If you have been following the rather convoluted Dead Or Alive storyline you'll know that in virtually every game the goal is to win a martial arts tournament and squaring off against some superhuman fighter at the end. Dead Or Alive 4 makes no attempt to change this formula so once again it's your chosen character against the rest before a showdown with "Alpha 152" which is the latest project courtesy of Dr. Victor Donavan. There are some other plot elements like the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan vowing revenge against DOATEC, the company now under control of Helena, but since the game does not bother much with it, neither will I. The important questions are, how does the first Xbox 360 fighting game fare against its predecessors and how well does it usher in a new generation of beat 'em ups. The first thing anyone is going to notice about the game is the visuals so I might as well start off with it. At first glance, DOA4 looks absolutely breathtaking. The levels all consist of intricate background details and interactive elements. There is just so much to take in that you might just find yourself being beaten because you were distracted by the pretty visuals. Many of the levels are multi-tiered as well so you …show more content…
There are some speech snippets as well but it is all in Japanese apart from the phrases uttered by Nicole, the Spartan. A few in game cut-scenes is meant to flesh out the story but while occasionally humorous, actually have very little to do with anything. Seeing a T-Rex get knocked out with an uppercut or two girls fighting over lettuce are just two examples. The endings are all CGI and while absolutely stunning also have very little to do with anything. In fact, most of them exist only to show off the female characters in the most revealing outfits possible. Some of them are just downright embarrassing to watch if you are over the age of