Dead or Alive 4 Exclusive First Look

By Ricardo Torres

Design by Collin Oguro

Dead or Alive 4 First Look

Tecmo's Dead or Alive series is one of the few original fighting franchises to have emerged from the Virtua Fighter and Tekken era of 3D brawlers to have then made a name for itself. While the franchise originally rose to prominence with tight controls and a unique fighting system that featured countering as an integral part of its combat, the game's legend has grown considerably in the years since its 1996 arcade debut. The home versions of the franchise have, in fact, added to the series' reputation thanks to impressive visuals that have pushed their respective platforms on to new heights. In addition, some progressive thinking on the part of creator Tomonobu Itagaki and Team Ninja has helped the Dead or Alive games evolve the fighting genre.

Up until recently, the series' pinnacle was Dead or Alive Ultimate, the Xbox-exclusive two-disc compilation of the series that brought the franchise online courtesy of Xbox Live. However, that pioneering game is about to be surpassed by the latest, and likely greatest, entry in the series: Dead or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360. The gorgeous fighter debuted at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo via a flashy trailer that teased just some of the content the game is set to offer. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much else put out on the game since then, leaving fans (ourselves included) hungering for more. That changes today. We recently had the opportunity to visit Team Ninja to get an exclusive look at the game, and we are happy to finally bring you our findings.

Expectations have run high among fans of the DOA series since the game made its debut at this year's E3. But fan expectations pale in comparison to Itagaki's and Team Ninja's expectations on themselves, as well as their vision for the next entry in the series. The wild card in the equation for the new game has been Microsoft's Xbox 360 hardware, the powerful successor to the Xbox. Though Team Ninja made quite a splash at the original Xbox launch with Dead or Alive 3, the 360 presented a much greater challenge. The brawny new box comes packing a considerable amount of raw processing power and support for high-definition resolutions, which Tecmo only flirted with in its previous Xbox games. In addition, the upcoming console's Xbox Live support offered a tantalizing opportunity for the ambitious developers, who whet their appetites with Dead or Alive Ultimate's Live support.

As far as the game's story goes, Team Ninja sees Dead or Alive 4 as the opportunity to tie up some loose ends and wrap up the current story arc. The game will pick up shortly after the ending seen in DOA3--roughly a month or two after--and it will trace the path of Helena, the winner of the last DOA tournament. When we last saw her, Helena had taken control of DOATEC. Yes, that development was more than a little ironic, given her issues with the mysterious and menacing corporation, but the flaxen-haired beauty appears to be up for the challenge, as it seems like she's got an ulterior motive. However, there are some new faces this time around that appear to represent key players in the story. The sexy and mysterious female wrestler La Mariposa (or "the butterfly" in Spanish) is an ex-DOATEC employee whose mysterious past leads her to enter the tournament to take care of some business. Oddly enough, the team's vision for this character was inspired in part by Steve Buscemi's character in Armageddon, although she's understandably curvier and tougher.

Another new face in the crowd is Elliot, the young fighter seen in the trailer on the stage with the howling monkeys. He's in the tournament for personal reasons, as well as to prove himself to his mentor, Gen Fu, who won't be included in the story mode this time out (although he is still a playable character in the other modes). Finally, Kokoro, the long-haired beauty seen in the first trailer, is tied to Fame Douglas, the randy founder of DOATEC who has a stable of six mistresses on the side.

In addition, the other major plotline in DOA4 is the story of the ninjas, Kasumi and Hayate, that are banding together to take out DOATEC as payment for the brainwashing and cloning that's been inflicted on them. In fact, the themes of revenge and family ties, which have always been prominent in the series, are at the forefront this time. The way things stand at present, some of the story threads in the DOA narrative will be tied up, and new ones will be opened up as well. Funnily enough, some of the story threads are still based on notes Itagaki scribbled all the way back in 1996.

The story mode will be just one of the game modes to be included in DOA4, which will offer the same basic modes as Dead or Alive Ultimate, such as story, time attack, survival, team battle, versus, watch, sparring, and online. Additionally, it may actually feature a new mode, although the team is still sorting out exactly what it wants to do. Though you'll have a good idea of what to expect from the known modes if you've played the previous games in the series, the story will be given some added kick thanks to the ending cinematics Team Ninja is having made for each of the characters. Itagaki and company have rethought what the ending cinematics offer, and they've gathered a team of seasoned computer graphics professionals to craft punchy mini-movies that offer a nice reward for players who fight their ways through the game. While this may not seem different from the previous DOA games--and most other 3D fighters--after seeing some of DOA4's ending cinematics, we have to say they've been given a nice kick over those seen in the previous games. However, this isn't to say that the cinematics have turned into artsy black-and-white affairs; you'll still see a mix of cool, goofy, and wacky stuff.

As far as the online mode goes, if you've played the online mode in DOAU, you might think you have a good idea of what to expect from DOA4's online experience. However, you're only half right. Yes, the top-level functionality (in terms of matches and customization) serves as the core to DOA4's online experience. So plan on seeing a beefier ranking system, along with full Live support and a spectator mode. However, Itagaki and Team Ninja, never ones to rest on their laurels, are bringing some new ideas to the online table that will likely surprise people. We got a demo of the new lobby system in the game, which is a slick and surprisingly funny way of letting players interact online.

One of the goals in the development of Dead or Alive 4 has been to ensure the game is an inclusive experience that will let players of all skill levels get something from it. As a result, Team Ninja took feedback regarding DOAU's lobby system to heart and opted to create a more accessible way for players to get matched up, in addition to keeping the action light. To that end, your profile will now ask you to select a few extra bits of information. Namely, you'll be asked to choose an avatar and a theme for your "house." Yes, this may all sound odd and confusing, but stay with us, as there's an oddly brilliant logic to this. Your house will serve as the lobby your friends will see when you host a game, and it will serve as an area your crew can hang out in with its avatars.

The house concept has evolved since the name was first coined for the lobby, and it's more ceremonial than anything, as the various lobby themes bear little resemblance to an actual domicile. The houses and themes we've seen are large, open areas that are just a place for people to goof around in while waiting or watching an online fight. We saw two themes, the tentatively named "Halloween" and "underwater," and they looked pretty much like you'd expect. So the Halloween house was a large, open area with pumpkins, a full moon, and a ghost at its center, which is who you'll talk to if you'd like to set up a match. The underwater house looked like something out of Finding Nemo, and it had a coral reef motif complete with anemones, schools of fish, and a central crustacean that could help you get your battle on.

The avatars you'll see milling about in the houses draw from a variety of traditional inspirations, such as robots and ninjas, and slightly more-whimsical muses, such as, pigs, pandas, fish, squid, and rabbits. Your muse will display your gamer tag above its head, and you'll see any conversation text in a word bubble (the game will support both text and voice chat). More importantly, the avatars can be made to animate in some goofy ways--along the lines of some of the silliness seen in MMOs like World of WarCraft--that are pretty funny and prove that Team Ninja never takes itself too seriously.

One of the most unique elements to the house feature in the online mode, and one that's currently being heavily tweaked, is the state of your house. The current plan is to let you earn currency when you play online in the game so you can spend the money in Zack's Shop, an online-only option that lets you buy items for your avatar and house. The coolest feature the team is attempting to incorporate is a television that will show the current fight that's going on. You'll be able to buy different TVs--from a proper HDTV to a small black-and-white set--that will let you see the fight (either windowed or full-screen) in accordance with what kind of set it is.

Though it appears the TV feature is a lock for the final game, the team is also tossing around ideas for other items you can put in your virtual crib that may or may not happen. In any case, based on what we saw, the house lobby system is a functional, funny, and nonthreatening way to get your multiplayer on. Though the multiplayer wasn't up and running to either Itagaki or the team's standards, you can plan on DOA4 being at least as fun as DOAU. The addition of the currency and shop systems give playing online an Animal Crossing-esque twist that we expect players will have a lot of fun with.

While all this talk of crazy modes is well and good, we've been understandably curious as to how the game is going to play. Fortunately, Itagaki and company were able to let us try out the game firsthand, once they made clear that what we were playing was still a work-in-progress game that's still undergoing meticulous fine-tuning to ensure the balance the series is known for. Our first move was to select old standbys Hayabusa, Lei Fang, Kasumi, Helena, and Ayane. All the characters handled about the same, although we noticed that the matches felt faster and that counters weren't quite as easy to do.

Once we felt good about how the game handled, we went for the new kids on the block to see what they were all about. You'd think that Mariposa would handle like Bass or maybe Tina, but the curvy wrestler isn't really like either of them. Her moves are faster than you'd expect, and although her style is influenced by lucha libre, she comes across as influenced by capoeira. Her arsenal of kicks and grabs are fast and do a hefty amount of damage. As far as Elliot goes, you'd probably expect him to handle a lot like Gen Fu, but that's actually not the case. While the youthful hoodie-wearing fighter does in fact have the methodical, technical feel of Gen Fu, his moves are unique and are not quite as powerful, which fits his role as an apprentice. Speaking of technical, Kokoro ended up, to our tastes, feeling like the most technical of the three new fighters, with powerful moves that required some finesse to chain together into lengthy combos.

In addition to the individual handling of the different fighters, there's quite a bit going on under the hood of the fighting system's base mechanics as well. We mentioned a faster feel to the game earlier, and this fits into the more visceral and aggressive slant that's being put on the fighting. Though what we played was hardly final, we noticed all manner of subtle changes to combat that we can hardly wait to master. You'll be able to grab foes from the ground after being knocked down, and you can kick them when they're on the ground. Furthermore, you can perform some interesting new juggles and throws. The existing cast is being rebalanced, and its members will gain some new moves. Meanwhile, the newcomers are being carefully molded to fit into the new feel and system Team Ninja is implementing for combat.

One of the coolest new elements we've seen in the embryonic combat system so far is how much more you'll use the backgrounds. Whereas the backgrounds in the previous games basically amounted to some cool tricks you could pull off during a match, such as making the elephant cry on the African savannah stage, the new environments have more depth to them. The flashy Las Vegas-style stage--all neon and casinos with pedestrians and cars peppered throughout--is far more than just eye candy. You can actually use the oncoming cars to your advantage by flinging your opponent into the oncoming traffic...if you're careful. But before you think this is going to be exploited, if you time your move properly you can actually dodge the cars. Granted, the multitasking and timing skills needed to avoid oncoming vehicles and to fend off the attacks from your opponent are a challenge to be sure, but this is also one of the reasons the DOA series has staying power. The fighting systems seen in the games have always been easy to pick up and tough to master, which bodes well for what the final game is going to offer.

DOA4'S visuals are, in a word, outstanding. While the high visual quality of the previous games has left DOA4 a big pair of shoes to fill, the game is well on its way to doing just that. The work-in-progress version we saw was running at 1080i and needs to be seen on an HDTV to be believed. The environments featured an amazing level of detail that just popped off the screen thanks to that insanely high resolution. Liberal use of bump mapping, lighting, and particle effects are outstanding and bring the environments to impressive life. The shiniest Ultimate environment, the crazy nightclub that was awash in lighting and particles, pales in comparison to what we saw. However, in many ways you can see counterparts to those stages taken to the next level in DOA4.

In the exclusive environment teaser video provided to us by Team Ninja, you'll see the arenas in which you'll be kicking ass. You'll experience: the beautiful Ninja Gaiden-esque temple, complete with pond and cherry blossoms; the neon and car-filled Las Vegas; the open-air market seen in the trailer; the screen-filled mansion interior that overlooks an open field; the gorgeous wrestling ring stage that comes complete with a crowd and insane lighting; a Jurassic Park-style stage chock-full of dinosaurs and a massive volcano; the long stairway with monkeys; and another Ninja Gaiden-style area in the nighttime rooftop. These stages, already gorgeous, are beefed up several notches when running in HD. The characters are equally impressive, although this time out a good deal of the detail on them is far more subtle. Patterned clothing, loose, flowing hair, and expressive faces all help bring the cast of the game to vivid life. The animation is looking sharp, with fluid motion already in place for many of the characters. The only hitch at present is the game's frame rate, which is still being tightened up due to occasional inconsistencies.

The game's audio is on par with the standard set by the previous games, only it's been beefed up some thanks to the 360's sound capabilities. You'll hear a good assortment of voices and ambient sound, which is solid. In some cases, such as in the wrestling ring, the audio will reflect the state of your fight, as the crowd will react to what's happening. The collisions in the game are satisfying, as always, thanks to their over-the-top nature.

From the look of things, Dead or Alive 4 is shaping up to be an ambitious entry in the forward-thinking franchise. The tweaks to the fighting system are subtle but have the potential to have a significant impact on battles, as does the greater interactivity seen in the backgrounds. The online mode is going to be an interesting new element for players to mess around with, and we think it has a lot of potential. It should go without saying that we're excited to see just what DOA4 ends up offering when it ships for the Xbox 360. Itagaki-san and Team Ninja appear to be well on their way to crafting another great entry in the franchise, as well as one gem of an Xbox 360 fighter. Look for more on Dead or Alive 4 in the next week as we bring you the latest news from the Tokyo Game Show.

Ladies and gentlemen, Tanner has left the building. The grizzled undercover cop who starred in the three previous Driver games won't be making an appearance in Reflections Interactive's newest entry in the series, Driver: Parallel Lines, and that's not nearly the only change the studio is making with this latest iteration of its car-heavy action series. We got to check out an early build of Parallel Lines at a recent Atari press event to find out just how the studio plans to revamp the fledgling series after the lackluster showing turned in by its third game last year. Tanner has exited stage left. The kid is the new star of the fourth Driver game. Parallel Lines represents a sort of restart for the Driver franchise. It's set in New York City, 1978, with no connections at all to the stories of the previous three games. You'll take control of a driver-for-hire known only as "the kid" as he takes on jobs from the Big Apple's criminal underworld, increasingly building his notoriety and respect as he climbs up the ladder to become a boss himself. Yeah, no more cops--the kid is an out-and-out bad guy. Similar to Grand Theft Auto, you'll roam around the city, looking for missions to pick up and carry out to earn you money, open up new missions, and advance the game's storyline. The mission structure sounds pretty open-ended, since there will always be missions available for you to pick up, many of which are optional. Driver 3 was the first game in the series to emphasize on-foot shooting action, but Parallel Lines will purportedly put the focus back on the fast-action driving that the series was built on in the first place. That means lots of car chases, smashing through things at high speed, and that sort of thing. You'll even be able to shoot from a moving car, drive-by style, and it sounds like you'll complete many of the game's missions purely using your skills behind the wheel. As in Driver 3, cars won't be the only available vehicles; less conventional rides like motorcycles and trucks will be offered too. And of course, you'll still be able to get out of your vehicle and hoof it when you feel the need, with a lock-on targeting system aiding your ability to cause mayhem throughout New York. There will apparently be some other components to Parallel Lines' gameplay besides the core missions. For one thing, you'll be able to jump into a number of minigames whenever the mood strikes you, which will change up the action significantly. The minigame we saw was a destruction derby that the player could enter simply by heading into the appropriate arena and jumping in the derby car. Once the event began, the goal was simply to smash into all the other drivers and be the last car standing at the end of the event. The best part was that you could drive your car right out of the arena midevent and just tear around town instead.