The characters of Dead of Alive tournament are back in the latest installment in the Dead or Alive series, Dead or Alive 4. This title has just enough sparkle in it to keep the almost dead genre of fighting video games alive. While at the same it manages to fall short of mark.
Along with Kameo Element of Power, Dead or Alive 4 was one of the games I bought with the Xbox 360. When I put the game in for the first time I was awed by the smooth graphics that the game displayed and the incredible detail in the many different fighting arenas. New to the series were more interactive back grounds where you objects or animals would leap out and cause damage to your character. This keeps you on your toes when considering at any time you could be knocked down by something other than the opponent.
The game play is almost exactly the same and only a few new characters. At this stage in gaming technology and with the power that the Xbox has I feel you should reasonably be able to expect a multitude of different players to fight with. It seems like they skated by with the selection of different characters you could use. It’s in defense through each character has over 100 different moves. It is different but no really new. At the end of the day it is just a fighting game engine.
The real problem with Dead or Alive 4 is that is doesn’t offer anything new over the series. The graphics are better but at the end of the day there are not any new features over the last Dead or Alive games. It is the only good fighting game available on the Xbox 360. If you like the other Dead or Alive games you will enjoy this one.