Dead or Alive 4

Has Team Ninja produced fighting game euphoria, or is DOA still plagued with little problems?

	Version Xbox 360	Developer Team Ninja	Publisher Tecmo	Genre Fighting

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It's also been widely publicized that the Spartan from the Halo universe is available in the game, and she kicks a ton of ass as well. All of her attacks do mind-numbing damage, and best of all, she's not as susceptible to damage as other characters are, since her armor makes her so heavy that she falls right through conventional combos. There are some great Halo-themed attacks in her arsenal too, including an active camouflage taunt, and a plasma grenade throw!

Obviously, the move to the X360 has been very beneficial for the Dead or Alive series. Despite claims that the characters still look the same, that's only true if you study their faces. However, taking into account the detail of their clothing, you can see that the difference is quite visible. The crown of Ryu's ninja hood shimmers with crevices, and Christie's black leather motif shines whenever it reflects light. Although for some reason the characters with long flowing hair - the hair just looks really glitchy next to everything else.

Some of the environments in the game are absolutely stunning. One stage in particular that comes to mind is Gambler's Paradise, which features hundreds of neon lights, fully detailed spectators, and random cars flying by on the street, which you can interact with. Another stage with similar properties is the Sahara, which is teeming with wildlife that not only views the action, but also gets involved in it too! Overall, this may look like a small upgrade in the visual department at first glance, but viewing the game in high definition will allow you to see the minute details that Team Ninja have added to make this game the best looking 360 title available, if not the best looking console game ever made.

Finally, the much-vaunted online capabilities of DOA4 far surpass anything that any other console company has done in the past. Let's forget about the fact that playing DOA4 online usually comes with minimal lag. Let's also forget that you have XBL-enabled voice chat. Let's focus on the lobby, shall we? Instead of the Virtual Arcade system that was in Dead or Alive Ultimate, the Lobby is essentially that; a place where you have your own avatar (be it a ninja, penguin or butterfly) and you can text or voice chat with other players if you don't feel up to playing a game.

Each avatar is completely customizable with items such as sunglasses and masks, and your Lobby is also customizable. When you first log online with DOA4, you're given your first Lobby for free, and every time you host a game, your Lobby becomes the meeting place where you can do just about whatever you want.

The features that were present in DOAU are still here. For example, you can do a Winner Stays match, where the winner of each match will stay for the next fight, or you can do Loser Stays, which is the complete opposite. There's also other modes like Kumite, which has one person fighting everyone in the entire arena. Essentially, there are two versions of DOA4; one is when you have great lag and great opponents, and the other is when you have terrible lag and even worse opponents. Hopefully your XBL friends list is big enough that the latter won't be a factor for you.

While Tekken, Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur fans love to rag on Dead or Alive for being "too button-mashy", there's no denying that for pure enjoyment and entertainment, DOA deserves to be mentioned in the same breath. While VF does get kudos for maintaining a very deep and proper ranking system, DOA has taken it further with XBL. Much further, in fact.

If we had to name any shortcomings, our only complaint would be directed towards the soundtrack, which isn't nearly as memorable as, say, Soul Calibur's top-notch score. We can only listen to Aerosmith so many times, Tecmo. How about next time, you get Bon Jovi instead?

This review is based on the Japanese version of the game as played on Japan's Xbox Live network.

Graphics Sound Gameplay Depth Presentation OVERALL 9.6 8.6 9.1 9.2 9.2 9.0

THE VERDICT: Dead or Alive 4 is probably your only reason for buying a 360 if you want to compete in a solidly built and innovative online experience. Nothing comes close to matching the kind of features that Tecmo has come up with for Xbox Live. While fighting games aren't as important as they were, say, ten years ago, the lush graphics and vastly improved gameplay should be enough for you to pick this up from day one.

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