Dead or Alive Dimensions review

Format: 3DS
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Tecmo Koei
Released: 20 May 2011
Score: 5/10

Dead or Alive is a fighting series that has always been on the periphery. It always performs confidently, but doesn't foster the same kind of widespread devotion a Street Fighter, a Tekken or a Virtua Fighter does. Maybe people are simply embarrassed to admit an affinity to a series in which Tecmo Koei cheerily put female competitors into teeny weeny bikinis and has them jiggle about in a rubbish beach volleyball game every now and then.

It's a shame, as Dead or Alive hides a deep and elegant 3D fighter underneath the garish veneer. It's traditionally been tough aswell, often to the point of cheap unfairness (players of DoA4 will remember final boss Alpha 152 all too well). So it's the right idea to massage the challenge into something more manageable for the 3DS's Dimensions. There is, however, such a thing as going too far.

Dead or Alive Dimensions serves up a terrific fighting engine, tailor-made to the 3DS's strengths and weaknesses, and then fails to do anything of worth with it. The combat is designed around just four buttons and the circle pad, one each for punches and kicks, then one for throws and one for defence and countering. Angling the circle pad while performing a strike, and your character will aim at that height. It's fluid and tangible, giving you a terrific sense of control. There's plenty of depth too, with juggles and counter strikes forming slick combo chains. Hammering your opponent with a smooth chain of strikes is deeply satisfying, and each character in the 25 strong roster has their own styles and combinations.

In a neat helping hand, your character's combo list is displayed on the bottom screen. If you touch the combo, your character will perform the moves automatically. It's not as simplistic as it sounds, however. Reeling through the combo list and tapping the desired option isn't exactly intuitive in the middle of a fight, so it serves better as reference, allowing you to see the timing and execution before mastering the button combos yourself.