Dead or Alive 5 is the first game in the series to see a multi-platform release since Dead or Alive 2 and the first console installment that was developed without the input of Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki. It is also the series' first installment that was released for the PlayStation 3, as well as the first game in the series released for the Xbox 360 since Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 in 2006.
Dead or Alive 5 features guest characters from Sega's Virtua Fighter fighting game series and several new gameplay mechanics, as well as vastly improved graphics and more realistic visual style than its predecessors. It received generally favorable reviews, but often with reservations regarding various aspects of the game.
Gameplay
Further information: Gameplay of the Dead or Alive series
The game has three main modes: Story (the main Story Mode and bonus
missions), Fighting (offline modes, including Versus, Arcade, Time
Attack and Survival), Online (various competitive modes) and Extras.
Training Mode has more features than the previous Dead or Alive
games. Online modes include an ability to organize and host torunaments
for up to 16 players, Spectator mode enabling users to chat with other
players while watching fights, and Online Dojo, a training mode where
one can practice with other players.
Extras include Watch Mode, where players can watch replay of their
matches and also take photographs from a position and angle of their
choosing with a fully controllable camera.The fighting gameplay is similar to this of Dead or Alive 4, with several innovations. Like in the other games in the series, fights in Dead or Alive 5 are based on a rock-paper-scissors like interruption system, in which strikes (normal attacks) beat throws, throws beat holds (interception attacks), and holds beat strikes, all of such counter attacks causing extra damage. The game's characters are rendered in much more realistic visual style than in the previous titles in the series, including new details such as the fighters getting sweaty and their clothes getting dirty during the fights, costume-specific breast physics and transparent clothing.
The duels take place in interactive and now highly-destructive arenas, where the new feature called Power Blow (a triggered powerful attack that can be executed when a character's health is below 50%) enables the players to knock the opponent character away in a selected direction, possibly into the series' characteristic Danger Zones or over a cliff in the multi-level stages, which might then initiate a cinematic quick time event called Cliffhanger. With Cliffhanger, if a character can grab onto the stage at the last second before falling into a lower level, an action sequence is activated where the opponent character can make an to inflict even more damage if the attack succeeds. The game's Critical System features Critical Stuns (after having been hit with specific moves, characters get stunned and are unable to block, but can still perform holds), Critical Combos (striking a character in a Critical Stun state can prolong the amount of time they remain stunned, but the damage that can be inflicted is limited) and Critical Bursts (a specific strike that over the damage limit of a Critical Combo that leaves the target character completely defenseless for a moment).
Dead or Alive 5 is set two years after the events of Dead or Alive 4 and the destruction of the TriTower. Helena Douglas has undertaken task of rebuilding DOATEC but wants to use its technology for peaceful ends. Helena dissolved DOATEC's Biotechnology Division, stopped the Military Division's projects Alpha, Epsilon and Omega, fired all members of Victor Donovan's faction, and announced that she intends to hold the fifth Dead or Alive tournament, hosted by Zack, "to show the world the principles and philosophies upholding the new DOATEC."
The game's Story Mode is told in the form of one long sequence, similar to Dead or Alive: Dimensions's Chronicle Mode, and presented in "hyperlink cinema style" causing more character and stage interactions.
Characters
Main articles: List of Dead or Alive characters and List of Virtua Fighter characters
- Dead or Alive characters: Kasumi, Ayane, Hayate, Ryu Hayabusa, Bayman, Christie, Zack, Leifang, Hitomi, Kokoro, Rig (new), Bass Armstrong, Tina Armstrong, Eliot, Brad Wong, Helena Douglas, La Mariposa (Lisa Hamilton), Mila (new), Gen Fu (unlockable) and Alpha-152 (unlockable).
- Virtua Fighter crossover characters (unlockable): Akira Yuki, Sarah Bryant and Pai Chan.
Development
Rumours about the game being developed also for the PS3 have circulated already by January 2010. GameSpot has listed the game as being exhibited by Tecmo Koei at their booth during the E3 2010.Dead or Alive 5 was officially announced in September 2011 at the Tokyo Game Show on September 14, 2011 for a 2012 release. The first trailer, released on December 7, showcased Ryu Hayabusa and Hayate doing battle on top of an under-construction skyscraper which is eventually destroyed by a stray beam swinging from a crane, revealing the more intricate environmental interaction as well as a new attack of Hayate. A teaser image was also released at the event, with producer Yosuke Hayashi stating that the image represents the sensuality that the game is now seeking to portray in a more sophisticated tone. Hayashi said that his team is committed to making the environment more involved in the fighting experience than ever before.By this time, the game was said to be only "15% complete".
In February 2012, Team Ninja hosted a series of press events in various locations across the world, showcasing the alpha demo of the game. Further screenshots have confirmed Hitomi and Ayane to be playable while Kasumi was featured in a promotional poster. A trailer unveiled at the Game Developers Conference in March 2012 revealed that the game would include Akira Yuki from the Virtua Fighter series as a playable guest character. In May 2012, Tecmo Koei attended London MCM Expo, showcasing a playable demo version of the game. Dead or Alive 5 tournament was also held on the GameSpot stage. In June, Tecmo Koei attended the E3 2012, where the live-streamed IGN Pro League Dead or Alive 5 championship was held with a new beta demo version of the game.[ A trailer for E3 2012 also revealed Kokoro, Tina Armstrong and another Virtua Fighter guest character, Sarah Bryant.
June 28 saw the emergence of a new Dead or Alive 5 trailer confirming the return of Bass Armstrong and the addition of a brand new character to the series, Rig. The trailer features brand new cutscenes giving a glimpse of the story to come. On July 19, Tecmo Koei's official YouTube channel MyKOEITV released a trailer showcasing tag team gameplay; the trailer showed Jann Lee and a dark skinned female fighter wearing a luchadora mask and partnered with Bass, later revealed to be La Mariposa. The "Official Declaration" trailer released on August 8, 2012, features the characters Victor Donovan, Helena Douglas, Brad Wong, Gen Fu, Eliot and Alpha-152. On September 11, two weeks before the game's release, Tecmo Koei announced another brand new character to join the roster, a female vale tudo and kickboxing artist named Mila, while Gen Fu and the Virtua Fighter character Pai Chan were also revealed to make appearances. The game's launch trailer was released on September 19, 2012.
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