Dead or Alive Dimensions impressions (3DS)
By Noct 15 Comments
So I have finally bought a new 3DS game... Got SF4 and Lego SW the day I bought the console, and I haven't been interested in a single other title since.
In short, it's pretty damn good for a DOA game, excellent for a portable fighter, and has some of the best visuals I've seen on that hardware thus far.
Current feelings:
Pros:
The graphics are outstanding. Outside of a litle jaggy-ness when they pull really far away from the chars, and some wierdness in the Story mode (sometimes the characters are fully animated, other times they just show static photos) , it looks spectacular, and finally shows the power this thing has over the previous DS.
The control is top notch. I'm a little dissapointed that they put all the automatic stuff in there (touch any combo or special on the bottom screen and the character does it), but the answer there is pretty simple, I just don't use it. The problem here is that if you play someone else, they have all of that available to them. I guess this is more of a slam to the current trend of making fighters more accessible then it is a against this game in particular, but to quote a certain horse from Ren and Stimpy. "no Sir, I don 't like it"
It's a VERY solid entry in the DOA series. The roster is amazing for a portable (and really, for a console version this would be impressive), there is a good amount of stuff to do in SP, and the unlocking/DLC features are really nice.
The 3D is GREAT. This is hands-down my favorite usage of 3d that Ive seen on this thing yet. The characters pop from the backgrounds, you see some stuff stick out of the screen, etc.. This is exactly what I was hoping for and it looks great.
Cons:
It feels like a port of DOA4... This is supposed to be a new entry in the franchise, and it really doesn't feel like it. I haven't even scratched the surface of the title yet, but I haven't seen anything new thus far.
They reduced the boob jiggle. Heh, this is a silly complaint, and I'm sure there are just as many people who will consider this a pro as a con, but I enjoyed the ridiculous campyness of the sexuality in this series, and this one feels a little downplayed. (apart from the photo mode, which is just sleazy enough)
The bottom screen of info is not very user-friendly, and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to just look up a particular move. Like, just to see what is available to each character you have to scroll through a VERY heavy list of every move, combo, and throw they have, and this screen is not even available in the pause menu. A quick movelist in the pause menu that is seprated by special, combo, etc would have been very helpful.
The DLC availablity kinda stinks. It's very cool and super-commendable that they are placing all this free DLC out there, but if you miss it on the day it's released, you miss it, and I currently dont have any way to connect my DS to Wifi.
The AI is just awful. Granted, I'm only playing on default difficulty so far, but I haven't even lost a round yet, even against "boss characters', and that seems kinda off seeing as how I'm really not that good at this game.
The options are VERY limited. Like for example, you cannot even turn off the background music. I know this is a minor gripe, but it does bother me. I'd like to be able to kill everything but the voices and effects and listen to my own music outside the game, but alas, thats not in the cards.
All in all, its an excellent game (so far), and hands-down my favorite title on this system yet. Praise to Team Ninja.