Certainly, one of the must-have games if you're an Xbox owner. Excellent fighter.

User Rating: 8.1 | Dead or Alive 3 (Classics) XBOX
By digi_matrix | Review Date:
Since fighting games are all about fighting, this review shall be short. While being the 3rd in the series of this fighting series, and ironically enough the 3rd most popular current fighting franchises (leaving out the arcade, old-school Street Fighter, Guilty Gears etc.) behind Tekken and VF, this game needs no introduction. The story is all the characters are in a tournament and it all has to do with DOATEC, this evil company. Besides from the ninja-esque characters, the stories are random yet appealing. COMBAT: Certainly very polished, the fighting is a lot of fun. It's almost like PGR, in the sense, that it's part sim and part arcade. Countering plays as one innovation in this game. Blocking at the right time takes patience, but can be infinitely rewarding if you perform a counter move. Each character has a mutitude of moves, nearly 100. I'm no hardcore fan but the selection of moves makes the game deeper and if in a tournament, crucial to winning. There are certain favourites like the Izuna drop of Ryu and Jann Lee's majestic dragon kick. There's a very pick-up-and-play aesthetic to playing the game. It's part button masher but it will take a while to master.
CHARACTERS:
This is the winning characteristic of this franchise compared to the stereotypes of VF and Tekken. Even though there might be too many anime babes that look similar (or at least have the same face template), the cast doesn't hurt. There are not many characters, but each is deep and specialising in each character is no mean feat. This aspect makes it more sim-like and so more rewarding. Leon and Bass are the typical heavy weights, with powerful blows but slow on their feet. Christie is the fastest female character due to her snake-like precision punching and kicking. Zack is definitely the easiest to master while the Drunken Master guy (forgot his name) is deadly if mastered well.
AI:
Team Ninja sure know how to make very good AI. When you're playing on different difficulties, there's a world of difference and hurt to go with it. The computer AI is no slouch and knows how to block at the right times. They remember your moves, combos, even counters, or grabs. The AI is responsive and a true challenge. The last boss battle has the added difficulty of an obscure camera angle. It's almost like you're playing a platformer, trying to avoid his area attacks and brutal grabs. LONGEVITY: Clearly, it's online. But even so, this is a party favourite game and what better way to whoop some noob friend of yours on this game. This is immediately helpful because the DOA franchise is not as well known as Tekken these days. Earning each character's cutscenes are the ultimate reward. Brilliantly directed and shot videos, these make Final Fantasy's cinematics look like a dull moving piece of art. Of course, the fanservice and PG-13 rating help in having some incredibly sexy cutscenes with Helena and Christie. Most fans will have their favourite cutscenes, and probably most would go for the most risque ones. :P

GOOD:
Great mix of part-button masher and part-sim
Mindblowing graphics
Great cast of characters
Amazing cinemas
Survival Mode is very challenging yet fun
Online is a must

BAD:
Stories are serviceable just like any other fighting game

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