. The game can be played at many levels.

First person games (such as HALO), unless you invest 10s of hours up front, suffer from a very steep learning curve so you can't really enjoy the game until you've reach a certain level of competence and dexterity with the controls. Not so with DOA3. The button combinations are plentiful enough so even a button masher like myself can have fun! I suggest activating the analog controls so you can use the joysticks to move around.

As you play the game, you gradually become familiar with the buttons and combinations so you actually become an expert without realizing it. It took my about 3 hours to master the basic moves and throws. At this time, I switched to the digital controls because it allows more precise and sophisticated combination hits.

The great thing about the game is that you can move up the learning curve at your own pace and have fun doing it. Finally, the game has a pretty sophisticated computer opponent that makes it increasingly challenging, which sustains the value of your investment in the console.

This is a good starter game for anyone who wants to enjoy the xbox, right out of the box. Microsoft should have simply bundled it with the system as it is a great demo game that will hook users fairly quickly.

Don't listen to people who own PS2 or NGC. They are just too jealous that Xbox has got a hard drive and they don't. Dead or Alive 3 is the best fighting game (in my opinion) ever that I have played! It has very realistic graphics the backgrounds are very well detailed and the people are lifelike! The movements such as punches,kicks,throws,and swings are much like what you do in Karate classes etc.They have a lot of modes to choose from and my favorite is the story mode where you fight all the way through stages with the other players until you get to Omega, the evil person, to fight with and he very hard to defeat, unless you have it on easy mode.Once you get through they play a little mini-movie about each character. They don't really make sense unless you read the book inside the cd box. Inside it holds a little bio of each character. I really suggest that you buy or rent it and enjoy playing it. I hope your kids or you will like cause I am really enjoying it right now! I am really sorry for the people who hate this BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO READ THE INSRUCTIONS!!!!!!!! It is a really cool game,DOA3 so buy it or rent it and please give it a chance cause it is really cool!!!
Thank You For Taking Advise From a 12 yr. old!
-Scatx

It's hard to say which is the best game out for Xbox. While Halo could arguably take the cake, it's Dead or Alive 3 that has the most playing hours logged in my Xbox.

This game has it all. The first thing you'll notice is the amazing graphics; easily the best of any fighting game to date. The animation is fluid and superb. The game play is simple and intuitive but at the same time complex enough so that even after several months you won't have mastered the game.

The game borrows much of it's fighting style and feel from Street Fighter II, and that's only a good thing. Blocking is acheived by an intuitive pull back method. The fighting is accomplished using four basic moves: punch, kick, throw, and counter. Other buttons are used, but they are basically just a combination of the four basic buttons. Variations of moves are accomplished by the direction or movement of the pad in combination with the button used for the basic move. For example, pushing forward and the punch button will cause you to do a different punch than say pushing backward and the punch button. Combinations are accomplished by correctly performing a sequence or certain moves.

The game also adopts sort of a "rock/paper/scissors" approach to fighting that I didn't realize until after playing the game for some time. Counter moves will beat attacks (kick/punch). Throws will beat counter moves. Attacks (kick/punch) will beat throws. Of course these moves don't automatically beat each other; it does take some skill by the player. But in general, learning how to do throws will help you out immensely against an opponent who seems to counter your every move.

DOA3 has many different game modes including story mode, team battle, survival, practice (very handy for learning all your moves), but it is tag battle where the game really shines. You can play tag battle by yourself or with up to a total of four players. Four player battle is definately the most fun. Not only do you have to know how to play your own character, but you also have to learn to work will with your partner. Tagging in or out at the wrong time can create disasterous results. While tagged our, your health slowly regenerates. Tagging in at the right time can allow you to perform devastating combo moves with your partner and can keep momentum in your teams favor.

I bought this game when Xbox came out and I'm no where near tired of it. It's one of those games that every owner of the system should own.