The original Dead or Alive game was a pretty competent fighter. Using Sega's Model 2 board, Tecmo was able to create a game that focused more on the art of countering and waterbed boobies than anything else. Out comes Dead or Alive 2 for the Dreamcast, and while the sexiness and the core of the fighting system have been retained, almost everything else has been overhauled. Yes, even our bouncing boobs.

The story behind Dead or Alive 2 is that at the end of the 20th century a great leader was murdered. His name was Fame Douglas, the sponser of the original Dead or Alive tournament. Since his death, the world has become chaotic due to no leader doing... leading guy stuff. Now, the evil Tengu has organized the second Dead or Alive tournament, instilling fear into every combatant across the globe.

Enough with the storyline, we're not here for that kind of stuff, right? We're here for the fighting, and what a great fighter it is. The appeal of Dead or Alive 2 is it's gorgeous and interactive environments in which your characters fight in. From the beautiful and mysterious Aerial Gardens to the spacious Dragon Hill, to the ever popular Danger Zone, there's something for every type of fighter. The kicker in Dead or Alive 2 is that the environments that you fight in are fully interactable with your characters. You can knock your opponents into walls, electric currents, even off buildings and waterfalls. All of these represent the Danger Zones that lined the floor in the original Dead or Alive, as they've now been updated for a more modern and obviously natural feel. Also getting an update are the characters themselves, as they look more detailed and move more smoothly than most 3D fighters to date. From the way that Ryu executes his Izuna Drop, to the gorgeous Lei Fang 'flowing' in her stance, Dead or Alive 2 is definitely a beautiful game. One thing that struck me as odd was the fact that there was some hint of slowdown when you KO'd someone into a explosive danger zone. This is especially evident if you're using a character who executes multiple hits on a wall throw, such as Ein and Jann Lee. The arcade version was noticably faster in this department, while the DC kind of chugs it slowly, which is probably due to the larger RAM count that the Naomi arcade boards possess.

The soundtrack is pretty good in its own right as well. Everyone has their favorites (mine being Bass' them as well as the opening theme, Exciter), and each theme relates to their respective fighters accordingly. For Bass, we get a rather hard and rough theme, while Helena's theme carries that Opera overtone that suits her character to a T. The sound effects are also done very well, with the explosions and the voice acting. The only problem I have is that the subtitles that go with the voices are rather drab. Although they are literal translations, it would've been great to have the dialogue spiced up a little more for the Dreamcast version.

The controls are extremely precise, especially with a fighting stick. The fighters are responsive and there will be nary a time that you'll be losing a fight due to lag time with your controls. The d-pad isn't bad at all, but if you want something that's perfect, I'd invest in an arcade stick. The tapping motions as well as the rolling motions feel so much better on a stick than on a pad.

As for the gameplay, it's definitely a mixed bag for me. The countering system is great... once you select Arcade mode in the Options menu. Tecmo was nice enough to provide us with both Arcade and Dreamcast mode for the counters. In Dreamcast mode, Tecmo nixed the mid-level difference between punch and kick and made them one level of countering, which is executed using b+Free. High and Low counters are performed by doing u/b+Free and d/b+Free respectively. In the arcade version, the counters are much more complex and require a better knowledge of your opponent as well as the character they are using. The Arcade mode requires you to do two inputs for your counters, such as forward, u/b+Free for a high counter. The mid level counters are also separated into mid punch and mid kick, making it more important to know exactly what'll be coming up next. The problem I have with the counter modes is that the damage is not toned down at all for the easier Dreamcast mode. A Critical Hold (where you counter just before the attack hits you) does 60 points of damage for both the Arcade and Dreamcast mode, which is simply not right. Tecmo should have known this and should have at least cut the damage in half because they were cutting the inputs in half as well. That being said, any match up between Arcade and Dreamcast mode users become an uphill battle for the Arcade mode user simply because of the disadvantage in countering, which is a huge part of the Dead or Alive 2 system.

Tecmo didn't add many new modes to the port, with only a Team Battle mode and a Sparring (re: Practice) mode making the cut. The Team Battle is pretty fun, although it doesn't have any new twists that could've made it better. Sparring mode is pretty bad, considering how great some of these training modes have been (Soul Calibur, VF3). While you can command the computer to execute two moves (one before a hit, one after), you cannot tell them what kind of throws/moves you would like them to do, nor can you tell at what hit level each attack is at. Being able to tell the computer to counter is neat, as it allows you to form your own guaranteed combos, but it sort of lacks that charm that SC had. To top it all off, Tecmo didn't include an in-game movelist! The instruction manual doesn't even include even 20% of the moves that each character can execute. Oh well, at least this gives my character guides some use, right? :D

I really liked the Tag Battles in DoA2, because of the incredible pace that they go at. While the VS series and TTT go pretty fast, they pale in comparison to the speed that DoA2 goes at. Each match has a zippy pace, with characters constantly tagging in and out almost instantaneously when executing long juggles and strings.

Tecmo did some good with this port by making the DC version have the Millenium updates in it. This means some damage changes for moves, adding in some more combo starters for each character and changing the physics of how characters hit the wall. Tecmo did not include any major secrets in the game however, so it's best to stop looking now and just accept the fact that this is a 'true' port of the Millenium version. Tecmo was nice enough to include the schoolgirl uniforms for Kasumi and Ayane from the start though (Gotta love the schoolgirl uniforms). :D

In reality, Dead or Alive 2 is probably the second best 3D fighter available for the Dreamcast right now (Soul Calibur is still the best, in my opinion). That being said, it's still an amazing game, with a pace that's unrivaled even when stacked against the speedy 2D fighters. If you haven't already picked this sucker up, you better do it fast. It's a gorgeous game, with great character designs and an extremely fast pace... and if you refuse to get it, I'll send Zack the metallic Teletubbie to your house to give you the Stunner!

· · · Reno