Dead or Alive Ultimate (Xbox)

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Visually this game has no rival. It is in a league of its own

It's a shame that Dead or Alive's roster of playable characters remains so uninspired. Fifteen characters (three of whom are initially locked) shouldn't seem like too few, but it's less than most of the competition offer and too many of the characters are interchangeable. Only a handful seem to really stand out and only one, Tengu, is able to offer any real variety simply because he's the only one who isn't human. The balancing could do with some work - Ein is definitely overpowered and this is immediately made clear by the number of online players who use him exclusively - and there are no new characters on offer here at all. It's also worth noting that, although the game's portrayal of women often attracts all the attention, the depiction of Zack, the game's sole black character, is so stereotyped as to border on the truly offensive.

It's the multiplayer that provides most of the title's longevity. There's not much to do in single-player mode, and the supernatural speed and accuracy with which the computer blocks and counters your attacks at higher levels can quickly become a source of teeth-grinding frustration. Although there are over one hundred and thirty increasingly skimpy costumes to unlock, these can only be obtained through playing the game's Story or Survival modes over and over, and this quickly becomes repetitive. There's nothing here that even begins to compare to Soul Calibur's mission mode, and the game is poorer as a result. Unless you're desperate to unlock that elusive polka dot bikini, you're likely to tire of the single-player game relatively rapidly.

On a perfect three-bar connection, the game functions splendidly and is largely indistinguishable from its offline equivalent

Players without ready access to a pool of DoA-experienced friends will therefore quickly find themselves gravitating towards Xbox Live. As Dead or Alive is the first 3D beat-em-up to feature full online play, there's a lot riding on this feature, and it's a relief to report that, for the most part, its implementation has been pretty successful - although the quality of the experience is extremely dependent on the connection you manage to establish and the geographical location of your opponent. On a perfect three-bar connection, the game functions splendidly and is largely indistinguishable from its offline equivalent. Sooner or later, though, you'll end up playing against someone on a less than stellar connection, and you'll be forced to contend with lag. The approach the game takes to this is interesting. Rather than simply allowing the game to lose sync with its controls, as most online titles do, Dead or Alive simply stops the action and waits for things to catch up. This usually leads to a jerky, stop-frame experience that looks absolutely terrible - like running a game on a severely underpowered PC - but curiously manages to remain playable. If anything, things become more tactical as it becomes easier to anticipate opponents' moves and react to them in time. It's not ideal, of course, and Dead or Alive certainly struggles with its online side more than most Xbox Live titles do, but given the fast-moving, split-second nature of the action it's probably inevitable. As more European players come online, the situation can only improve.

It's clear that some thought has been put into the implementation, however. Rather than simply restricting the action to one-on-one, players assemble in lobbies in small groups. As two of the group face off against each other, the remaining players watch the action and can talk to each other and whoever is playing at the time. The next combatants are chosen according to the rules of the lobby, which in practice tend to drift towards "Winner Stays On". It's an innovative system that usually leads to a very friendly atmosphere (providing you don't end up in a lobby full of American twelve-year-olds drooling over semi-naked women, a thankfully rare occurrence) and it's a great way to meet people on Live. Elsewhere, it's nice to see Time Attack and Survival modes linking into online scoreboards, for those who feel the need for a slightly more gentle form of competition.

This has to be the most impressive remake (visually) ever

It's this Xbox Live support that ultimately turns the game into something worth buying. Offline players may be best advised to steer clear, unless they're exceptionally keen on bikinis or don't mind paying £40 for a prettier version of something they already own. Despite incredibly high production values, the lack of new content in Dead or Alive Ultimate makes it feel rather rushed, and the single-player game is poor by any standards. Long-term fans of the series may end up especially disappointed, as this is most emphatically a remake and offers little new to those who have followed Dead or Alive through its various iterations. There are actually fewer characters here than there were in Dead or Alive 3 and the structure of the game is exactly the same as it ever was. Online, however, the game really comes alive, and for many people this alone will justify the purchase. The chance to strut your stuff on the world stage lends the game a purpose and a structure that it otherwise lacks, and the opportunity to show off publicly in new outfits may even persuade you to tackle the single-player slog with more grace than it probably deserves. By all means, buy this if you think you'll enjoy it - but be sure you know what you're getting.

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