Let's take a trip back to September 1995. The month when the PSX was officially launched (in the United States.) The two most memorable launch games were Ridge Racer and Battle Arena Toshinden. Today, these games are part of the two most cluttered genres, racing and 3d fighting, respectively.

Focusing more on the fighting scene, publishers weren't worried about the specifics of the game. Just put a few texture mapped polygons in a ring, put some mention of 3D on the box and respectibale sales usually followed.

March 22, 1998, hundreds of 3D fighters later, it isn't so easy. Game developers are always looking for ways to seperate their title from the rest of the genre. Thankfully, Tecmo has delivered the goods with Dead or Alive.

Overall, the graphics in Dead or Alive are brilliant, with Tobal 2 and Tekken 3 being the fighters able to hold a candle next to it. The game runs at 60 frames per second which results in mind-numbing character animation. Great polygon shading and high resolution round out the exceptional character models.

The throws in the game are fun and soothing to the eyes due to the great animation. The polygon combatants don't have nearly the amount of textures as Tekken 2 or Soul Edge, but the Gouraud shading makes them look better than either of the two, in my opinion. However, it seems a few moves per character give off a "choppy look." For example, some of the combo strings look very smooth from the start but the last animation looks to have "skipped" a few frames. But overall the only game that has better animation is Tobal 2.

The backgrounds are strictly 2d bitmaps and are nothing special. Some stages are interesting, for instance the "dance club" stage has flashing lights on the background which adds a little to the game. But this is the price you pay for beautiful character models.

The music is your standard techno~fighting tunes we've come to expect. No tunes are awful and none are memorable. Strictly average. Sound effects are better than most, not exaggerated. The voices in the game are also better than average. All have a nice natural winning taunt with a variety of in-combat blurbs as well.

Dead or Alive truly shines in the gameplay department. The game uses punch, kick, and hold buttons for combat. Used on its own, the hold button is used to initiate reversals. When combined with punch and/or kick, a variety of throws and powerful attacks become available. The gameplay is extremely fast, so reversals make it even crazier. Combos will come from button mashing, but be warned, the hold button can end many of these in hurry with disastous results (for the one on the offensive.)

Collision detection in a game adds a lot, and in Dead or Alive's case its almost perfect. Many other 3d fighters have horrible detection, meaning you can launch a sweep and it will knock down your opponent even if they were no where near the attack. In DOA, if you get hit, you really get hit. The rings are never ending, but when you travel far outside the intiial starting point, you enter "danger zones" which creates an explosion if you are on the receiving end of an attack that sends you airborne.

And what good are all these features if the game can't hold your intrest. Thankfully, Dead or Alive offers tournament, time attack, survival, training and kumite modes. The kumite mode lets you play a string of matches (30, 50, or 100) and at the end you are ranked according to your winning percentage.

Graphics: 9

+ Runs at 60 fps in High Resolution mode
+ Gouraud shading and very little clipping of polygons
+ Character animation second only to Tobal 2
- Backgrounds are flat and uninspired for the most part

Music & Sound Effects: 7

+ Plenty of voice overs with solid sound effects
- Background music is strictly average

Gameplay: 8.5

+ Very easy to pick up and play
+ Good varitey of moves and throws
+ Has juggles, multi-throws, string combos and reversals all in one
- Some may find the gameplay is a little too fast
- "Danger zone" attacks lend to very cheap and overly powerful juggle attacks

Presentation: 9

+ Easy to navigate menus
+ Tournamet, survival, kumite, and time attack modes
+ Plenty of extras to keep you playing
+ Dual shock compatible

Overall: 9

Dead or Alive is in the top 3 of fighters. I recommend it to the casual gamer as well as the veterans. What games are better? Tobal 2 and Tekken 3, I'll let you decide their ranking!

The only Japanese used in the game is in the training mode. Otherwise, all options and settings are in English.