Dead or Alive 5 Review

Encaen

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Dead or Alive 5 Review

The mechanics stand out, though the story entertains on a basic level.

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Crimson_Dragoon

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The story can be fun at times, but it might as well be arcade mode for as much sense most of these fights make. Take some of the earliest fights, in Kasumi's chapter, for example. One minute you're in New York fighting Lisa, the next you're in the Arctic fighting Bowman, with no rhyme or reason as to why you're in either of these places or fighting these people. It comes off as extremely disjointed, as opposed to Mortal Kombat's story mode, which had the same idea, but much, much better done.

Also, while the challenges are great, the timeline mode (which shows you all the missions in story mode) doesn't tell you which fights you've completed the challenge for and which you haven't, so its really annoying to go back and complete ones you failed. It seems like a stupid oversight.

But still, the fighting mechanics are fantastic, and when it comes down to it, that's the most important thing.
 

Swyftstar

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"Despite the misappropriation of cleavage..."

That may be my favorite turn of phrase and way to describe unrealistic women in videogames ever. I'm really fighting getting this game as I tend to tire of fighting games rather quickly and it would seem like a waste of money in the end, but I really want to play it. Maybe I'll gamefly it.
 

theultimateend

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Swyftstar said:
"Despite the misappropriation of cleavage..."

That may be my favorite turn of phrase and way to describe unrealistic women in videogames ever. I'm really fighting getting this game as I tend to tire of fighting games rather quickly and it would seem like a waste of money in the end, but I really want to play it. Maybe I'll gamefly it.
You should :). DOA is probably my favorite fighting game series, its one of the few that feels to me like I'm actually thinking about my actions instead of rushing to the end of the life bar.

Personally speaking of course.
 
Sep 24, 2008
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... Tekken style button mashing.

Wow.

Just.. ok. I will not call the reviewers' gaming pedigree into question. I will just take future reviews with a grain of salt.
 

Yossarian1507

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DoA 5
Crimson_Dragoon said:
The story can be fun at times, but it might as well be arcade mode for as much sense most of these fights make. Take some of the earliest fights, in Kasumi's chapter, for example. One minute you're in New York fighting Lisa, the next you're in the Arctic fighting Bowman, with no rhyme or reason as to why you're in either of these places or fighting these people. It comes off as extremely disjointed, as opposed to Mortal Kombat's story mode, which had the same idea, but much, much better done.
Quoted for truth. In MK, the narrative managed to make crappy story enjoyable. In this case... It made bad plot even worse. Also, I can forgive and/or come up with reasonable explanations for most plot holes/illogicalities in most work of fiction, but in this case, it's just impossible. I mean...

Why the hell Rig suddenly turns out to be evil? Okay, he is a supervisor on a platform, where a lot of bad things happen, so it's reasonable to suspect he's involved. But then, out of fucking nowhere, during last few missions he looks and sounds like he's the evil mastermind behind all of this. Why? What's his motive?

Also, what the hell is going on with Kasumi being killed by Ayane and Hayate halfway through, only so we can learn, that it was fake Kasumi, while the real one was somewhere else all the time... Training? Meditating? WTF? I didn't play previous games, are there any clones involved in the DoA storyline?

Gameplay wise - yeah, it's fine. It's way too easy stun your opponent and then proceed with a combo for 3/4 of his life, which is pretty annoying, but otherwise the system works well.

Okay, maybe one more nitpick. For such a rock-paper-scissor fighting system, holds are WAY too difficult to perform correctly, so unless you want to spend hours in the practice mode, then take a good striking character, because otherwise you are a toast (Christie and Rig are nigh unstoppable if opponent isn't at least good with performing holds).

In my personal ranking, I would put it somewhere in the middle of the pack, behind Tekken, Blaz Blue and MK, but before Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur (I'm judging only the latest installments of the series).
 

Paragon Fury

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Jan 23, 2009
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Ah...the return of my favorite (and possibly the best) fighting series. I had to fight with Gamestop for 4 freaking weeks, but I finally have it.

Its definitely great - though they made the window for counters much harder to hit than in previous DoAs.

I'm also disappointed by the lack of costumes for many characters too.....but that is a minor point.
 

Icehearted

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ObsidianJones said:
... Tekken style button mashing.

Wow.

Just.. ok. I will not call the reviewers' gaming pedigree into question. I will just take future reviews with a grain of salt.
Bah! I remember spending weeks playing Tekken 2 and 3, learning every nuance, every combo, every juggle, everything, I even mastered some of the less friendly characters. Then I watched all I knew be undone by kids that just mashed buttons. They say to be the best means even being able to defeat a button masher, I say untrue. I blame the games for that shortcoming though, something wrong with a game that practically plays itself for you if you just push buttons really fast. DOA or any game with a good combo/counter system is better, but I understand how you feel. Tekken's combo system was better, but the counter system was never as deep (DOA is a fast counter bonanza, Tekken felt like a stuffy Judo class they way they handled it).
 

RJ 17

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theultimateend said:
Swyftstar said:
"Despite the misappropriation of cleavage..."

That may be my favorite turn of phrase and way to describe unrealistic women in videogames ever. I'm really fighting getting this game as I tend to tire of fighting games rather quickly and it would seem like a waste of money in the end, but I really want to play it. Maybe I'll gamefly it.
You should :). DOA is probably my favorite fighting game series, its one of the few that feels to me like I'm actually thinking about my actions instead of rushing to the end of the life bar.

Personally speaking of course.
I second this. As the review desribes: it seems like most fighting games these days are just combo memorization and super-move animations. That or they're like Soul Calibur in which everyone online finds a character with one cheap spammable move and just does it over and over until they win.

This game actually forces you to mix things up. You have to mix throws and counters into your attacks or you'll find yourself getting thrown and countered yourself.

Yossarian1507 said:
Pretty mmuch what Robert said. There are a few hints as to Rig's background, with Christie talking about how much he's grown, and him mentioning that he's ALWAYS been on that oil-rig......which is on top of a top-secret cloning lab.

And indeed, DoA4 ends with a fight against a green, transluscent Kasumi clone....and god DAMNIT was that ***** a pain in the ass to beat. Rapid, almost non-stop teleporting followed by obscenely powerful throws, counters, and standard attacks. Pretty much the only way I ever beat her was by using each character's power attack. It didn't cut to a special animation like it does in this game, but it knocked her away and that means she wasn't pounding my face in......literally.
 

StriderShinryu

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I can't say I'm overly impressed with this review. Opinions I disagreee with aside, there's just something lacking in the writing. There's no snap or style to it, it reads just like the sort of review one would do for a personal website 15 years ago, right down to the markedly clear rating categories. It is, however, always nice to actually see a fighting game review on The Escapist by someone who does seem to have some grasp on the genre.

Icehearted said:
ObsidianJones said:
... Tekken style button mashing.

Wow.

Just.. ok. I will not call the reviewers' gaming pedigree into question. I will just take future reviews with a grain of salt.
Bah! I remember spending weeks playing Tekken 2 and 3, learning every nuance, every combo, every juggle, everything, I even mastered some of the less friendly characters. Then I watched all I knew be undone by kids that just mashed buttons. They say to be the best means even being able to defeat a button masher, I say untrue. I blame the games for that shortcoming though, something wrong with a game that practically plays itself for you if you just push buttons really fast. DOA or any game with a good combo/counter system is better, but I understand how you feel. Tekken's combo system was better, but the counter system was never as deep (DOA is a fast counter bonanza, Tekken felt like a stuffy Judo class they way they handled it).
This just sounds like you fell into one of the most common traps when it comes to learning fighting games, especially ones with the sort of up front complexity of Tekken. You see a move list or a bunch of fancy combos (not helped by most fighting games calling impractical combo practice by the name of training) and you develop the mindset that that's all there is to the game. Then, when faced with an actual human opponent who fights back and, especially in the case of a button masher, possibly does some pretty erratic things, none of what you trained yourself to do works. That's not a fault of the game, a lack of depth or being too masher friendly, it's a lack of real skill and knowledge in you the player. Playing fighting games at anything above a beginners level is as much about playing your opponent and their character as it is about being able to do things with your own. Put simply, if you were really as good and knowledgable as you thought you were, you wouldn't lose to someone who was just mashing or spamming moves. This goes for Tekken, Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, KOF, etc. Basically, any well designed modern fighter and most of the old ones too.
 

Negatempest

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StriderShinryu said:
I can't say I'm overly impressed with this review. Opinions I disagreee with aside, there's just something lacking in the writing. There's no snap or style to it, it reads just like the sort of review one would do for a personal website 15 years ago, right down to the markedly clear rating categories. It is, however, always nice to actually see a fighting game review on The Escapist by someone who does seem to have some grasp on the genre.

Icehearted said:
ObsidianJones said:
... Tekken style button mashing.

Wow.

Just.. ok. I will not call the reviewers' gaming pedigree into question. I will just take future reviews with a grain of salt.
Bah! I remember spending weeks playing Tekken 2 and 3, learning every nuance, every combo, every juggle, everything, I even mastered some of the less friendly characters. Then I watched all I knew be undone by kids that just mashed buttons. They say to be the best means even being able to defeat a button masher, I say untrue. I blame the games for that shortcoming though, something wrong with a game that practically plays itself for you if you just push buttons really fast. DOA or any game with a good combo/counter system is better, but I understand how you feel. Tekken's combo system was better, but the counter system was never as deep (DOA is a fast counter bonanza, Tekken felt like a stuffy Judo class they way they handled it).
This just sounds like you fell into one of the most common traps when it comes to learning fighting games, especially ones with the sort of up front complexity of Tekken. You see a move list or a bunch of fancy combos (not helped by most fighting games calling impractical combo practice by the name of training) and you develop the mindset that that's all there is to the game. Then, when faced with an actual human opponent who fights back and, especially in the case of a button masher, possibly does some pretty erratic things, none of what you trained yourself to do works. That's not a fault of the game, a lack of depth or being too masher friendly, it's a lack of real skill and knowledge in you the player. Playing fighting games at anything above a beginners level is as much about playing your opponent and their character as it is about being able to do things with your own. Put simply, if you were really as good and knowledgable as you thought you were, you wouldn't lose to someone who was just mashing or spamming moves. This goes for Tekken, Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, KOF, etc. Basically, any well designed modern fighter and most of the old ones too.
Up, sorry. But no. This is not a time for, "L2P" advice. I have played Tekken 6 online and can say it's sucks alot. When a player essentially spams the same combo that continues to bounce the opponent again and again, that is not skill. That is exploiting a system. Especially if there is nothing you can do to retaliate. The next best game I can think of that can counter "spam a combo" tactic of current fighting games was Tatsunoko X Capcom. Where you can spend a power meter to force the opponent to stop their combo. Spamming unstoppable combos, once they start, does not make you a better fighter, just one exploiting a weakness in game mechanic. Unless you like watching your avatar/fighter take hits with no method of retaliation.
 

Icehearted

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StriderShinryu said:
I can't say I'm overly impressed with this review. Opinions I disagreee with aside, there's just something lacking in the writing. There's no snap or style to it, it reads just like the sort of review one would do for a personal website 15 years ago, right down to the markedly clear rating categories. It is, however, always nice to actually see a fighting game review on The Escapist by someone who does seem to have some grasp on the genre.

Icehearted said:
ObsidianJones said:
... Tekken style button mashing.

Wow.

Just.. ok. I will not call the reviewers' gaming pedigree into question. I will just take future reviews with a grain of salt.
Bah! I remember spending weeks playing Tekken 2 and 3, learning every nuance, every combo, every juggle, everything, I even mastered some of the less friendly characters. Then I watched all I knew be undone by kids that just mashed buttons. They say to be the best means even being able to defeat a button masher, I say untrue. I blame the games for that shortcoming though, something wrong with a game that practically plays itself for you if you just push buttons really fast. DOA or any game with a good combo/counter system is better, but I understand how you feel. Tekken's combo system was better, but the counter system was never as deep (DOA is a fast counter bonanza, Tekken felt like a stuffy Judo class they way they handled it).

This just sounds like you fell into one of the most common traps when it comes to learning fighting games, especially ones with the sort of up front complexity of Tekken. You see a move list or a bunch of fancy combos (not helped by most fighting games calling impractical combo practice by the name of training) and you develop the mindset that that's all there is to the game. Then, when faced with an actual human opponent who fights back and, especially in the case of a button masher, possibly does some pretty erratic things, none of what you trained yourself to do works. That's not a fault of the game, a lack of depth or being too masher friendly, it's a lack of real skill and knowledge in you the player. Playing fighting games at anything above a beginners level is as much about playing your opponent and their character as it is about being able to do things with your own. Put simply, if you were really as good and knowledgable as you thought you were, you wouldn't lose to someone who was just mashing or spamming moves. This goes for Tekken, Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, KOF, etc. Basically, any well designed modern fighter and most of the old ones too.
You make a good argument, but that wasn't quite what happened. My moves were not merely rigid combos or predefined methods, I don't believe I was thinking in a linear way about this. I tried to stay flexible, to improvise, but I was roundly beaten regardless of knowing which punches were faster or attacks had more range, or having near computer perfect timing with my counters. I genuinely believe I didn't over-think things or over complicate my techniques. Maybe I did miss something, I don't know, but it was a hell of a thing to experience. I learned more than anything that a more basic RPS style game was better balanced, largely because you can't get away with that nearly as well. Tiger/Eddy demonstrates the problem I have with the series perfectly. Yes, it takes skill and practice to really know what you are doing, but hand anyone a stick and they'll look like a combo-busting pro to the untrained eye. Can't do that with Street Fighter II or KOF, and to a lesser extend DOA (though admittedly it's easier with 2D than 3D imo).

Honestly my idea of the perfect 3D fighter is still Soul Calibur and Soul Calibur 2. This is merely a preference on my part though.
 

Username Redacted

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ObsidianJones said:
... Tekken style button mashing.

Wow.

Just.. ok. I will not call the reviewers' gaming pedigree into question. I will just take future reviews with a grain of salt.
I judge reviews of fighting games based on how much (should be little to none) time is spent harping on the story mode (here DoA gets a slight pass as story mode doubles as a decent tutorial), a discussion of gameplay modes available, an evaluation of how good (or bad) the online play is AND most importantly: how robust is the training mode. Based on those criteria the review here is...lacking. One of the better olde school Tekken players in North America is from Northern Virginia and I've never heard him or anyone from his playgroup refer to how Tekken plays as anything resembling button mashing.
 

MaxwellMouse

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I'm no Tekken Player but I'll even admit that DOA is a more button masher friendly game than Tekken. That is the nature of the stun system in DOA. Yes you can counter moves but how can you counter something when the opponent is throwing out random attacks cause they don't understand which ones are the best.
 
Sep 24, 2008
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NameIsRobertPaulson said:
MaxwellMouse said:
I'm no Tekken Player but I'll even admit that DOA is a more button masher friendly game than Tekken. That is the nature of the stun system in DOA. Yes you can counter moves but how can you counter something when the opponent is throwing out random attacks cause they don't understand which ones are the best.
You attempt to mash buttons in DOA, you will get thrown around the ring. The list of possible attacks aren't nearly as random as you think. There are a very limited selection of position starts unless you specifially select the ones you are looking for.

Example: My favorite character Christie. If you just mash the punches, the first five hits of that string are medium punches. With Christie's low stun on hit, that's four chances for your opponent to counter, on just your first wave. Mash kicks? All high kicks for the first two hits. That's why I have to take care to change my attack style after every exchange so I'm not predictable.

Meanwhile in Tekken, if I fail to block Bob's overhead on first hit, I'm gonna get juggled for over half my life. More if there happened to be a wall nearby. If I don't stop Jin's axe kick, same thing. I lose half my life. That's not balance.
For your last part, I could say the same about the DOA's I've played in the past. I don't know if it has that much to do with balance.

I think we need to start from neutral. Can we define Button Mashing? I personally take it as a character that if you just tap a few buttons in rapid succession, you have a legitimate chance of winning against anyone. It will hard to call DOA a button masher because in my experience, people are just waiting for someone else to throw a move so they can counter it. Strikes seem to be there to bait out your opponent's strikes so you can counter and then throw.

A good definition of a character that button mashes is Eddy Gordo. Yes, he's from the Tekken series. I consider him low tier, most people who play the game consider him low tier because he's the essence of button mashing. However, it makes sense with his martial art (Capoeira) so we generally hand wave it.

You can not do that with most other characters. Tapping anything other than precise buttons with the according joystick movements will net you a character that will throw a punch or a kick that takes a good time to recover from. You need to be aware of your move list, where the ending attack will lead you, how exposed you'd be, what position you'll end up in (some moves leave you laying on the ground, some others turn your back to the opponent), and etc. Anyone who just button mashes in Tekken and thinks it will cause them to win does not understand their Character (unless it's Eddy) nor the game.