Dead Or Alive 6
PC, PS4, Xbox One
The only body part we’re admiring is a brass neck. Koei Tecmo insisted when Dead Or Alive 6 was announced that it was toning down the series’ ludicrous, lascivious fan service, as if it had finally cottoned on to the fact that a game of pendulous waifu dress-up is never going to appeal beyond a very specific audience. And a very vocal one, too: after a fan uproar, the publisher admitted that the sexy stuff was still there, and was always planned – it’s just that the engine wasn’t ready to show it. Quite the jailbait and switch.
Still, it’s quite an engine, and not just when it comes to managing the complex, and seemingly autonomous, movements of a high-schooler’s double Fs. Animations are balletic, combos flow naturally and blows hit home with a real sense of impact. That’s particularly the case for the new Break system, which serves both as super combo and comeback mechanic and takes the form of a powerful close-up attack to your opponent’s face.
For all that it has come to be known more for its jiggles than its juggles, there is magic to be found in the DOA combat system. Just about any combination of button presses produces an attack string, but you mustn’t lapse into a routine, since the Hold system lets opponents stop predictable players in their tracks with
a counter throw. Technical skill is all well and good, but the greatest element of fighting games is psychology, and it’s something DOA6 plays well to, as attackers modify their strings with high, mid or low inputs while the recipient tries to predict which direction an attack is coming from, and counter accordingly.
The story mode, however, is absolute nonsense even by this genre’s basement-level standards. Branching paths purport to offer control over proceedings, but you’re best off picking the quickest route to the final chapter, if you really must bother at all. Things improve markedly in the smartly assembled DOA Quest mode, which tasks you with meeting objectives in battle, a button prompt by the more opaque tasks taking you to a tutorial that explains them, then has you try it out.
Before long, though, you’re reminded that this is a game of dressing up. Each completed challenge awards costume parts, a currency that unlocks racier alternatives to the relatively conservative default outfits; you’ll need coins, also earned through play, if you want to equip them. The male characters have just one each to chase. The women have up to five, and more will follow through DLC (see ‘Season’s beatings’). What used to be a decent fighting game with comical breast physics is now a pervier DOA Xtreme with punches instead of presents. Honestly, we’re getting a bit old for it, and so is the industry around it.