Genre: 3D Fighting
Publisher: Tecmo
Developer: Team Ninja
Release Date: Q4 2005

Sometimes you pick up an upcoming title pretty much knowing what you're going to find and what you'll think of it. Other times, you pick up a new title and find a gigantic surprise waiting for you. Dead or Alive 4 is one such surprise game, exceeding all expectations built up from earlier entries in the franchise. It's hard to put a finger on, exactly, what makes Dead or Alive 4 feel different from the earlier titles, since our time with the game didn't reveal any features that were strictly unavailable in earlier titles. Much of it comes down to presentation: Dead or Alive 4 is simply the most beautiful, elegantly designed title in a franchise known primarily for its top-notch graphics.

We played the game in head-to-head mode over the Xbox Live network. About a dozen of the game's characters were unlocked and available for play, including all three of the new characters and many who were returning from previous games. Controls were simple and intuitive: one button for long-range attacks (usually kicks), one for weaker, faster short range attacks (usually a punch), a button for initiating a throw, and a block button. Fighters moved around with the analog stick. The Microsoft representatives who were present made it clear that more advanced control options were available, like a circling motion that used the left trigger button and helped your fighter step around obstacles, but the basics were usually more than enough to let a pair of journalists beat the crap out of each other for an hour or so.

The biggest change from gameplay in previous DoA titles, and generally from other 3D fighters, is how incredibly short and aggressive matches where. While some characters did display some proficiency with long-range fighting, most characters needed to be very close to the opponent at all times to have any hope of connecting. This made battles feel tense; aside from counters and blocks, there were no reliable ways to avoid damage. The tactic it encouraged, obviously, was relentless offense and precision movement. Flubbing a single strike could be all it took to turn the course of the match around.

Similarly, executing a single counter or being able to read an opponent's moves well enough to block consistently could also be deciding factors. Counters were split into two types, high and normal, and executing them was extraordinarily difficult. The commands had to be input during a particular set of key frames in the opponent's set-up animation, and even recognizing your opening demanded an in-depth knowledge of the combat system. It is possible to counter without knowing what you're doing, of course, but in those cases, the player is unlikely to be able to properly exploit the opening they've created. Success in DoA4, even more so than is usual in a fighting game, will demand that a player learn the ins and outs of every character.

Part of the difficulty we had recognizing counter key frames in our DoA4 session is that, simply, the game is full of immensely distracting eye candy. The graphics take advantage of the 360's processing power to bring enormous details to the fighters' bodies, their movements, and their background environments. The first time you see a level or a particular character costume, the beauty of it can be enough to distract you from the actual process of playing the game.

Each of the playable characters had two costumes selectable, and all but one of the fighting environments had been unlocked for us to use. The details on the fighters included such fine effects as tassels and beads on the luchadora's outfit, long flowing hair on many of the women, flowing garments like scarves and skirts, and the time-honored Dead of Alive tradition of bouncy chests. Still, the male characters didn't get the short end of the stick when it came to graphics. While they have less in the way of costume decoration, their body movements are impressively detailed as the women's. The depictions of Elliot and Hayabusa's fighting moves was particularly impressive, with both characters striking authentic stances and landing blows with what looked like bone-crunching power.

As impressive as the fighters and their moves are, the backgrounds may actually be more impressive. Each arena has slightly different properties that can affect the outcome of a match, and a lot of detail work included purely in the name of decoration. The effect, coupled with a pulsing techno soundtrack, helps make each fight feel all the more immersive. Arenas we fought in ranged from a beautiful Japanese garden with cherry blossoms falling in the background to an aerial weapons platform with electrified cables strung around the perimeter.

There were no ring-outs, but ring size and layout could play a fairly large role in how a fight went. Most interactions with the stage background were fairly limited and token. The gambling stage, for instance, featured a stream of oncoming cars that could hit a fighter standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a mountain temple stage, you could hurl your opponent down long flights of stairs or pin them easily up against the walls of the cramped fighting area. Both the "fighting ring" and weapons platform stages let you slam opponents into the electric cables to make your combos do extra damage. A few stages, like one that was patterned after the inside of an Italian castle, also had obstacles in place that you could dodge behind, and these levels tended to play host to slightly longer, slower fights.

With most matches ending inside of 30 or 45 seconds, DoA4 is a brutally short experience in head-to-head mode. This will inevitably cut down on wait times in Xbox Live, but players who are in queue to play will get an interesting experience while they wait. When we were between matches, both players occupied a strange, platformer-ish 3D world. Each player was represented by a 3D avatar (in our game, one player was a ninja while another was a giant tree), and could move freely about the world and interact while waiting. This part of the game's interface was clearly unfinished, but could prove to be an interesting addition to DoA4's online component.

DoA4 is looking like the only fighting game that Xbox 360 will have at launch, and should more than satisfy fans of 3D fighting action and people looking for a good party game to put in their system. Team Ninja has once again lived up to their reputation for graphical excellence, delivering a game bursting with beautiful imagery. Our short time with the game left us craving for more, and it's going to be a long wait until the game's currently unannounced release date. Hopefully, Team Ninja will build on the game's solid foundations to create something that lives up to its promise.