You spin me right round, baby...
Dead or Alive 2 hits so many highs it's tough to decide where to start, but why not start at the obvious: the game looks fantastic.
From the detailed, multi-level stages to the fantastic looking character models, everything in DoA 2 shines with a high coat of polish. Looking at screen shots is one thing, but when you see the game in motion it really looks incredible. Plug your Dreamcast into a VGA monitor or HD TV and the clarity and color will blister your eyes. The devil is really in the details here; from Ayane's constantly flowing and overly large ribbon to the faint glow of fireflies on Hayabusa's stage, it's clear that this game is a labor of love for Team Ninja.
Rising above even the beautiful aesthetics is the spot-on gameplay. At first glance you may be tempted to compare this game to the Virtua Fighter series, but DoA 2 is really the polar opposite of that long lived and heady franchise. Firstly, the combat in Dead or Alive 2 is incredibly fast and fluid. Animations flow from one to another seamlessly and moves have a great feeling of impact. One of the great differences between DoA 2 and other fighters is it's immediate accessibility. New players can jump right in and begin landing spinning kicks and body slams with relative ease. That's not to say that the game is shallow, because a deep and rewarding fighting system lies below the game's glossy surface.
The control layout is fairly straight forward: X button punches and Y button kicks. B button is the throw button, and A button in the "Free" button. Basically, the free button has a few functions like performing moves in 3D. Unlike Virtua Fighter, DoA 2 isn't restricted to a 2D plane. Fighters can move in and out either by pressing A to side step, or by holding the left trigger while moving to move around your opponent. It's also used to block and counter attacks. The only real complaint about the control lies not with the game but with the merely adequate Dreamcast controller. If you have a joystick or one of those fighter pads that came out for the DC, so much the better.
The stages play a great role during battle. Most stages have multiple levels with "breakaway" sections that you can knock your opponent into to send them plummeting to another area. One stage has you start inside a tower. If you're good or lucky you can knock your opponent through a stained glass window and onto the ledge below. Some stages have more than two levels and may also contain danger areas that you can knock your opponents into to do damage. The wonderful stage designs and the tight controls make for outstanding and intense matches.
On the options and modes front, the game gives you quite a bit to play around with. Here's a quick summary of the available modes:
Story: Select a character and fight your way through a set sequence of enemies. Between fights you are treated to some quick and mostly befuddling cut scenes. Whether it's a poor translation or there just wasn't much of a story to begin with a can't be sure, but these scenes do little to push you to see your character through to the end (the great fighting will do that).
Time Attack: defeat a series of 8 opponents in the fastest time possible
Versus mode: Your standard player vs. player mode
Tag Battle mode: Teams of 2 vs. 2. Up to four players can play at once, and teammates can tag out and switch up at any time by pushing both triggers. This is a fantastic way to play the game as it creates whole new ways to destroy your opponent. You can even tag in the middle of a combo and keep the pain coming with the fresh man!
Survival Mode: You have to defeat a never ending stream of enemies. Try to survive as long as you can and rack up as many points as possible. Items are dropped from time to time that will give you points or a health boost. This is a great way to play once you tire of the story mode.
Team Battle Mode: Players form teams of characters and fight in a series of one on one battles. Losing fighters are eliminated and the last team standing wins.
Sparring mode: To test your moves.
The options menu has all the typical doo-dads you have come to expect from a fighting game. I suppose I'll get this out of the way now, though I'm sure everyone is aware of this by now. The options menu has a "age" setting. The higher the age is set, the more jiggle you get. Yes, every girl in DoA 2 has big boobs. This is not nearly as distracting or in-your-face as the Dead or Alive Volleyball games or Konami's Rumble Roses games.
So Dead or Alive two is really one of the great 3D fighters of all time. Fantastic visuals, superior gameplay. There really is no excuse not to own this if you've got a Dreamcast hanging around. Go out and get it!
~Everything is my delusion!~