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Dead Or Alive 2 for Dreamcast
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Dead Or Alive 2 for Dreamcast
69 reviews   4.23 of 5

Product Description

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Rating

Reviewed By


xino

 (lots)

Review Date
07/28/2005

Overall Rating

 4 of 5

Value Rating

 0 of 5

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2.00 of 5,
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Summary

this game is still SICK i don;t carem, you can compare this game with soul cailbure 2, and you will see half of sc2 odesn't have what doa2 has this game is great, get ready for Tag team

Sound

the sound isn't all that but still sounds good, sounds of explostion, knocking of building, things breaking, the music is crap, most of it is good, but still weak, i will compare this game with sc2, soul cailbure 2 sound 8/10 dead or alive 2 sound 6/10

Gameplay

the game play is nice, but the story is to short, at least this has more fmv than sc2, but sc2 has more gameplay cuz you can unlock lots of stuff, doa2, you can only unlock clothes and character, try the tag team, the tag team is the best cuz you can switch between character at the same time, which makes it really fast, sc2 doesnt have it, which makes it crap. the moves are damn great, you will notices how to perform them even if you don;t have the mauanl, sc2 on gamecube control is too easy, use the c -stick and you are doing lots of big move, that is to easy, it is for people who don't know how to play you can knock people of building, and cliffs, it isn't all that but, makes th game more exciteting, but sc2 you can only knock them inside water or out the ring which makes it to easy easy to jump onlike sc2, you have to hold down block/guard and press the up button (lame), soul cailbure 2 gameplay 9/10 dead or alive gameplay 7/10
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Summary

I wonder about the odds of anyone ever reading this, but here goes. DOA2: Limited Edition is the game people should play. Don't waste your time (ammo?) on the Metroids, the terrorists, the Covenant. Buy yourself a used DC--- which, for all my experience playing games is THE rare system that got missed--- go online, pay $10 for the Limited Version (henceforth DOA2:LE), and have fun. Because fun is what this game is ABOUT.

Can I say this game proves the DC is better hardware than the PS2? Yes. I just did. But enough superlatives and lets get to facts. The player models are lifelike yet acrobatic in movement and fighting, to the point where watching a fight is as fun as playing it. There are 12 fighters, which I'd say is about enough, and if anyone thinks Tekken 4 (yes, 4) is a better game for having more fighters, then that person should go back to SCHOOL. Move depth is where DOA2:LE is a masterpiece----and savvy players are rewarded for reversals, which can be pulled with ease after some experience.

This is a fighting game----and I will go out on a limb and declare that fighting games are inherently superior to other video games, or any type of game. Games are about challenge and combat, whether with cards, hidden objects, or government issued machinery. Thus at the basic heart of any game is competition. And a fighting game is the explicit depiction of human combat. DOA2:LE does that, but at a heightened tempo and energy that even surpasses THE XBOX VERSION DOA3 WHICH CAME LATER. Despite the added Xbox effects and razzle-dazzle, the DC DOA2:LE's control system better gratifies the adept player. This is somewhat due to the fact that the DC controller is better hardware than the Xbox's counterpart (which some could argue was modelled after the DC's... do I digress...).

Sound

The sound is interesting and effective enough. Since this is a fighting game, hits, smacks, and ground impact are the events that get heralded with a crunch (like the one Donovan McNabb must've heard yesterday. It hurt. I'm from Philly remember.) Voices/shouts sound good, they sound like speech, and the spoken Japanese is preferable for American players, because you CAN'T understand the inane dialog. Who cares about dialog in this game? (Who needs story? Story in ANY game? It's ridiculous to take ANY game's story seriously since it is separate from CONTROL INTERFACE, which is integral to gaming interactivity.) The sounds serve all that's needed and more would not benefit the game. The music is entertaining and lively, in some of the tracks, but I prefer to put on some Sister Machine Gun (Revolution 5.0 or Transient 5.2, thanks crandall) and rock the house.

Do me a favor: go see the thing I've been typing about for the last 2 hours here. It's as much fun as you need, really.

G out.

Gameplay

Back to where it's at: DOA2:LE is a sophisticated, visual see-saw of paper-scissors-rock. I'll explain that: if a player wants to hit the other, they can punch/kick. However, in DOA2:LE an opponent can reverse the attack with a simple button combo BUT WITH PRECISE TIMIMG (to be fair, other fighting games with weaker graphics *cough*VF4*ahem can excute similar moves). Reversal damage is greater, but an opponent who monopolizes reversals will get hit often, does not initiate attack, and is susceptible to throws. Thus, the paper-scissors-rock analogy translates to, in DOA2:LE, attack-reverse-throw.

Expert players are AS A RESULT DETERMINED BY THEIR ABILITY TO ANTICIPATE AND RESPOND TO THEIR OPPONENTS' BEHAVIOR. This game provides a challenging, competitive, and entertaining pastime. Controls are button/thumbstick presses, not overly complex, but players are rewarded for timing and cunning. Move research is also favorable and give one an edge (and when Kevin is in the known vicinity of Philly then you KNOW G's downloading Hayabusa's move list POST HASTE).

Whatever. Hit some buttons and smack each other in the face, what do I know.

There's tag (I'll assume you know what that means), and although DC DOA2:LE has one only one tag arena background, this doesn't detract from the fun that tag-fighting inspires. Tags are best executed during an attack, in which the tag-in figther continues the move combo, and extra swaps continue to rack up damage on an opponent (unless successfully reversed). What more do you NEED? The game is a gem and worth your time. Why play other games? Tinkering around a Liberty Vice City holds no long term amusement once you realize it's MEANINGLESS. But playing a friend at DOA2:LE becomes a personal SCORE--- everyone, not just YOU ALONE, remembers the record. Still can't believe I beat Kevin and he'll laugh when I say that, then tell me his Helena will kick my Kasumi and, well, you know how that goes.

(By the way, I'm the same G that wrote a GTA:VC review on this site.)

Oh but the only thing is: you can't play it online. "Well OF COURSE, G, it's a FIGHTING GAME." ... so why isn't there an online fighting game since X-BAND on the NES?? Did the government do that? Can anyone tell me? Did it happen in Japan? Where's the work on this? How about an ONLINE FIGHTING GAME, O BIG-THREE? ANYONE? BUELLER??

If there's a God out there, it'd pick DC DOA2:LE to go online. Okay, you can throw up now. Jeez.
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Sound

The sound in DoA is pretty well done. Voices and taunts occur at good times and the music really motivates you. The voices are all done in Japanese and you're forced to read subtitles. But this is probably better because most often American voice overs end up being sub par.

Gameplay

DoA is a 3D hand to hand combat fighter. Each character has a large number of moves including several different types of throws. The most intriguing feature is, however, a reversal button. When used with the direction pad, moves can be reversed fluidly and the tides of the match can turn. It's a great concept and it helps keep the game quick but it is not executed flawlessly. It just seems like the timing on the reverse is inconsistent. Sometimes you can be pretty far off and get it and other times you can be pretty close and not get it. Another minor fault with the game is that the CPU difficulty is also inconsistent. It seems like the match depends on how many times the CPU reverses you and that can vary tremendously. But I was willing to overlook these faults due to the Tag Battle mode. It's 2 on 2 one at a time. The transition between fighters is really quick and each battle is fast paced. DoA provides fast and fun gameplay but there are no extras to keep you coming back after the first few weeks.
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Summary

I'm not really someone who you would call a fighting game fanatic, but yes, I do have my moments. Being someone who will instantly pick up a great game, no matter what genre, this was one game that caught my eye.
When I recieved a Dreamcast for my birthday, I didn't really expect to be buying fighting games, or even a lot of any type of game, for that matter. I hadn't even heard of DOA before I popped in the demo disc that comes along with your system.
From the moment I played the demo, I instantly fell in love with this game. It had amazing graphics, gameplay, sound, and overall, it was FUN. And I had gotten that out of only something that was less than 40% of the game! Fortunately I came to my senses quick enough and got myself this great game (which is very rare in my area somewhere in the world). Ever since, I haven't been able to put it down, and I know it's going to be one of those games that doesn't leave your system for a couple of months.
Enough praise in my summary, now let's get to what I really like about this game.

Sound

The voices are exceptional, fitting most characters perfecty. Even the BGM matches up with characters when you fight them, like Vivaldi playing in the background when you go up against Helena. The music for the intro makes no sense in pertaining to the game, though.
Not much else to say here. I definitely reccomend DOA2 to anyone who owns a Dreamcast. This really is an awesome game!

Gameplay

Even though it's a fighting game, DOA2 is definitely NOT one of your usual run-of-the-mill button-mashers out there. Very quickly I found out that you actually have to know what you're doing to beat your opponents, and it took me a good 3 or four hours of practice to become relatively good. I'm still perfecting my skills now.
A satisfying attribute is being able to feel like you actually hit the person. When you land a punch to someone's face, it feels like you actually did it. Not to mention the opposition grabs their nose after you've broken it with your fist.
Another interesting aspect of this game is the counterattack feature. Knowing some of the other fighting games out there (now don't critisize me because I don't really play this genre too much other than for this game) I know that they play similar to a tennis game. Player 1 makes an attack while player 2 blocks, then player 2 attacks while player 1 blocks. It can go on back and forth for a while. But not on DOA2. By using the free button at just the right moment, you can counter your opponents' attack for a high amount of damage.
Some may retaliate by saying this makes the game too easy, but in fact, it doesn't. Using the free button at the imprecise moment can leave you vulnerable to attack, and you also have to see how your opponent is attacking, as well. Countering all depends on whether your opponent is doing a high, middle, or low attack, and you have watch closely to see what they're doing so you can counter them perfectly.
Executing moves is perfect, as well. The instant you press a button your character is already performing that move, so there's absolutely no lagging and you can make for faster, more vicious attacks with a quick tapping of a few buttons, making the game much less frustrating.
Another wonder is tag team mode. Now as I said before, I don't really play a lot of fighting games, but from what I've expereinced on DOA2, I'm amazed. Tag Team mode is sickeningly fast. As soon as you press the tag button the other character is instantly out, ready to fight. This exceedingly quick pace allows for loads of damage inflicted upon your unfortunate enemies by beginning combos and switching out characters at the right moments to continue the blows to string together an amazing amount of punches and kicks.
I must say that the story mode lacks a lot of depth, but everything else in the game compensates for this minute disappointment. Besides, I get a much bigger kick out of playing tag team.
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Summary

this is a really crappy fighting game. It's beautiful and looks great, but as far as gameplay goes I'd have to reccommend ANY other fighting game. On the DC, King of Fighters Evolution, Marvel vs Capcom 2, or Capcom vs SNK are all awesome 2D team fighters, and for 3D goodness it's a much better idea to check out that god of 3D fighting, Soul Calibur, or even the decent Fighting Vipers 2, than to waste time with this game. It's not that it's horrible so much as that there are games which are so much better.

As to things that draw me to fighters: the characters, plot, and funfactor (yeah, well, you can laugh but I come from an RPG background): the characters are few in number and they are all really boring. I just didn't care about any of them; so I got no vicarious thrill out of winning with them. (As opposed to Soul Calibur, which has twice as many characters, all of whom have a second form and a detailed history.) The plot, just like the characters, barely exists and kinda sucks. (But who expects a brainy plot from a fighter? Not me. But I expect it to at least be funny and bad, not just boring.) The openings and endings are boring, even the special ones. Lastly, the game, well, it's just not very fun. Down on three counts, no wonder I didn't like the game much.

Sound

It was completely forgettable, except that there are some very famous voice actors doing a few of the voices. Anyone who's seen Card Captor Sakura subtitled should recognize the voice of Sakura playing Kasumi, and Ein's voice is the same guy who did Heero Yuy in Gundam Wing and Zelgadis in Slayers. But to people who don't care about that (which I'm thinking is almost everyone) there's nothing special about the sound at all. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. It's nothing you'd remember for any reason at all after you stopped playing.

Gameplay

it's BORING. And random. This game is a sort of button masher, and perspective can be really annoying when you're trying to pull something off. Also, after playing a bunch of 2D fighters, this game feels incredibly slow. Everything took a long time to happen, including moving around the screen and doing all your moves; Soul Calibur feels this way to me too, but not nearly as much. And it's not planning time or anything; everything just happens slowly. I felt like my characters were walking through honey.

I do have to say playing in tag team mode against my friend was a hell of a lot more fun thsat regular mode, but it was still not all that great; plus I beat him with my button mashing, even though he's been playing fighters more seriously and longer than me. While that was kind of funny for me, it's obviously a weakness in the game. And unlike MvC2, which has the same kind of button mashing weakness, this game isn't so fun you'd keep playing and playing anyway.
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Summary

I love this game, I don't know why people bad mouth it. It has hardcore gameplay action filled with combos and excellent moves. The tag team mode is awsome but they should have added more stages to it. This game is one of the best fighting game I have ever played. I have Soul Calibur, Marvel vs Capcom2 and this and so far this has the most replay value. This game is total wicked, it has cool characters with each knowing different types of martial arts. This game has beautiful women (no I am not one of those sick perverted people) with beautiful graphics. The stages are one of the best features. You can actually knock people offplaces like a waterfall and the best part is you can jump down and still beat the crap out of the other character if he or she is still alive and you can also throw people through walls,fences, glass. The first time I played this game on the arcade was really fun. It became soo addictive I had to buy the game on dreamcast. It is really fun when your playing with a friend or just by yourself. The music is okay but the sound is aswome. The sound it makes when you your pucnching combos to the other charater or when you slam the person against the wall, its just wicked. I recommed this game to people who just like fighting game not people who are perverted (now thats just sick), get out of here!! You have to realize that this game isn't about button mashing (believe me this stuff doesn't work most of the time) its about skills as well. There are over 113 moves for each characters now thats alot, don't try to button mash your way out.
Even if the Sega Dreamcast is dead it will still have good games like this one. Latez
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