Dead or Alive 2

Release Date: October 16, 1999

Back Story

Tecmo, the company best known for bringing us Monster Rancher, first assaulted our senses with Dead Or Alive on the PSone and proved the game was more than a stopgap until the arrival of Tekken 3 with its phenomenal speed. This was then followed up on Dreamcast where it was received just as well. Then the PS2 got in on the act and what you see before you is the review of a enhanced conversion of the NTCS version (Dead Or Alive 2 Hardcore).

Choice. Everyday we're spoiled with so much choice, and indeed the resulting decision-making process that comes after it. Willingly or otherwise we're constantly flipping the coin of life, trying to determine which course our fates should meander down but we occasionally get decisions wrong Jamie Oliver and television anybody? That’s why, instead of charging down to the shops, a fist full of scrunched up sweat-soaked tenners feverishly spilling onto the counter for a copy of Tekken Tag, we can sit back for a minute and take stock. There may just be an alternative.

Dead Or Alive 2: It’s big, top-heavy and in your face. Hang on a minute...

Dead Or Alive 2 was first seen flaunting its stuff on the Dreamcast. This was long before the beloved black box was revealed and PSone owners were worrying whether Sony's next gen console could live up to this. The game was dazzling, a real treat for the senses and owners of said hedgehoginfested console gloated. A choice was made though, and the decision to bring DOA2 to the glory of the PS2 was far more than a cunning ploy to fill purses with pennies. It was a statement. It was a sign of confidence. Yes, Tekken rules supreme but surely, by DOA2’s very existence it has to be something of a contender.

The first, most obvious and least worthy point to make about Dead Or Alive 2 is the mammary factor. Breasts are enlarged to stupid proportions, bounce with ludicrous frequency and there's even a gallery of scintillating snaps to ogle over. Once you look beyond these dubious ‘assets’ to the game you see that boobs aren't actually needed

as a selling point of quality that lays beneath. Dead Or Alive 2 is a pantomime, no question,

but it’s a quality pantomime. Whereas Tekken prides itself on realism (Ogres, Devils and Dinosaurs excluded} DOA2 relishes being flamboyant. Fighting styles are the strangest you're likely to encounter. There are no specific disciplines at work here, just a collection of elasticated bodies thrashing around under the pretence of being affiliated to a certain school of martial art. Legs are contorted a hundred ways around necks, fists crash like steam trains into people’s snouts and then the fighters stick two fingers up to the principles of gravity and ‘Peter Pan’ themselves across the screen. At best it's

poetic, at worst they look like drunken marionettes.

But it’s the speed at which such leg bending tomfoolery takes places that is both DOA2’s main attraction and, oddly, its Achilles’ heel. Fighters are considerably faster than their Tekken counterparts and make the King Of The Iron Fist Tournament look slovenly in comparison. You can string a plethora of combos together creating a blistering array of attacks, hurl opponents from rooftops, crash them through scenery, back-flip, scissor kick, corkscrew, eye gouge, nipple twist, Chinese burn... you name it. But all this grandiose scrapping is easily obtainable no matter what your competence. Whereas Tekken relies on hours of combo mastering, DOA2 has the following: punch button, one of; kick button, one of: throw button, one of and block button. one of. Without skill or raining you can win and that isn’t good. Reportedly there are close to 100 moves per character and we did manage to unearth many of the acrobatic assaults. However, achieving this was a seriously challenging feat as you'll find out a little later on.

HIT BACK

Despite the dumbed-down feel from DOA2’s control system, it does have a unique feather in its cap. It places heavy emphasis on counter moves. If you're skilled enough for manage to hit the block button in time as is often the situation] you can counter a potentially nasty face pummelling and turn the fight on its head. This makes the art of combat a more balanced affair than is usually the case with beat-’em-ups. You're always remembering to be defensive, to be on the look out for those crafty uppercuts and high kicks that your rival would so willingly inflict on you. But, and this is where irony has never been so apparent, the very thing that pushes it past Tekken, the speed, is the one thing that prevents you enjoying this refreshing angle on fighting to its full potential. Aspects such as countering and skilled combat {not just frantic button bashing] are forfeited in order just to stay alive. Rivals come at you with such frenzied barrages of boots and wallops that DOA2 becomes a button-bashing test of stamina rather than the test of skill it usually is. It’s often the first person to strike a blow that ends up victorious too; the poor sod on the receiving end will be gargling in a pool of blood and wondering how it is that their feet now fit in their ears. Be the eternal optimist though and you can say that it certainly adds a longevity to proceedings. You'll want to chip away at your enemy's defences, to learn their moves and eventually know exactly when you need to act in order to break their serve and send them reeling. It will take considerable time and the reflexes of a snake before you are confidently turning attacks back on the aggressor though and whether you have the patience to endure endless thrashings is purely down to personal willpower and patience. But believe us, you're going to have to rank alongside the Pope for placidity if you want to get the most from DOA2.

But what of these deadly combatants? Are they just faster than the familiar faces of Tekken or do they have merits of their own? Well, what they lack in numbers (a measly dozen or so even after they've all been unlocked) they make up for in game options and... er, costumes. Each of our merry band of miscreants has at least three outfit changes to work through and range from a slinky rubber catsuit to a worrying silver Teletubby costume complete with phallic bit dangling from the hood. It hardly acts as an incentive, watching people effectively trying on clothes for the camera, but if you're a dedicated follower of fashion then knock yourself out - there are 80 plus costumes for your delectation.

The combat of DOA2 will quite literally lift you off your feet

The end of game bad guy Bankotsubo - whose catchphrase is the oh-so punchy 'Everything is My Delusion' - is a collection of disjointed limbs. Hardly as intimidating as Tekken Tag's sublime Unknown, this obese mass of man is still frightening in his own right. Besides looking like Oliver Reed on the biggest bender of his booze-sloshed life he possesses a pair of fairy wings, dances in stilts and curtsies at you whilst peering coyly from behind his fan. He also has the ability to manipulate reality - hence that wonky catchphrase. Depending on the severity of the beating he bestows upon your squishy mortal frame, the world around you will begin to blur. The more he attacks, the greater the blurring until eventually you are fighting blind. It's a tremendously effective tool and turns an absurdly comic nemesis into something far more grave. You have to use all those wily combative skills you've acquired just to return your field of vision to something other than smudgy beer goggles. Or just pound like hell on the attack buttons and hope for the best instead.

LOLLIPOPS, LIPSTICKS AND MELONS

If you tire of fighting your way through round upon round to go head-to-head with the big fella himself then take solace. There's an absolute wealth of gameplay modes available, some of which even bring you new characters to molest. You have the bog standard Story mode to chew down on but time attacks are available for those with lightning reflexes and a touch of psychoses in their personality. The standard two-player mode is of course available as is Survival mode – though DOA2 offers an odd twist on the theme. You take on one contender at a time then feed them your fists as per usual but with every win you make you are awarded an item from the vanquished. Lollipops, lipsticks and melons as well as an assortment of household items are spilled across the floor and you are awarded an insane number of points if you pick them up.

Then you delve into options such as Sparring mode where you can beat seven shades out of a rival without repercussion. Then we cross to the heavily pervy CG Gallery and Watch modes where you can sit back and 'enjoy' the lady fighters grapple one another. But perhaps the most welcome mode of the whole game is the now familiar Tag option.

Choose your team (extra fighters are available for this particular mode including Oliver Reed Bloke and Bayman – a Russian assassin) and enter into a rip-roaring, slamming tag match that wees mightily on Tekken from the greatest height imaginable. This really masterful feature combines two stupendously fast characters, bodies zinging about and jaws being crunched quicker than you can blink. And if you aren’t flexing those fingers with dazzling dexterity, you may just as well start digging now to save your soon-to-be-employed undertaker the bother. It's a sprint fight, a brawl perfectly formed for venting aggression; a respectable inclusion to any fighting game. Yes, even with all that breakneck speed ruining the skill needed to perform satisfying, calculated attacks you can still garner a hell of a lot of pleasure from the experience. Just let yourself go and you'll have a blast. It's a shame such a majority of DOA2 has gone into hyper drive with the speed because it leaves little time to appreciate the subtler aspects of the game that need pointing out. Particles, especially snow and sand are excellent, better than TTT even. When the wind billows and screams across the screen it clings to clothes, whipping them up along with hair, ribbons and other loose items of clothing. Most of the time when clothes are billowed into a frenzy by the elements it reveals an occasional glimpse of female flesh. Typical. Oh, and they haven't even been anti-aliased either.

//Dead Or Alive 2 is a pantomime, no question, but it’s a quality pantomime//

ENVIRONMENTAL PERFECTION

Rather than the ghastly parallax scrolling that blighted TIT, in DOA2 the environments are sturdy, substantial and concrete. Well... most of the time. Some of your precious tussling time will undoubtedly involve attempting to thrust your enemy through stained-glass windows, shoving them into frozen crevasses or roundhouse kicking them straight into live circuitry. Many arenas are on several levels and it is a credit to the developers that they should spend such considerable time perfecting purely incidental aspects of the game. Have no doubt, Dead or Alive 2 is a game born of devotion. Everything attempted has been done with the best intentions in mind and more often than not the effort succeeds. The vast array of modes, the quality of fighters (after all, it matters far more than quantity) the choreographed beauty of the combat styles and the ingenious relation of the characters to their environments are all credits to the game. Even the ‘slightly over enthusiastic’ frame rate which will so hamper the struggles of the novice player should be seen as a bonus to the game once it is mastered.

It isn’t very often that a game can encroach on Tekken’s territory with such bravado and come away unscathed but Dead Or Alive 2 is one such game. If only it took itself a little more seriously, introduced new characters and cut down on the speed then we'd be looking at a stand off of two beat-'em-up giants. As it is though, DOA2 is the best second choice of game anyone could hope for and should still be capable of shining through Tekken's gargantuan shadow.

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