The Fatal Rush is a new four-part combo string also powered by the Break Gauge that finishes with a critical blow delivered to the opponent and a flashy close-up of the damage while it’s easily counterable, it’s great for surprise attacks and for new players still learning the ropes.ĭoA 6 boasts a roster of 24 playable characters at launch, with three more available as DLC (Nyotengu and Phase 4, with Mai Shiranui from King of Fighters as the first of two SNK guest characters).

The Break Gauge is a new two-part super meter that fills during battle while you both dish out the pain and absorb it with the press of a button once full, you can perform a Break Blow to parry and land a powerful special attack or a Break Hold for a guaranteed counter to low, mid and high attacks – both especially useful to get out of a tight bind. With an array of new combos, grapples, and counters, DoA 6 expands upon the already solid brawler combat with several new mechanics and visual effects to match. Fights feel fast, frantic and fun as ever, accommodating both defensive and offensive play so that no two players resort to the same type of approach combined with the new stages and their unique environmental hazards, each hit and every victory feels enthralling and well-earned.

I consider myself somewhere in the middle, and DOA’s Triangle System – holds beat strikes, strikes beat throws, throws beat holds – continues to offer up an incredibly well balanced and refined fighting system that generously rewards tactical players and helps them powerfully punish mindless spamming.

I’ve enjoyed the Dead or Alive series over the years for its pick-up-and-play gameplay that is inviting to both casuals and fighting game fanatics. DoA 6 continues to deliver in these areas as another solid entry in terms of gameplay and visuals, but fails to match its contemporaries in both the single-player and online content it offers at launch. I’ve played all titles in the main series since the original PlayStation, and enjoyed its addictive rock-paper-scissors fighting mechanics as well as its unabashed flaunting of its female (and male) roster’s sex appeal to stand out from the crowded fighting game genre. Dead or Alive has been one of my greatest guilty pleasures in the video game space.

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