Genre: 3d Fighter
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Tecmo

When Dead or Alive 3 debuted on the Xbox it was the most dazzling display of gaming graphics ever. Five years later appears DOA4, featuring what looks like the same engine except with higher resolution textures, loads of pixel shader effects, and slightly higher resolution player models. It's not as pretty this time around, but it's still a treat.

Like its predecessor, DOA4 features techno, orchestrated, and anime-influenced tunes to compliment its characters which come from a variety of backgrounds. Sound effects are pretty standard fare, and the Japanese voice actors do a nice job. In fact, DOA4 sounds exactly like the third title in almost every single way, which is not a bad thing.

In the DOA games attack, throw, and counter are the paper, rock, and scissors; each counteracts another and each is equally effective. Falling down resulted in a "reset" situation where the player was allowed to get back up on equal terms again. In DOA4, counters are severely crippled and players can be hit on the ground and then sent into a combo once again, nullifying the "reset" in the combat. The end product is a game predicated on memorizing more combos than your opponent, which is a significant, negative departure from what the series is about.

Team Ninja is one of the most artistic development teams on the planet, and DOA4 is one of their typical products; high quality, excellent FMV cut-scenes, and some nice in-game visuals. But where the DOA games are traditionally much different than Tekken and Virtua Fighter, DOA4 attempts to forget its roots and beat the two aforementioned titles at their own game of combo memorization and tight dynamics. The problem is that the DOA engine is simply being shoe-horned into that style of play. DOA4 is still a slightly above average game, but I'd recommend waiting for the other fighters that will inevitably hit the 360.