DOA 2 exceptional in many ways - in it's graphics, gameplay and even lifespan and it is difficult to find a game as good

User Rating: 9 | DOA2: Dead or Alive 2 (Platinum) PS2
Many gamers remember the Dead or Alive for various reasons. While it provided some of the smoothest 1-1with an intriguing grapple and reversal system.

It also provided some of the most jaw-dropping visuals, especially for Sega Saturn and PSone with various amounts of costumes and characters to toy with.

However, despite these clearly argued reasons, Dead or Alive only does well to stand out from the rest of the fighters for one reason, girls. Dead or Alive relied on beautiful, huge chested Barbie doll style girls to sell the game.

Combined with the most ridiculous jiggle physics ever, it did well to do so and hence it got a sequal which you're reading today. Don't get me wrong though, Dead or Alive 2 does good to live up to the game's reputation.

For starters, the jiggle factor has been decreased, while it's still there, it's no longer noticable enough to stop the player concentrating on the game itself. Also, it concentrates alot heavier on other areas of the game also.

An example is the visuals have had a serious revamp. The game world Dead Or Alive 2 plays in is almost completly destructable. There are windows to shatter, walls to break, engines to smash and beautiful landscapes to disfigure.

The animation also plays alot smoother this time around than it did before, with clear movements and much more realistic martial arts movements. Infact all the poses made replicate real movements and are clearly recongnisable to their fighting styles.

Of course however, it's the characters themselves that catch the real beauty of the game and their vast array of costumes, both boys and girls. It's one of the real stand-out features in this infamous game series although, thankfully, an enjoyable one to discover.

There are details everywhere on the stages. In this PS2 version, there are clear signs that this has been tonned down, perhaps because of rushed porting, but they still look fantastic on PS2 anyway.

Gameplay, like I explained earlier, is helped by smooth animation. But Dead Or Alive 2 did well to improve the grapple and reveral system of the 1st game.

There are far more grapple's and hold's this time, they are also far more deadlier and the enviroment can be used as an effective tool for beating someone up.

Unlike Tekken Tag Tournament. Dead Or Alive 2 takes full advantage of it's 3D enviroment, levels like the Danger Zone can be used as a weapon, similar to the orignal game.

Also, the new characters, like Helena, Ein and Leon are very good newcomers and compete well against the other characters - infact 2/3 of these characters will become fan favourites.

Also there is replay value in DOA 2, unlike many other beat em' ups. The costumes have to be unlocked by completling the game under certain condtions and ways which keeps the player coming back for more and more.

There are issues however, despite how good of a game DOA 2 actually is. The music for example, is hardly memorible and you'll learn to detest it. Also, voices are very poor, even in their native Japanese voices aswell as English.

Also, DOA 2 has a very cheap boss at the end of the game, however once again, you'll learn that his technique is fairly easy to exploit. But for the record, the story and endings themselves are lackluster.

Regardless of this however, DOA 2 is an excellent game, good PS2 launch title and fantastic beat em' up. DOA 2 exceptional in many of it's fields - graphics, gameplay and even lifespan and it is difficult to find a game that can compete with it's quality.