Dead or Alive 4 for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

I bought an earlier edition of DOA for my daughter and she had a lot of fun with it on the regular Xbox. I just got my 360 about 2 weeks ago and thought this would be perfect for her. Heck, it ain't even perfect for me. I have unlock several costumed and 2 players, but it is just WAAAAAAY too difficult.

The graphics are beautiful and the fluidity of movement is superb. This game is made of very very good quality...however, it is NOT for the casual gamer.

I feel that this is a solid 6 in terms of my rating. If you desire a sincere challenge, you could even consider this closer to a high 7 or an 8. I don't mind a challenge, but enough is enough. You can't block and if the CPU gets you down === good frickin' luck getting back up.

The final boss -- ALPHA 152 --- is very tough, but certainly beatable. Each character's storyline is something like 7 or 8 fights...very similar to previous editions. Unfortunately, with 12 or so characteres this can get routine. AND FRUSTRATING.

I bought it on sale and would say that I am happy with my purchase and I look forward to continuing the saga with the rest of the characters and game modes. However, I would suggest that if you look at a $59 sale sticker...pass. If you can find it on Gamefly for rent or for sale less thn $25 then it's absolutely worth that!

DOA4 is the perfect fighting game. The controls are easy but precise, the characters are over-the-top, the moves are exciting, and newbies can have satisfying moments while button-mashing but vets will always be able to make thought-out moves work to their advantage.

The story is a little strange, but I'd actually find it strange if the story made sense in a Team Ninja game. The most important thing is the levels look amazing and the characters look even better. The sheer depth of unlockable material - from characters to costumes - will keep you wrapped up in the game for hours and hours. And what's better than watching Brad Wong's drunken stumbling or Kasumi walking up her opponent like a flight of steps?

Taking the game online is nice and easy, too, and there are hours of matchmaking fun to be had. Just practice before you go Live - there are some great players out there.

Dead Or Alive 4 made by team ninja is a pretty good game. There are lots of characters and each have a great fighting style, there are combos that you can learn that will send your foes a' cryin'. However there is a hard to master counter move. In my opinion this ruins the game, people master counter attacks and you will lose every time. In xbox live when you win you earn credits, these can be spent at Zach's Shop, where you can buy Lobbys, Avatars, Costumes, and items to add on your avatar. This is a great game but its not a buy.

DOA has always been a great fighting franchise that always seems to change with the times with every installment,without losing anything players loved about the previous entry's to Tecmo's Life Saver.Though you may not see it at first DOA 4 improves on DOA Ultimate in every way possible,other than number of costumes,and if you are a devote to the series,you have to own this game.People who are not fighting fanatics are probably going to get there butt handed to them,but will eventually learn the ropes if they just keep trying.Anyone who can will probably agree with me that DOA 4 is one of the better fighters created in recent years.

A great story is to be found,but its hard to understand if you have not finished getting through the other ones. It has a lot to do with Helena,the new chairmen of DOATEC(Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Comittee)who has lost both of her parents to the planning of Victor Donavon.The Ninjas of DOA are off to destroy the DOATEC,which somewhat ruined there lives but only find a little surprise when they get there.A clone of Kasumi's DNA,Alpha-152 one of the hardest bosses in DOA history.

You are also given a huge roster of characters to choose.From the red-haired beauty Kasumi,to the insane Ayane,who will kill anything that gets in her way.A few new characters are also thrown in.Kokoro,a Geisha in training,and Eliot,a young meterosexual under the influence of Genfu.And we can't forget Spartan-458,who is actually a martian named Nicole.She has no real purpose of the game,but fighting as a Spartan is fun,and everyone has to love her Plasma Grenade throw!

Dead or Alive has always been about fighting with your brain,and not so much as brute strength.Every character has a great list of moves and counters you will need to learn to fully appreciate them.Though if there is something wrong with the game play it is the counter system.Its a lot harder to pull off a counter in this game rather then the others,and there a lot weaker to make m

Okay, so this is basically DOA 3 with vastly upgraded graphics, and a few new Characters and settings and moves. But it's basically just DOA. Where the game really excels is the graphics on the stages themselves. Water effects, reflections, lighting and textures are all superb. In fact, in one stage where the characters fell off a wooden suspension bridge and into the water, the water looked so realistic that the characters looked like animations dropped into a live-action setting. A very very pretty game.

Oh, and the DOA "Jiggle Engine" is in full swing too, of course (You fellas know what I mean). But as usual with the DOA games, I can only play for about half an hour or so before Boredom sets in. Probably worth buying when it hits the bargain bin, just to have a good-looking fighter game in the library, but nothing I'd pay full price for.

You'll love this one. The characters have a lot of polish, and the animation is quite fluid. The scenery is wonderful, and the colors are bright. The game play is as it ever was, punch, kick, grab, block. It really is more of the same. The story lines haven't gotten any better, and some are just crazy...There's one that is very "Indiana Jones"-esque, and another that is reminiscent of Jurassic Park...

Definitely shows of the power of the XBox360, but, as with most other "Next-Generation" games, it's pretty to look at, but there is nothing special to differentiate it from other games of many years past.

Dead of Alive 4 is one of the most under appreciated games on the 360 mainly because of the difficulty to defeat opponents online and off. The games single player is pretty much dull. You choose a character and play 8 fights and every couple of fights or so there will be a cut scene that is like 20 seconds long. Once you complete the 8 fights you will unlock a new costume for that character. Theres your singleplayer... you can play as a different character but its still the same thing with a couple new cutscenes.

Other game modes in Dead or Alive 4 include Time Attack which is a lot like singleplayer but theres not cutscenes and your being timed until you beat all 8 fights, Survival where you select a character and fight another character once you defeat that character another jumps in and this process repeats until 100 rounds however if you die the game ends so you pretty much see how many rounds you can survive.

The multiplayer in Dead or Alive can be very frustrating at first but once you get the hang of things it can be very fun. The first time you try to play multiplayer you will be prompted to choose an avatar. The avatar will be used when you enter a game lobby. The game lobby is a lobby (of course) of which you can have your avatar run around in with the other players your in the game with until the game starts or if you want to go get a drink while the other players play you can exit to the lobby and watch the fight from a TV that is in the lobby.

Overall Dead or Alive 4 is a great fighting game with fun waiting to be had if only the player can stand losing a round or two.

Summary

Graphics 9/10

Gameplay 8/10

Sound 7/10

Difficulty Hard

DOA4 is a GREAT fighting game if you've never played any DOA4 game your in for a great game, however the game's story mode is short. This makes the story weak and the repeat final boss is tough. once you beat it you have to repeat the story over and over to unlock items which gets repetative and old quick. This game offer a great ONLINE experience and the lobbys are fully customizeable for each person. You make and avitar to represent your style (an aligator, a ninja, a human, many to pick very fun0, along with room types (a swamo, a flower garden, underwater very funny). The online is very fun as you can join a game lobby and play around while waiting to fight talking to everyone in there and watch the fight as its happenining in lobby on a small tv in game or watch it on your tv. You can do tag matches, kumite, 1 on 1 there are alot of modes, the bad is if you joined a room with anyone that has a poor conection the whole room suffers which make bad lag and impossible to play, which is bad, its not alot but there are some matches that are affected. the game offers alot to work with in single player timed games, tag matches, survival etc. this game is an EXCELLENT fighter just gave it a 8 due to repeat story playthrough to earn money and costumes but onlines where it;s at. The graphics are beautiful and jaw dropping, and incredably fast and smooth, the best fighting game ever made

Dead or Alive 4 was a bit over average--and that's it. The graphics were grand, especially the scenery. Storyline...I'm not much help. Considering that DOA4 was the first of all the DOA's I have ever played, I thought the storyline was extremely random. But I managed to understand the main storyline of it: Ninjas vs. bad people with an awesome fashion sense.

And speaking of fashion, why is it that the girls have to dress so skank-o-licious to be in this game? Stripper outfits...enhanced breast physics...wow!! I mean, Leifang was probably the most covered girl and she still had everything jumping around. Oh well, man's country eh?

The rest of the characters were pretty well done. Ayane on the girls side was way too powerful but she worked. On the guys side, they are all way too powerful in their own ways. Sure, there was blondie-shrimp guy that looked like he could be another girl and same with his co-partner/fighter Drunkie McDrunk...but even they were way too powerful for their own good. And my favourite character that I like to refer to as SUPERNINJA! (I think you know who I mean) I mean seriously, since when do antique shop owners know Ninjitsu THAT well!?

And let me just say this before I end this: I am a button masher. I blame Tekken at all lengths for my button mashing. And because of it, I severely got owned during my first tries at DOA. If you're a button masher, LOSE THE HABIT ASAP. You will get owned in this game, and it's a bad feeling.

Overall, this game was entertaining. The characters were good on both sides, but the game was a bit too flashy. Graphics made me play this game, graphics helped it earn a good grade from me. I only put 20 or so hours into the game cause the repetition of unlocking costumes and beating that seriously annoying Alpha Boss just made me go mad. If you're going to play it, go ahead. Just don't buy it.

DOA4 is a good start for the next gen in fighting games if you want a game that is fast and good looking than this is the game.the only down side of this game is the AI can go from being D-U-M-B to being a super counter everything you throw.
the XBOX live support is awesome so lets play together

then you'll like this game, otherwise you might only want to just rent this, the games difficult, and the last boss character will kill you in 2 combos on the easiest difficulty (normal) setting. And thats why the developers (team ninja) wont ever be legendary such as developers as bungie or valve. Nobody likes a frustrating game, and thats simply what this is.

The only reason this game does not earn the lowest score possible is due to the outstanding graphics, in one's opinion. On a HD tv, they are the best around...so far. The graphics are the only reason to rent (not buy) this game, unless you are a big fan of the "bounce" factor. If you have to ask, you are too young and should not play this game. Admittedly, it is hard to say no to hot girl kicking even hotter girl's butt all over the screen...but...it might be ok to say enough is enough.

If you factor in price, and you should unless it is not your money. You could put that cash into something far better...like candy or just about anything else you can come up with!

Bottom line... If you are a fan of mindless mashing and super hot fake girls you have a keeper on your hands. However, if you like a solid fighter with anything to offer you need to keep on looking.

Also, in all fairness. I DID NOT check out the on line mode. It might be alright?!? I just could not justify that game in my 360 any longer.

First off the graphics are truly stunning and even better on a high-definition TV, but that honestly is not enough to make a game great, just great to look at. If you are a die hard fighting genre fan or DOA fan then you will like this game because it is not much different from the others, it sticks to the same basic formula all the other games are based on which is really simplistic and translates to; Fight, look at the girls, do cool moves, counter, and win. On the negative side that is all this game really has to offer, it is just doing it over and over and over again in order to unlock more costumes and all the costumes in the game are only unlocked in 2 modes (Story Mode, & Time Attack). So the gameplay can get repetitive and boring really fast. Luckily the game does some good shining in the Online category, because that's where all of your skills earned unlocking all the costumes and watching the same movies over and over again are put to the test. The online play is fun and the cool little waiting rooms are fun also, but at first it took me a little while to find myself around all the customization and online waiting room stuff. But don't worry after some time you will get used to it. So, my overall opinion of the game is that if you loved the previous DOAs then you are going to love this one also; if you are a fighting genre fan definitely check it out, the fights can be intense once the moves are mastered; lastly if you are just someone who plays games in general it won't hurt to pass it up but it won't hurt to give it a try either.

I am a casual gamer, and I considered this game a bit "out of scope" for my gaming tastes. I spent an hour+ learning moves for just one characters, only to revert back to button mashing when I was getting my head kicked in. I'm sure if you are a fighting game guru you will love this game. For the causal gamer, find something else.

Beautiful game, and that's where the positive part of this review ends. Oh wait, the screen shot functionality coupled with the hot chicks in short skirts is cool. Otherwise I was frustrated the entire time I played this. It is too hard to just pick up and start unlocking stuff. I played it for about an hour and sent it back.

What do most people think of when they hear "3D Fighting Game"? Either Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive, or Soul Calibur. With all of the nigh-endless combinations system, horrendous unequality of skill levels online, and incredibly cheap shots, all this game reminds me of is a sadly remade version of the old 2D fighter Killer Instinct. While the smart ones will agree that Killer Instinct was a button-masher, the same DOA4 fanboy crowd will argue that it was a classic.

I don't know about you, but I like to play a game where regardless of what skill level you are, you always have a simple set of moves list you can perform and if you're smart, you can win. Dead or Alive 4 has such a large set of connecting moves list per character, combined with counter moves and follow-through moves, that picking up the game and playing someone who's had it for 1 week is already a horrible imbalance. While the game, visually, looks dazzling and impressive...looks aren't everything and they surely won't save this game from my review. The sound is the same...the HYAAAH and HUUUUHHH sounds still ride largely over the ambient music/sound. The rewards system gives you clothing and moves lists to further your character, yet while the first level...on easy...is harder than a 10 star, 12-round game of Street Fighter 3, you won't go far. All this is, is a badly rehashed Dead or Alive game mixed with an overload of unfair A.I. and a touch of 14 hour gaming fanatics who will put the smackdown on you faster than you can reach the Dashboard button!

I'd say, at most, it's worth a rental...but be warned, if you've never played a DOA game in your life, you're going to cry when you play online and hear hordes of nerds mocking your playing skill.

Is it worth the $59.99 price tag? HECK NO! Go buy yourself a used $30 Playstaion 1 and get Clay Fighter. You'll be entertained twice as long.

2/10 score, Tecmo should stick to football games..

This game is +#$%! to be fair. the cinematic quality is stunning, except for the hair mechanics. and when all the moves, fighting, counters, and combos fall into place, it's a fantastic fighter... >:(, now to talk ablout the real problem! The control is so terrible, it fools you into thinking that you can actually play, but when you get to harder opponents, you end up hoping for luck than trusting your skills. This game is almost as bad rumble roses xx, but not that bad. Not only that, it freakin messes with your wireless controller's signals. every fight, EVERY FIGHT, my controller disconnects at least once. For those who can master the controls, you deserve a medal! im not kidding. Great and spectacular cinematics vs. against awful control, deceiving gameplay and features that don't even work, yeah, the replay don't doesn't even work. there was no "promised" character customization, except for pre-designed costumes (like that counts). Trust me don't even try this game, i almost broke my controller over the frustrastion! Please listen to me on this, take my word. Try Soul Calibur 4, that kicks (for unavailability of a better word) butt! Let compare the games: story: SC4 wins, gameplay: SC4 wins, cinematics: tied, character customization: SC4 (big time!). All that's left to say is, Dead or Alive 4, >:( -&!$% you!- (insert middle finger here, seriously). Thank you

While this is one of the most visually appealing fighters I have played, there are some serious drawbacks to the game. First off, the game is basically built around a counter system. Counters are all controlled by a timed button push, accompanied with the appropriate direction stick push. However, you need to get both right, otherwise, you are nailed with a 3 to 7 hit combo with minimal hope of getting out. Secondly, there's no training system to learn said counter moves. Next problem, blocking. Blocking is achieved by holding back on the stick (opposite direction of opponent). While a traditional thing, blocking is not reliable, nor can you block a counter. Finally, online play. Online fighting is great fun...usually. Unfortunately, most online players have spent hours learning counter moves, and it becomes a defensive battle of who swings first.

While the game is beautiful, I prefer older figher style games (SFII, MK, VF, etc). If you are a hardcore fighting fan, go for it. If your looking for a pick up game, or some online fun, I'd try something a little less difficult.

Amazing graphics..it was like eye candy. But the game it self was terrible. After 30 minutes I turned it off and sent it back.

Dead or alive 4 is more like dead on arrival. The graphics are sweet but the overall game play is lacking in certain areas. The biggest deficiency in this game is the blocking, or shall i say the lack of blocking. If you are being cheesed, which seems like the only way to be successful, you cannot block and to do a reverse takes precise timing and is very difficult to pull off. My son liked the game but he just mashed the buttons, no skill whatsoever was involved and he won most of the time, If you are big fan of the street fighter and tekken games you will not like this.

Wow. I can't believe people like this game, it by far the worst fighting game I have played since Street Fighter. I actually played one round in the Story mode over and over and over before shutting the Xbox off in disgust. The computer AI blocked or countered every swing I managed to push out, but it was so bad that I couldn't even swing the last round I tried! I applaud anyone who is able to beat this game and put up with this nonsense. The game is horrible unbalanced and there is nothing next-gen about it. Rarely do I rate a game so low, but this game should never have been made. It does not come close to competing with any other fighting game in the last 10 years.

This game is way too hard to be enjoyable. I admit DOA3 was ridiculously easy to beat, but this one barely gives you a change to fight. Sure the graphics are cool, and the costumes are entertaining (i.e. Ryu has his exact costume from the Ninja Gaiden game) and the scenery is amazing, but even on the normal setting to CPU is out to kill you before you can even blink. I have rented this game on two separate occasions thinking I was crazy, or too judgmental, but each time I got the same reaction. Right back into the envelope you go, and send you back to Gamefly with a 'no thank you' note.

Let me start with the positives the graphics in this game are incredible. After this I began to fall off the bandwagon for this game. If you like Tekken or even Virtua Fighter this game is not, I repeat not, for you. Each match lasts around 30 sec. the game play is so fast u have no time to think or react. Even on easy I was repeatedly getting bombarded in seconds. The only way to win is to button mash, and in my mind this way of playing is dull and uninteresting. The combo's are easy there's really only two buttons to use, no real technique at all in this game. Just button mashing, all in all I think I will stick to my Tekken. Were technique is more important, and leave the button mashing to the little boys.
Game it til it dies
TrEbek

The controls are terrible, and the game play is just not fun. I don't recommend this game at all.