One of the best fighting game series period.
Tecmos' bouncy fighting game series lands on the Sega Dreamcast with the second installment; Dead or Alive 2. This game plays like a cousin to the Tekken and Virtua Fighter series, as it is a hand to hand fighting game based on real martial arts. There is a punch button, a kick button, a throw button, and a counter button. Stringing together combos feels easy and responsive, but what sets this fighter apart from others are the counter attacks, which is key to getting any good at this game. The game also features huge, multi-tierd backgrounds where for instance, you can knock your opponent out of a window, and jump out the window following them to the outside ground where the fight continues. There are 12 selectable characters (half guys, half girls) each with alternate outfits. Aside from story mode, team battle, time attack, survival, and 1 0n 1 vs mode,there is also tag team play available, where 2 players can each control a team of 2, or up to 4 players can play each with an individual character. This game was ported from the Sega Naomi Arcade hardware and runs perfectly on the Sega Dreamcast. The visuals are absolutely gorgeous, the best on the dreamcast beating out even Soul Caliber. The gameplay is top-notch with tight responsive controls, and a well balanced roster of characters and fighting styles. While not as deep as Virtua Fighter, this game takes a more user friendly approach suiting both purists and begginers alike. While not necessarily shallow, there is a simplified control scheme employed here in comparison to other fighters, the gameplay is easy to learn with some depth to mastery. The only gripe I have with this game is the total lack of unlockable content. What you get is the arcade experience brought to your home, which is good, but there isn't much single player replayability aside from the arcade nostalgia. There is a PS2 version of this game which does have unlockable content, but it doesn't look as good, or play as smoothly as this or the arcade version. Overall I give this game a 4 out of 5. If you enjoy fighting games, and own a Sega Dreamcast, then this is the cream of the crop.Read full review
