DoA2 Goes Hardcore

The GamePros got their hands on an exclusive early build of Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore and we've got all the juicy details. After long hours of bashing buttons, mastering reversals, and ogling polygonal ladies, the GamePros noticed a few big differences that makes this new DoA2 truly hardcore.

Dead or Alive 2 challenged Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast, and many think it was the better of the two games. Now DoA2 is bouncing onto the PlayStation 2 as a launch title, with enough extras and changes to put the old version to shame.

Babes And Brawls
The Dead or Alive series is famous for its lovely lasses that show off their animated anatomies as they perform flawless martial arts maneuvers. What many people didn't know, and what Dreamcast owners found out last fall, is that DoA2 is actually a very, very cool fighting game. Centered on a slightly more defensive fighting style, DoA2 brings risk and strategy into fighting. You can attack all you want, stringing together crazy combos and mad moves, but one sudden reversal can spell your doom as your opponent grabs your leg and tosses you away. You never know when your opponent will strike, and so you have to come up with feints, dodges, and other tricks to get your foe to commit to a mistake. If you need a refresher on the Dreamcast version, here's D-Pad Destroyer's review.

DoA2: Hardcore for PS2 will keep the same basic system and mood of the Dreamcast version, with all the beautiful women, strappin' muscular men, and great fighting action that you've come to expect from the series. Obviously Tecmo's tweaking the graphics for the PS2's Emotion Engine, but they've also gone ahead and made other little tweaks to make the new game worth a second look.

Those of you who saw the Japanese PS2 version already know what the powerhouse machine did for DoA2, but there are enough extra graphics tweaks in Hardcore to make Japanese players jealous. The difference between this version and the US Dreamcast version comes down to details; the PS2 allows Tecmo to add special effects to levels (like billowing snow clouds in the glacier level), better art design (the rain-soaked city streets in a new sub-level), and better textures on the characters. If you thought the ladies were fine in the Dreamcast version, wait until you see what's going on in Hardcore.

Each character will have additional costumes to unlock as you progress throughout the game. Most of the ladies will have about eight new costumes each (Tina and Helena have only 6 that we know of), while the men will have fewer. Wait until you get a load of Tina's red leotard, Bass's feathered warrior outfit, and Lei Fang's risqu? evening wear. Some of the new outfits are nods toward other games, as well. Helena and Ayane have costumes from Tecmo's Deception series, and if you look closely at our screenshots, you'll spot Zack in his Shadowman outfit. You'll also be able to unlock a gallery of character art (a la Soul Calibur), and you'll be able to watch the DoA characters perform katas as the demo runs in between games.

Read on for more!

Movies:
Kasumi practices her kata.
Lei Fang and Helena work out.
An old dog shows his tricks.
Lei Fang and Helena continued.
Gen-Fu shows off some more.
Once again, the lovely Lei Fang.

Comments [0]

post a comment

Post a Comment