DOA 5: Ultimate (PS3/PSN)

As a gamer I have invested countless hours, days, weeks, and years into playing the latest fighting game releases. This includes everything from the classic 2D fighters such as "Street Fighter" to the more modern day 3D genres such as "Tekken". While the classic 2D fighters will always have a special place in my gaming history it's the 3D fighters like DOA that have brought me to the next level of the fighting game genre. DOA, as I recall it started off as classic fighters usually do with humble beginnings, and an innovative concept that had not yet been delved into by other game developers. Even in it's early days as a Playstation title, DOA took fighting games to new heights of stardom with their infamous "Breast Motion" physics, and it's simple yet challenging style of gameplay. If you were to ask any of us fighting game veterans we would all tell you that DOA is likely the most challenging fighter in the history of 3D fighting games. You'll find as we have through the years that the simple control scheme can be quite misleading. Mastering the game, or fighting against a veteran DOA player can definitely prove to be quite the unforgiving experience if you are ill prepared.

DOA, and DOA5U (Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate) are both games that require perfect timing. Unlike most other fighters available today you'll find that the DOA series plays heavily on punishing mechanics as well as stun oriented punches, and kicks. If you are unlucky enough to get caught in a multi-strike combo more than likely you are going to have trouble regaining your composure well enough to make a proper comeback. Thankfully though the guys, and gals of Tecmo Koei saw fit to include the "hold/grab" feature early on. This alternate grab, and punish mechanic allows a player to get out of such sticky situations. Like everything else in the game though timing is the key to success with this particular feature. Let's also not forget the sneaky throws that can be used against an unsuspecting AI, or human opponents. What a b*tch they can be!

In "DOA5", and "DOA5U" the soap opera style plot continues as it always has by following the latest development of the characters involved in it's multi-layered storyline. Donovan who acts as the main bad guy of the series is still up to no good, and is working behind the scenes on a new top secret project. Of course the usual cast of characters also find themselves willingly, and unwillingly drawn into the grand scheme as they always have. Each of the main characters including Kasumi, Ayane, Hayate, Ryu Hayabusa, and even the new president of DOATEC (Helena) find themselves seeking answers about Donovan's latest activities. Previously, at the end 'DOA4' Kasumi who was in the midst of the main plot goings on had put an end to her clone "Alpha-152" thinking that DOATEC's involvement in the project was over. Helena who is now the new head of the company had also aided in the former DOATEC's destruction via her own storyline arch. Through Helena's investigations, and cooperation with other DOA fighters though it was realized that "Project Alpha" was merely the beginning of what Donovan had in store for them, and the world. This is of course where the DOA story arch really becomes interesting, and leads to the arrival of a new character of interest known as Donovan's son/accomplice (aka, Rig).

Surprisingly enough you'll find that "DOA5", and "DOA5U" both have the same exact story arch, and chapter based story modes. In fact you'll find that if you download the free-to-play version of the game, or even choose to buy a retail copy of it your current saved progress, and data from DOA5 can be transferred over to DOA5U. This includes Story mode data, Records, Titles that were unlocked, and any DLC that you had previously bought. It was obvious once I got into this latest version of DOA5 that the majority of the new content would be coming in the form of additional characters, reintroduced features, and semi-new mode additions that had not been applied previously in DOA5. Some of the additional content that you'll find might even be familiar to you as it was to me. While new content is always a plus the question remains, "Does it actually warrant a release in such a format?". I hope to answer that very question within the following paragraphs ...

With a completed roster of 29 characters, 5 modes of play, 4 training modes, 7 difficulty settings, new options, new features, and an interesting selection of newly obtainable character costumes 'DOA5U' aims to impress both veterans, and newcomers alike. If you're a veteran looking for that long awaited DOA fix, and a fresh start in the DOA fighting game community then this is your opportunity to make yourself known yet again. If you're a newcomer to the series, and don't know jack about it prepare to be schooled in the most brutal of ways. For the latter category of gamers who find themselves willing to tackle this hardcore fighter I strongly suggest playing through the tutorial first, and following up with the offline modes until you gain a handle on the game's mechanics. Trust me, it's worth it.

As I just mentioned the new roster in DOA5U includes an impressive 29 characters. You'll find the returning cast of Kasumi, Brad Wong, Mila, Kokoro, Bayman, Christie, Rig, Jann Lee, Zack, Ayane, Ryu Hayabusa, Eliot, Tina, Bass, Helena, Alpha-152, Leifang, Hayate, Lisa, Hitomi, and Gen Fu as well as newcomers Pai Chan, Akira, Jacky, EIN, Leon, Momiji, and Rachel. Interestingly enough the new characters come from three different sources. You'll find that DOA oldschoolers Leon, and EIN return to the franchise that they were born from. Other character additions include a hefty handful of 'Virtua Fighter' veterans/newcomers including Pai Chan, Akira, and Jacky. Last, but certainly not least are some of Ninja Gaiden's hottest female stars, Momiji, and Rachel. Out of all the new characters only the Ninja Gaiden girls are truly "New" though.

As far as "Story Mode" goes it was pretty much left untouched by the development team at Tecmo Koei. You'll find the same 71 chapters that you found in your playthrough of DOA5. These chapters are basically divided up into animated cutscenes, and single round fights that flesh out the current story arch. Only the fighters from DOA5 find their part in this visually driven tale though. As unsatisfying as that news may be to you the new "Fight" menu holds some newly introduced content that will no doubt whet your appetite. Aside from the standard 'Versus', 'Arcade', 'Time Attack', and 'Survival' mode options you'll find a newly introduced "Team Fight" mode. This mode allows two players on the same console to choose up to 7 different characters, and duke it out until one of the players is left with no one. In a way it's sort of like "Survival' with a twist. Speaking of Survival, you'll find that DOA5U has returned to it's roots with a 'Survival' mode that actually incorporates the item collecting feature which was first presented in the Xbox versions of the series. As you defeat each character that appears before you you will be awarded either a food item that will replenish your health, or an object that can be collected for bonus points as well as used for unlocking certain hidden secrets within the game. These items include candy bars, volleyballs, an ocarina (!?), an electric guitar, and a martini. Each item has it's own point value, and purpose.

Whether you choose to play Arcade, Time Attack, or Survival modes you'll find that the same list of difficulty settings (Rookie, Easy, Normal, Hard, Champ, True Fighter, Master, Legend) that were there in previous iterations of the series will reward you with bonus costumes for your mastery of each. One trick that I've learned during my playthrough is that costumes can be unlocked through Arcade, Time Attack, and Survival. By no means do you have to master all difficulties in a single mode type to be able to obtain all of the costumes, but instead can play through the first half of each modes' difficulty list, and still achieve the same thing. There are definitely new costumes to be found in DOA5U including some for the recently added characters. Among these new costumes are anime, and RPG inspired fashions (Trigun, FFVII/Tifa ...). For those of you curious about the female characters' panties, glasses, and hair secrets they are still very much intact. The guys, and gals at Tecmo Koei have also added an interesting secret pertaining to their breasts motion physics which can be unlocked quite easily. As one would expect you can tweak the "Breast Motion" settings via the game's "Options" menu should you desire to do so. To begin with you'll find that the only options available in this particular "Game Setting" are Off, Natural, and DOA, but should you stumble across the secret I mentioned a hilarious "OMG" breast motion option will be made available to you. Once this setting is applied the girls' of DOA breasts will bounce wildly out of control even in the cutscenes. It's the sort of thing that would make even the most pervy guy laugh.

For those of you looking to hone your skills in DOA5U, and make it to that top tier level that a lot of DOA players are at there are some new "Training" mode additions just for you. As usual you'll find that the game's "Tutorial" is listed amongst these options. This is definitely a good way for beginners to better understand the mechanics involved in a DOA fighting game. All of the basics are explained there including the Tag Team controls that were used in the previous release of DOA5. For those who want to learn new combos the "Combo Challenge" mode is definitely the place to go. In it you can perfect your gameplay, and learn those rage inducing multi-strike combos that will have your online opponents cussing up a storm. The "Command Training", and "Free Training' modes will also help you in your quest to become the best. Both modes allow the player to perfect their fighting style in a way that does not affect your stats. Being the proper fighting game that it is "DOA5U" has a very detailed list of stats that keep track of everything you do in both the offline, and online modes of play. Things such as the various usage percentage of strikes, holds, and throws are taken into account, and can be viewed by others from the online gaming community.

I know you guys, and gals are wondering about Momiji, and Rachel, so I'll give you the lowdown on them now. Momiji, which happens to be a shrine maiden from the later Ninja Gaiden games has a fighting style that is somewhat like Kasumi's, and Ayane's. She has a lot of acrobatic moves with slight variations, as well as some limited variations of punch, and kick based strikes. Compared to the other fighters her fighting style is a a little less complex. At the same time though she is fairly easy to read should you be a player facing someone else who is using her as their main. As far as Rachel goes she struck me as being a mixture of Bass, and Tina. She has a sort of dancing stance where she is constantly moving on her feet/toes. Her basic punch, and kick attacks are extremely limited, but her main damage comes from her many different combined grappling maneuvers. I'd say she was the more difficult of the two to learn, and would be better understood by gamers willing to invest a little more time with her.

When it comes down to the "Extra" additions there are some nostalgic features that most DOA players will be familiar with as well as some that DOA players might find to be new. The "Album" feature, for example makes a return giving the player the ability to capture, and save screenshots of characters in action. It can be used modestly, or in a perverted sort of way according to what type of person you are (*INSERT ANIME NOSE BLEED HERE*). As with previous DOA games in the series you can also access all the movie clips that were viewed during your playthrough of "Story" mode. The ability to watch AI controlled matches has also returned in the form of the 'Spectator" mode. Along with these subtle yet intriguing additions comes the return of the Title system, and Facebook sharing options. If you find that you are in that "CoD (Call of Duty)" mindset, and fancy showing off your gaming prowess with recently earned titles you can do so here. As with DOA5 this title system allows the player to add not one, but two title banners making the applied statement of words all the more personal. There are 60 pages of titles in total (896 Titles Altogether) to be earned some of which involve the recently released roster members. For those of you looking to gain notoriety amongst the social circles of the internet DOA5U has an improved Facebook sharing feature just for you. Not only will you be able to share your mastery of the game, but also your current online status as well as any achievements you have earned during your time with the game. It's features such as these that really set add emphasis to your efforts, and ultimately enhance your personal experiences with the game.

Before I reach my conclusion I should also talk about some of the more recent features of the DOA franchise that have made a bold return. For those of you who like seeing your fighters dirty, or wet you'll find that there are settings that can be tweaked to change such visual details. In the options menu you can basically change whether or not sweat, water, or dirt can be seen on your chosen characters during the win, and loss poses of each match. It adds the extra bit of realism that Tecmo Koei designers have tried to implement in each of their latest video game releases. Aside from that 'Hit effects', and a feature called 'Online Lag Simulation' can also be tweaked to your liking. While I'm not a fan of poorly crafted fighting game netcodes, and the lag associated with most online games I can see where the "Online Lag Simulation" function might come in handy. At the same time though I wish the lag were fixed instead. For all those Otaku out there the Japanese audio language option will be a most welcome addition for you. While the audio language options are limited to only English, and Japanese you'll find that there are menu language options that go beyond the American, and Japanese language barriers. For some reason, or another the developers at Tecmo Koei decided to include additional French, Italian, German, and Spanish menu language options while leaving those options entirely out of the audio setting section. I for one would love to hear the DOA characters speaking French, or German. It is what it is though, I guess.

Now on to the verdict ...

The release of 'DOA5U' was definitely one of the more interesting moments that I've witnessed in my career as a gaming journalist. The core experience was initially released as a free-to-play game in the Playstation Store as well as a full game through retailers. The catch was that in the free-to-play version the characters would cost you extra to own. You could buy them individually as DLC, or as a bundle for $34.99. This struck me as odd, and reminded me of all the talk concerning Xbox One's future release of "Killer Instinct". Even so it kind of made sense. Being that the core experience was free, and gamers could gain access to their favorite characters for the fraction of the price of the retail version it would no doubt attract a larger crowd to the game considering that there are not actually that many diehard DOA fans out there. In that sense I think it was an intelligent play on Tecmo Koei's behalf to release the game in free-to-play, and retail versions simultaneously.

When it comes to new offerings though I didn't really see that many "New" features. Sure there were some modes, characters and features that what one would consider "new", but most of the changes were based on old features that were reintroduced. I did like the fact that Momiji, and Rachel made the roster, but in all honesty the inclusion of the Virtua Fighter characters was a bit dull. It would have been nice to see Muramasa from the "True Kasumi" Story mode chapter make the roster, or perhaps even some newly designed characters that weren't inspired, or ripped from other game releases. Another thing that bothered me was the way certain AI characters behaved in the offline portion of the game. At times, during my "Master" playthrough I could swear that Jacky was reading my every button press. If the AI was constructed to read, and react on button presses that would be a poor choice in design. The fact that the AI also tries it's hardest to hammer you into a corner in any difficulty setting only worsens the playthroughs of Arcade, Time Attack, and Survival. I should also mention that only a select few of the AI characters are really hard to deal with. Jacky is one such character as is Pai Chan, Rig, and La Mariposa/Lisa. Why it's mainly these characters that are a problem during a playthrough is beyond me?

If I were to recommend this game I'd say go with the retail version. Having an actual disc based game outweighs any digital copy that is made available. If you are scraping for money though, and happen to have some points to spare on your recently purchased PSN card, or in your account I'd say download the free-to-play game, and purchase maybe one, or two of your favorite characters. As time passes, and you have extra PSN cash to spare you can splurge from time to time, and eventually collect yourself the full game as well as some bonus costume DLC. Keep in mind as you do so though that some of the purchasable costumes can actually be unlocked through gameplay. Kasumi's black bunny costume, for example can be earned by doing Arcade, Time Attack, and Survival mode playthroughs on various difficulty settings.

The burning question still remains though, "Do I think it's worth it?". I'm a huge fan of the DOA series. That is a given. While I did have some issues with certain features I still found that I loved mostly everything included in this updated version of DOA5 aside from the inclusion of the Virtua Fighter characters. With that being said I'd love to see more gamers playing it online, and if this is the means by which it can be done I'm all for it. Like I said before I think the staff at Tecmo Koei did a brilliant thing by releasing an affordable free-to-play option as well as a retail version. In that respect I definitely think it's worth having. At the end of the day though I'm going to stick with my statement about the retail version being more worth it than the free-to-play option. I just hope that the gaming community welcomes it with open arms as I have.