So That's What a Tengu Looks Like! (Dead or Alive 2 (DC))

Member Name: dissident505

Product:	Dead or Alive 2 (DC)
Date:	10/06/09 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to pick up, interesting characters, gorgeous graphics, Hilarious final boss!

Disadvantages: A few more characters wouldn't have hurt.

Dead or Alive 2 is still one of my favourite 3D fighters. The Dreamcast was built for arcade games like this and it shows. The graphics are still appealling now. Characters and backgrounds are rendered smoothly and movements are fluid and natural.

The game boast an interesting bunch of fighters. There's some typical characters like the Bruce Lee style fighter but there's some more unusual ones too. A Dennis Rodman look a like who can kick with the best of them, a cowboy type with some wrestling styles and more.

The single player story is typically shallow as expected from most fighting games. Beating your friends into the ground is what it's all about though and the game provides different modes to do this. 1 on 1, team battles and tag games.

One of the features of this game is the counter system where if you press the counter button and the direction of an income attack you can stop their hit and hit back for considerable damage. I found this system to provide an added layer of depth to the game. It's easy to do but hard use well. Another feature is the interactive enviroments. Ever wanted to kick someone through a stained glass window in the tower of a church, well now you can. This also adds another layer to the strategy as knocking someone of a ledge or through a window can drain their health right down.

Summary: Up there with Soul Calibre for me. Maybe not quite as good but still damn fun.