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Platform Filters:   All Platforms  Xbox   GameCube   PlayStation 2   PC   Game Boy Advance   Site Sections:   Updates  News   Games   Publishers   Developers   Reviews   Previews   Release Dates   Editorials   Glossary   Contact Us		Review:       16th February 2005: Dead or Alive Ultimate  At last, Europe has access to truly the ultimate in fighting titles. Posted by John Grothier - Xbox - UK and Europe Dead or Alive Ultimate is the ultimate fighting game on any system. It incorporates the original DOA and DOA 2 for the Xbox, with the latter completely redesigned for Microsoft's console. This two disc set features on and offline play as well as some exclusive bonus content and new stunning cinematics revealing the characters history. These include a variety of new costumes, many new battle stages and interactive environments, a new opening movie, unique 2-disc set packaging with the inclusion of collectible trading cards, and a behind the scenes look at Team Ninja and the making of Dead or Alive Ultimate. Fighting titles don't come any better than this one, or should I say two, as there are two very different titles on offer for the price of one. While many will no doubt bypass the original in favour of its stunning looking cousin, DOA 1 is still a top-notch fighter with some great features, characters, moves, and the ability to play them both online brings a whole new experience to your living room. Think you can just win a fight by furious button mashing? Well in actual fact sometimes you can, as with all online titles - it depends how good the real person your playing against is on the other side of your television screen. The controls are incredibly responsive and the seven modes of play will keep you coming back for more. There are around seventy moves for each of the many characters - and by completing some of the modes will unlock a few new playable characters. If you have a game save on you Xbox for Dead or Alive 3 or Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball then you can also unlock a bonus character by completing the Story Mode with a particular fighter. There are twenty-one interactive arenas to fight in, and each and every one is mind-blowingly beautiful. If you want a game that shows the graphical superiority of the Xbox - this is it. The gameplay is surprisingly deep with many stunning moves to master - the best way to learn all the moves is in the Sparring Mode, where you can work your way through your chosen characters array of fighting techniques. Survival Mode's goal is to take the minimum amount of damage while earning the most amount of points you can. Here you can also collect items that appear when you knock out you opponent, and there are several different types of items to collect before they disappear - and each has their own effect. As well as Story, Sparring and Survival modes, the Tag Battle mode for up to four players, and each player can jump in and perform mighty Tag-Team combos, depending on which characters are playing. Dead or Alive Ultimate Online features seven modes of play - all voice supported for added effect. Choose from One-on-One fights, Tournaments, Team Battle, Survival, Loser Stays and Kumite - a non-stop brawl, where the champion continues to fight all challenges until they quit. The online play is superb, with hardly any lag, and if you fancy giving your thumbs a rest - you can even become a spectator and watch other players slog it out. The graphics in Dead or Alive Ultimate are really something special, just look at the screens below, and the game runs always dead-on sixty frames per second. Most of the arenas are interactive and have multiple tiers. For instance in the Crimson arena you can throw your opponents off the roof crashing into neon signs, or onto the bonnet of a car, you can even launch them into a small heard of elephants or hippos loitering around a watering hole in the Safari arena. Each and every arena looks fantastic and some even have small but notable variations, depending on a button press… The sound in both titles does not live up to the glory of the graphics engine, and the furious gameplay itself. The voice acting is as you would expect, in Japanese with subtitles, but the music and sound effects never live up to the rest of the package, and some characters voices will soon tire on your ears. Overall Dead or Alive Ultimate does just what it says on the box, and we can't fault it for that. It is the ultimate fighting title, and we don't expect to see anything better until the next generation of systems are released. John Grothier             Latest Images:		Review Scores:    Graphics:   Sound:   Gameplay:   Length:   Overall: Click here for our Review Score Guidelines.  Review Summary:  Experience the ultimate in fighting, both on and offline. Dead or Alive Ultimate features 21 interactive worlds in which to fight and boasts the most mind-blowing DOA graphics to date. 7 Modes of play plus the ability to play online with up to seven players, fighting titles don't get any better than this.  Related Games:  Dead or Alive Ultimate for Xbox  6  Screenshots  1  Review Click here for All Game Information.
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