DOA4 alive 'n kickin' on 360

Between the unwrapping of gifts and popping of champagne bottles, fighting-game fans had one more reason to celebrate. Dead or Alive 4, Tecmo's long-awaited and oft-delayed debut title for the Xbox 360, finally made it onto store shelves on December 29. The game was originally scheduled for release with the launch of the Xbox 360 on November 22, but was reassigned the vague release date of "2005" for unspecified reasons.

The fighter continues the series' tradition of variations of one-on-one hand-to-hand (and foot-to-face) combat, multitiered levels, and some easy-on-the-eyes gladiators. Gamers who want to reach out and touch a far-off friend with the heel of their virtual boot can now do so in the game's online mode. Those who would rather settle their differences against a computer opponent can run through the game's single-player story mode. The new roster of fighters includes a female Spartan warrior from the Halo franchise, who has her own fighting arena based on a level from Halo 2.

Though American gamers have long anticipated the Xbox 360's first fighting game, DOA4 is expected to have its biggest impact in Japan. Sales of the 360 in the country, in contrast to North America, have been sluggish, largely in part to a thin launch lineup of available games. Microsoft is hoping that DOA4, developed by Tomonobu Itagaki's Team Ninja, will kick-start Japanese sales of the next-gen console.

Dead or Alive 4 is rated M for Mature and retails for $59.99. To find out if the game was worth the wait, go one-on-one with GameSpot's review.