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Dead
or Alive 2: Hardcore
In
my Junior and Senior High School years, between the time
I had my TRS-80 Model II, Level II and my first IBM XT
clone (a Tandy 1000-TX), I was something of an arcade
junky. Sure, I had access to several variants of the Apple
II systems at school during lunch hours, and a few friends
had Commodore 64s, Colecovisions, and NESs, but the place
I got in most of my game playing was at the local arcade.
It
was named T.J.’s, and while it wasn’t the largest in my
town, it was the friendliest, and always had the best
selection of new cabinets. Stephanie, the owner, was even
on a first-name basis with my mom - I did not perceive
this as a good thing at the time, but at least it helped
to ensure I got most of my homework done.
It was in the mystical confines of T.J.’s that I first
gleaned a realization of the future potential of electronic
gaming. Along with such games as Pac-Man, Joust,
and Dig-Dug, I also got to try my hand at classic
fighting titles such as Karate
Champ,
Double Dragon, and the original Street Fighter.
A combination of increasing complexity (with the requisite
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Stats
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Genre:
Fighter
Release
Date:
Available
 Publisher:
Tecmo
Developer:
Tecmo
ESRB:
Teen
System:
Playstation 2 |
increase
in quarters used) with my acquisition of a home PC, drew
me gradually away from the arcades, and away from fighting
games. I’ve tried a few over the years, but nothing ever
came close for me to the visceral appeal I’d come to expect.
Then, I picked up a PS2…
Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore (DOA2) was one of two
titles I picked up when I bought my system. I hadn’t heard
much about the game, but I had decided prior to buying
the system that I was going to get a fighting game, primarily
for the ability to play with my friends. Well, the verdict
is in: both my friends (no, I have more than two) and
I love DOA2. With gorgeous graphics, top-notch sound,
and more fighting moves than you can shake a stick at,
DOA2 has everything a fighting game fan could want, and
little to detract from it.
DOA2 takes place shortly after the end of DOA. Sadly,
Fame Douglas, the promoter of the original DOA tournament,
has been murdered, and the creature who committed the
foul act is now promoting the new tourney. Tengu is a
1500-year-old demon, and he has challenged the world’s
best hand-to-hand combatants to gather once again. The
back-story is perhaps the weakest link in DOA2. Each character
has their own story line through to the final battle with
Tengu, with the plot interweaving and individual scenes
being shared between opponents. If you play through as
Tina one time, and then play as Bass (her father) later,
you’ll see the same pre-fight cut-scene prior to their
melee; the same holds true for every fight with every
character, with the only unique scenes being those you
get to see upon defeating Tengu. To a large degree, the
scenes make little sense to a newcomer to DOA, and they
are too short to really provide the player with any true
feeling of motive or atmosphere. Despite this, they are
amusing, and the dialogue is humorous in its translation
from the original Japanese at times. The biggest downfall
of the Story mode is its overall length: each fighter
must defeat only six opponents in single matches (no best
of three here) before facing Tengu himself. Some sort
of a round-robin tournament set-up would have been appropriate
here, and would have given extra life to the single player
game.
Other play modes do provide more replay value, however,
with my favorites being Team and Survival. Survival is
spiced up with the addition of collectible items, most
of which provide you with a health boost and a varying
number of points. Sparring mode is also invaluable, as
it gives you a safe and unlimited venue in which to practice
each of the fighters’ many moves.
And talking about moves, I cannot fail to mention their
sheer diversity. Each fighter has his or her own unique
set, and even the least varied has over sixty attacks
and counters in his repertoire. The four basic buttons
plus directional commands are all it takes to unlock all
of these, though some of the more complex require a fair
bit of practice and memorization. Personally, I prefer
to use the left analog stick as opposed to the directional
buttons, as it allows for free movement, taking full advantage
of each battle zone’s three dimensions, and allowing for
a more fluid transition for the more difficult attacks.
While the meat of DOA2 lies in the super variety of unique
moves, the bread and butter lies in the multiplayer. There’s
nothing better than to sit down with a friend of an afternoon
and kick the bejeesus out of each other. Four player tag
team matches are made possible via the use of a multitap,
and there are several moves unique to these battles royale
involving two-on-one situations. As an added bonus, if
you’re watching a friend in playing Story mode and you
get a little tired of being an observer, grab the second
gamepad and press Start - you’ll ambush him/her and go
into Versus mode. I noticed absolutely no performance
hit when playing multiplayer over single, and this is
as it should be; after all, you don’t need split-screen
in a fighting game.
As I’ve alluded to, the graphics in DOA2 are simply
stunning. This is one of the showcase games for the
PS2 right now, and if things look this good this early,
I can’t wait to see what Tecmo will come up with a year
from now. Gone are the days of polygon counting in your
3D fighting games; characters are drawn so well they
could have come out of an anime film, and their movements
are fluid and smooth. Cut-scenes are hardly distinguishable
from the game engine itself, and this is not to say
that they are sub-par; in fact, they are as good as
anything I’ve yet seen in the way of CG graphics. The
fighting environments themselves are lush, with lighting
and textures that really bring them to life; but that’s
not all. The coolest thing about them is that many are
multi-tiered; you can knock your opponents over the
edges of cliffs, off of buildings, or even through stained
glass windows, only to follow them below and continue
the fight. Plus, several levels have environmental hazards;
as if the beating you put on your opponent weren’t enough,
you can through them into machinery and up against live
electrical wiring, greatly increasing the damage you
do.
Sound in the game runs the gamut from excellent to amusing.
Music is generally well done, and fits in with the action
seamlessly. The humor comes into play with the spoken
dialogue. All voice acting is well done, and fits the
characters; however, some of the writing is downright
hilarious, especially in the comments each fighter makes
after winning a battle. To me, this is where the atmosphere
in a game like this comes from, and it was spot on for
my money.
Veterans of the PSX and other systems will enjoy the
quick load times DOA2 has on the PS2. While the environments
are not overly huge, they are graphically rich, and
each of a fighter’s 60+ unique movements must be loaded
into memory before every fight; yet, it takes only about
10-15 seconds to load even the most complex of opponents
and venues.
DOA2 is a blast to play, and a sure hit with groups
of people, especially if you happen to have a multitap.
You can play in Versus mode all day and still not complete
all of the possible moves and combinations, but if you
get bored of it you can always drop into Tag Team and
beat on the computer, side-by-side with your friends.
If you are a fan of fighting games, or you want a fun
game that will also showcase the power of your new PS2
system, DOA2 is the game for you.
Concept
Fighting games have been done, but this is one
of the best. |
80
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Gameplay
Tons of great moves, play modes.
|
95
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Graphics
Best looking fighter I’ve ever seen. |
95
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Sound
Good soundtrack, dialogue can get a little repetitive.
|
85
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Technical
Quick load times, no lagging or clipping. |
100
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Overall
A
great showcase for the PS2. |
91
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