Review for Dead or Alive 6. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 01/03/2019
Dead or Alive 6 reaches ten years after its abandonment - or rather, the expulsion from Team Ninja - by Tomonobu Itagaki. From that moment the qualitative decline of the series and of Ninja Gaiden has been accentuated, especially as regards the latter, which disappeared from the radar after the bad Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. Dead or Alive, however, in recent years is much more alive that dead: with the fifth chapter (not exactly the best, it must be said ..., Ed), in fact, Koei Tecmo has returned to multi-platform and has adopted, for the first time, the model so dear to Capcom of multiple releases, thus overcoming the one and a half million copies sold.
Dead or Alive 6 is the first chapter of the fully current gen series, considering that the predecessor was released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 only in its final version. For the occasion, Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja have created a new graphics engine, which will not only be used for Dead or Alive. The stated goal is to move towards a greater realism, and we must admit that in part it has been achieved: in addition to a more imposing polygonal mass - obviously, considering the more than six years that separate us from Dead or Alive 5 - various details can be noted such as the rendering of the fabrics, the movement of the clothes and their damage (implemented for each character's main costume). All without sacrificing fluidity, which remains excellent; in addition, an option has been included to favor detail at the expense of fluidity, even if the writer has not noticed particularly significant differences.
Overall, however, we are not faced with a technical prodigy, and this emerges above all from the details, which you can put under the magnifying glass in the replay and spectator modes (in which you can observe a clash between two wrestlers guided by the CPU): in addition to some elements of the scenarios created with less attention (as we had already observed in our last hands-on), you can notice a disappointing hair management (as you can see in the screenshot below) and polygonal interpenetrations, which however do not affect the gameplay.
Stylistically, Dead or Alive 6 continues on the path started by its predecessor towards a less focus on sexualization of her fighters, in deference to the greater sensitivity on the subject developed in the last decade by the western public, as evidenced by the choice by Team Ninja not to locate Dead or Alive Xtreme 3. Even the physics of the breasts that has always characterized the series - which can be activated from the options menu, together with dirt, sweat and water (introduced in the previous episode) and the limitation of violence - seems to have lost part of its… “magic”, gaining in moderation and realism.
Il starting roster has 24 characters (none of which to be unlocked), in line with the most recent predecessors. Added to these are Nyotengu (pre-order bonus), Phase 4 (Digital Deluxe Edition) and two SNK guests, one of which is Mai Shiranui. Imagining that new DLCs or even new editions of the game will be announced, it should be noted that Gen Fu, Leon, Momiji, Tengu and some clones of Kasumi are missing. The new entries are the street fighter Diego and the Finnish scientist NiCO, expert in the exotic discipline of Pencak Silat. The roster is not too unbalanced in relation to the between females and males (which are eleven), while the speech is very different on the side morals: i men have six, women fifteen. These numbers may seem enormous compared to those of the past, but they must be divided by three, as each set of clothing is declined in three color variations. Even the costumes, in any case, turn out to be rather chaste: the only ones that are a bit “daring” are borrowed from the previous chapters of Dead or Alive. Probably a lot of the more "tantalizing" things will be included in the DLC ...
The game aims to make all its fighters known, dedicating to each his space in the two main single player modes, the History and the DOA Missions. The first goes on to develop the events starting, essentially, from the conclusion of Dead or Alive 5, and, once again, sees protagonists Kasumi, Ayane and Hayate, but reserves at least one fight for all the wrestlers (excluding Raidou, for plot reasons ), each of which has its own time-line in the mission menu of the History, divided into chapters. In fact, consider the brevity and easiness, constitutes a sort of appetizer, not too tasty: both storylines - one relating to the tournament, one to the nefarious plans of MIST - are carried out without great enthusiasm, especially the one dedicated to the sixth edition of Dead or Alive, just sketched.
The mode DOA missioninstead, it will keep you busy longer. It consists of 104 missions, each of which consists of three objectives, which can be of the most varied: perform a certain number of tricks (or throws, counter moves, etc.), not lose any round, defeat an opponent within a time limit, and so on. The achievement of an objective is worth a reward, which can be a title, a document from the DOA Encyclopedia (which reveals some background or background of the plot) or, more simply, in-game currency, useful for buying titles, music tracks, hairstyles , accessories and costumes. Speaking of costumes, these, before being purchasable, must be unlocked by completing the three mission objectives (or leveling up with the character) according to a mechanism that appears to me - after almost twenty hours of play - dark and inequitable.
Then we find the usual ways to complete the kit, unfortunately deprived of the traditional Tag Mode: versus, arcade, survival, time attack and training. The latter is full of specific sub-modes, as well as well done, and is coordinated with Mission DOA: for example, if one of the objectives is to make 5 counters +, pressing Triangle you can go to the corresponding section of the tutorial. This is in line with Team Ninja's goal of establishing itself at the level of eSports (which we will come back to soon) so that the whole single player system must be read in order to prepare the player to be competitive, not just teaching him all the mechanics. of the combat system, but also making him try all the fighters, with the possibility, then, to carefully study all the moveset.
As for the gameplay, here we can only reconfirm what was already observed in the beta test phase: Dead or Alive 6 does not upset the control system that has consolidated over the years, but makes the combat system even more accessible. , with the introduction ofFatal Assault, a super move that is activated with simple combinations that include the R1 key (command S, i.e. Special) when the relative bar is full (at least one of the two segments, depending on the move). The main problem of this novelty lies not so much in the possibility of easily making devastating moves, but in the upset of the counter system: by pressing ← R1, in fact, it is possible to perform a "universal" counter grip, which does not take into account, that is, the usual difference between punches and kicks or the height of the blow; in this way, the player pressed by the opponent's combos can decide to sacrifice a segment of the bar to get out of a situation that would otherwise be very difficult to manage. It will please casual gamers, a little less for everyone else; in this regard, it should be noted that despite the aspirations declared by Team Ninja, Dead or Alive 6 will not be included in EVO 2019.
That said, the clashes are very rapid and pyrotechnic, thanks not only to the above choices, but also to the interactivity of most of the arenas, some of which develop on two levels and can be very "imaginative" (pterodactyls? Kraken ?!). As usual, pure technique takes a back seat to timing: combos do not require very complex combinations, but the right "rhythm", which is also essential for making counter moves, which has always been at the center of the combat system. Compared to the past, however, the clashes are more violent, by virtue of the greater emphasis placed on the realism and physicality of the combatants, but, as we have already said, there is a filter to limit violence.
Dead or Alive 6 is a well-made three-dimensional fighting game, which favors timing and speed over technicalities. The game fully reflects the will of Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja to have a more realistic and less "lascivious" product, but it does not abandon its roots, trying to please fans and new generation. He can? In our opinion, casual gamers will be the most satisfied.
► Dead or Alive 6 is a fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 01/03/2019
