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| Dead or Alive 2,
Dreamcast |
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| Games,
Richard Young,
20 January 1999 |
Rating: F5
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For many video game fans, there are really only one or two pretenders to the beat ‘em up crown; Tekken, Soul Calibur and perhaps Street Fighter. But among these combative giants was a title that refused to sit down and shut up. A classy little number called Dead or Alive for Playstation combined pin-sharp hi-res graphics, a viable set of new controls, and blisteringly fast action. Characteristics that set it apart from the rest of the pack included an often vast amount of colourful costume changes, and voluptuous female fighters boasting "ample charms" that were as realistically animated as the moves themselves. This particular feature proved to be a critically controversial point, and was seen as being either funny and camp or too sexist and "laddish".
Now we have the sequel for Dreamcast, (about bloody time, some may shout – Sega’s flagship console is gagging for some top titles like this) and a stonking game it is indeed. Graphically on a par with the only other decent DC beat ‘em up, Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive 2 retains all the best points from the first game, while adding a few new extras. The ability to punch or kick your opponent through stained glass windows or over cliff edges, only to jump down after them to carry on scrapping is so much fun it should be illegal. The look of the characters is truly beautiful, also; smooth and fluid, with flowing clothes and hair. And yes, the nubile knockers are back, along with the option to turn off the "bounce", for the Mary Whitehouses among us.
One of the most innovative features of the DOA style of rucking was the ability to grab or reverse an attack, as opposed to just defending all the time. If you are quick enough, you can grab a fist or a leg, and return with a quick slap of your own all in one swift move, making a competition between two experienced players dynamite to watch, and avoids the possibility of one player mindlessly pounding away at their opponent. There may not be the amount of moves available to the average Tekken player, and the sexy stylings may not be to everyone’s taste, but this is the closest the Dreamcast will come to challenging the inevitable superiority of Sony’s soon to be released Playstation 2.
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