Fighters come in all shapes and sizescrossing from 2D to 3D depending on developer or even the franchise. Some fighters can only be faithfully represented in their respected dimension such as Street Fighter in 2D and Virtua Fighter in 3D. Nowadays, thanks to the advances in console hardware, 3D fighters have grown not with a dimensional increase, but with a physics engine capable of calculating bone structure, density, mass, muscle structure, and even hair folicles and volume that can react with every blow taken or given to or from an opponent. Dead or Alive 3 is a game that was meant specifically for these features and it uses them appropriately for one of the most beautiful fighters I have ever seen.
However, this doesn\'t make the game as great as it looks. I originally saw the game running in incomplete form about three months ago and I was worried about it being too much like it\'s predecessor, Dead or Alive 2 and now those fears have been unfairly justified. Unfair of course, to us gamers. Tecmo should take some cues from Capcom and rename their sequels with an extra word or two rather than increasing its number to a full blown sequel. Dead or Alive 2: Really Really Pretty would have been my personal pick for this one. Fortunately, the game has a fairly decent story and a graphical engine that is unamatched by all 3D fighters to date. However, like most fighters, stories only peek a players interest on your first run through and the graphics only amaze you after so long until you grow used to them and expect nothing less from them.
Although the gameplay is only changed slightly with subtle improvements with moves and health decreases from attacks recieved, the game is still too much like DOA2 to even warrant any high praise for its gameplay. Jan Lee is not as overpowered as he used to be in DOA2 and the fighters strengths are much more balanced taking the focus off the female fighters and placing on the general cast. Although I\'m sure most players will use the girls since they are fan favorites regardless. However, other then those minor improvements, the game is still the most beautifully shallow fighters I have ever played. Surely with the boasting that is recieved in interviews from Tecmo directors, we should have and expect in evolution in fighting that no one has ever seen or expected from a developer. Instead, we got DOA2: Really Really Pretty. In comparison to Virtua Fighter 4, it comes up shorter then a cheap brother or uncle at a Birthday party. I wouldn\'t go as far as saying it\'s as bad as Tekken 4, which I felt was a travesty, but it definitely can\'t touch Yu Suzuki in any capacity other then graphical flare.
Topic: Ryu\'s Dead or Alive 3 Impressions (Read 923 times)