http://www.rc4systems.net/Ben/09Apr2004-Ben/img_1956.jpg
upper left, the one the the folks at Blockbuster covered with barcodes and stickers
I've been looking for a good fighting game ever since me and my friend played fifty-six rounds in a row on the multiplayer sparring mode on Enter the Matrix. Since I already owned the demo to DoA's sequel (which was quite good) and had read a positive review for it on another gaming site, I decided to buy it.
The fighting system to DoA is pretty solid; block or attack at the right time to overcome your opponent. Fighting styles vary depending upon who you use. There are no ring outs, but if you fall while outside the designated boundaries your fall is accompanied by a health-dwindling explosion.
As for the graphics; the characters themselves look great for something on the PS1. And those clever folks at Tecmo were careful to keep the camera a respectable distance from the characters, so as not to zoom in on the pixelatedness. Unfortunately, the enviroments don't look quite so impressive. The ground is completely flat, and the backgrounds are scaling 2-D pictures. While some arenas, such as the beach and mountain areas look pretty convincing, others, like the city and dojo arenas just look fake. And there's a little problem with the female characters -- something I think I'd have trouble verbally describing without sounding rude -- that you'd think the guys at Tecmo would have the sense to fix. Fortunately, as it is in most cases, the graphics don't hurt the gameplay.
The music is dull. Some of the voice samples sound like they were taken off an old, scratchy movie, sound-quality wise. When Bayman pops his fingers it sounds like two bricks being clunked together; totally fake. The audio isn't exactly this game's strong point.
All in all, Dead or Alive can provide some good technical fighting fun for a while, but eventually gets kinda boring. I'd recommend getting one of it's sequels instead (DoA 2 for Sega Dreamcast, DoA 3 for XBox), but if you see the original for five bucks or less, go for it.
upper left, the one the the folks at Blockbuster covered with barcodes and stickers
I've been looking for a good fighting game ever since me and my friend played fifty-six rounds in a row on the multiplayer sparring mode on Enter the Matrix. Since I already owned the demo to DoA's sequel (which was quite good) and had read a positive review for it on another gaming site, I decided to buy it.
The fighting system to DoA is pretty solid; block or attack at the right time to overcome your opponent. Fighting styles vary depending upon who you use. There are no ring outs, but if you fall while outside the designated boundaries your fall is accompanied by a health-dwindling explosion.
As for the graphics; the characters themselves look great for something on the PS1. And those clever folks at Tecmo were careful to keep the camera a respectable distance from the characters, so as not to zoom in on the pixelatedness. Unfortunately, the enviroments don't look quite so impressive. The ground is completely flat, and the backgrounds are scaling 2-D pictures. While some arenas, such as the beach and mountain areas look pretty convincing, others, like the city and dojo arenas just look fake. And there's a little problem with the female characters -- something I think I'd have trouble verbally describing without sounding rude -- that you'd think the guys at Tecmo would have the sense to fix. Fortunately, as it is in most cases, the graphics don't hurt the gameplay.
The music is dull. Some of the voice samples sound like they were taken off an old, scratchy movie, sound-quality wise. When Bayman pops his fingers it sounds like two bricks being clunked together; totally fake. The audio isn't exactly this game's strong point.
All in all, Dead or Alive can provide some good technical fighting fun for a while, but eventually gets kinda boring. I'd recommend getting one of it's sequels instead (DoA 2 for Sega Dreamcast, DoA 3 for XBox), but if you see the original for five bucks or less, go for it.
