Dead or Alive 6 will be more accessible to newcomers but still in-depth and with a decreased focus on… fan-service?
Seemingly out of nowhere, Team Ninja announced a new title in the Dead or Alive series — which, for a bit was looking… well, either dead or alive. The sixth iteration is looking to achieve a difficult balance: both satisfy long-time veterans and those who take fighting games very seriously, as well as appeal to a more casual audience and even to those who may have been turned off by its old aesthetic.
The report from IGN’s website goes in-depth with producer and director Yohei Shimbori; IGN has had a chance to play the game, and they report that it’s remarkably faithful to the older entries of the series. And yet, a big addition to the control scheme is the Special button, which executes new mechanics with just that — a press of a single button (and some directional inputs). Pressing the trigger alone unleashes a new Fatal Rush, which is a “powerful combo attack,” done by just mashing the button. (Thought there are drawbacks to it; it can be dodged or spaced out.)
More importantly, though, there is a new Break Gauge, basically a super meter, which is new territory to the DOA series. It fills up from landing hits or blocking, and pressing forward with the Special button executes a Break Blow, an animated and flashy attack. Pressing back and the Special button is a defensive counter technique, Break Hold, that works against any attack levels.
The trailer shows off high-fidelity graphics that are more realistic than ever before in the series. Running with that, IGN addressed the elephant in the room: what about the bodacious babes of DOA?
“We wanted to make a more cool and mature Dead or Alive this time, and to that end, we made a conscious decision to make the characters less sexualized,” Shimbori told IGN during the preview.
“The female characters are still attractive, as are the men, but first and foremost they are fighters,” Yutaka Saito, the game’s art director, told IGN.
What’s your first impression of Dead or Alive 6? Let us know in the comments and check out the DOA 6 reveal trailer.
Source: IGN
