A well crafted and addicting game with a wealth of modes, but a poor Story Mode and no online play for this older title.
DOA 3 has lush environments, and everything looks real. The snow is pushed aside as you walk, kick, and get tossed through it. No more solid, round, rock-like snow globs that are supposed to resemble winter. This looks like fluffy, good snow. Realistic. The destructible windows are great and trees which actually have form, and stop people in their tracks when knocked against the,. The tiered environments look great and the ability to knock people down another level is an awesome addition to the gameplay and levels.
There are many gameplay options, though not all are up to par. There’s a story mode, but only the standard videos which explain why they’re there and what happens next after you beat the game as the character. Every now and again there’s a short dialogue section before a fight. In the end the “Story Mode” isn’t exactly worth being called that, but is still on par with most other games.
There are enough other modes to make up for the lackluster Story Mode, however. There is the standard versus. Less standard are the Survival and Time Attack modes, which should be seen in more fighting games than they appear in. Tag Team mode also appears. One of the best, however, is Team battle, where you form a team of up to five characters and fight against a computer or human opponent of an equal team size. If your first fighter is knocked out, you continue with your second. Winning without losing a single fighter is always good for boasting. Sparring Mode is another common addition and is helpful in practicing combos. The sparring mode could have learned a little bit from Super Smash Bros. in the ability to set the computer practice player to different set moves or stances, something that is great and hasn’t seen use since the N64 game. Watch Mode seems to have no use other than to let male players drool over two pixilated females fight and is a sad, sad addition.
The weirdest thing about DOA3 is the voicing: Each character speaks in Japanese. This is odd, considering that DOA 2 Hardcore had an English language option, but especially considering that there are American, German, and characters of other nationalities here. It would make more since for them all to speak in their own language; or have an English language option so they all speak in English. Despite this, it is still sweet to hear the characters say their lines in Japanese, and the lines seem to be less repetitive because of this.
The sounds of the strikes are loud and really give off the feeling that the person being struck is getting his or her bones broken. Getting tossed against a wall or tree is equally powerfully-sounding, and the noise of being tossed to a lower tier of a level is awesome. The sound department here is extremely satisfying.
The music, as with most fighting games, works well for the game though is not memorable.
The easy to learn controls makes DOA3 easily accessible. The number of gameplay modes, while not spectacular considering rival titles such as Tekken or Soul Calibur, are still more than many other fighting games out there. The ability to counter other moves makes this game very fast paced, which can be good or bad. The only thing that lowers the fun is the rewards. The story mode is certainly more than what other games offer, but when all is over you barely have a reason to play more. There are no extra costumes or anything to unlock aside from the ending movies. The ability to watch these clips without having to beat the game a second time is a nice addition.
Aside from the disappointment with unlockables, the only other let down with DOA3 is its similarity with DOA2. This can be a problem for fans of the series, as DOA2 offered many similar things - great graphics, great characters, Tag Team, Survivor, interactive environments, etc. Aside from being on a new system, DOA3 adds 3 new characters. The characters are pretty well balanced, except for a few exceptions, so it makes sense not to try to ruin this balance with an overabundance of new characters, but more could have been added. Still, for fans and owners of DOA2, DOA3 won't add too much more than the ability to play it on your Xbox.
Compared to other console titles like Tekken, DOA3 might look like it should take a backseat, but its control and graphics are par with any other game out there, and it offers an interesting storyline gone from many other fighting titles. DOA3 compares well with its sequels, but with one omission: this older title was spawned before Xbox Live, and is thus without any kind of online play. DOA3 is worth a buy for offline gamers, but if you even think you’ll want to try it online, check out Ultimate or, better yet, the 360’s DOA4.