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DOA5 Preview by NowGamer

grap3fruitman

grap3fruitman

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http://www.nowgamer.com/xbox-360/xbox-360-previews/1253574/dead_or_alive_5_preview.html
‘Fighting Entertainment’. That’s the term Team Ninja’s Yosuke Hayashi uses to describe his team’s attempt to drag Dead Or Alive back on track after years of the brand being used to sneak out swimsuit sticker albums and letchery simulators, but should this recategorisation be taken as a warning sign or the promise of an evolution within the genre?

With just four characters and a single stage so far, it’s hard to know for sure but while a lot has changed, even the most hardcore parry master couldn’t knock away the fact that it’s a hell of a lot of fun to play whatever it ends up being.

It’s all about the Power Attack in Dead Or Alive 5 and while we struggled to get our heads around the concept at first, it clicked within mere moments of picking up a stick.

The best comparison is Street Fighter IV’s Focus Attack, a charged strike that can be released at any time during the wind-up or seen through to the end to automatically launch into a killer blow.

Letting go early is perfect for scuppering attempts to interrupt the charge or find holes in incoming combos but hit the full thing (or just shy, though that may only be on counter hit like the crumple of a partial Focus) and the real fun begins.

The camera pulls in as time slows to a crawl, your fighter winding up for the killer blow but leaving you with one last part to play – choosing where your victim will end up.

With a window of a second or two to redirect the opponent in roughly the direction you were facing when you launched the attack, they can be forcefully redirected into environmental hazards or over treacherous drops.

And the non-traditional punishment doesn’t stop there. The latter destination triggers what is known as a Cliffhanger moment – the most literal use of the term since the 1993 movie where Stallone hung from a cliff for 112 minutes – and subverts the action further still.

Each player retains control during what looks like a scripted sequence, the tumbling victim tasked with throwing out a hand to grab on (or electing not to, if they’d rather just take the fall damage without risk of a follow-up) while the attacker can try and nail a helpless hanger with either an attack or a throw to send them all the way to the bottom and really pile on the pain.

Again, though, prediction and guesswork can see the guy on the receiving end block, escape or reverse the attack (by hitting the same button used to launch it) and this sends both fighters to the bottom with minimal damage, sometimes even leaving the former punching bag with the upper hand.

These cunningly disguised QTEs pop up elsewhere too, though seemingly only following wherever the Power Attack leads. As seen in the Alpha build footage, opponents can be lobbed into cars and power stations, with button prompts sometimes subtly appearing in-world (hidden in a car bumper, for example) that can be pressed for bonus damage, or reportedly used by the victim to instead reduce it, though we never saw this in action.

Still, the Power Attack is clearly the focus of the game (pun very much intended) but it’s not the all-conquering tool it might seem so far. As much as the damage potential makes it worth the odd punt, the fact that it’s a telegraphed, linear strike means that the newly improved sidestep system – which seems to also offer advanced strafing options akin to VF5’s Offensive Move – deals with it easily.

Interestingly, though, blocking a fully charged Power Attack leaves you disadvantaged, cementing the sidestep as the preferable counter option. Well, that or using a Hold to reverse the attack, but poor timing here will see this risky alternative backfire horribly.

It’s still a fighter, then, albeit one that’s not afraid to experiment with flashy set pieces akin to the likes of the better Naruto games of recent years.

With more on show (which is a risky thing to ask for with this particular series), it’ll be far easier to tell whether Team Ninja’s balancing act will work out or not, though it’s with quiet confidence that we await the next big reveal. By which we don’t mean Tina.
Click to expand...
 
Arnell Long

Arnell Long

Active Member
"Newly improved sidestep system – which seems to also offer advanced strafing options akin to VF5’s Offensive Move."

The only new thing that really stood out as different seeing how everything else was stated before but in a slightly different manner. I wanna see some gameplay showcasing this new strafing technique integrated into DOA5. I've heard enough about these "QTE" power blows for now...
 
grap3fruitman

grap3fruitman

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I don't like the fact that this article confirms the ability to reverse the cliffhanger scenario and do damage to the person that should have an advantage.
 
Relius Starkiller

Relius Starkiller

Active Member
I find myself agreeing with grapefruitman - the person who knocks you unto the cliff should be subject to nothing more than a parry that resets both players a safe distance from the cliff.

I'm sure thats something guys like Master, PL, Sorwah and whoever else can hammer into their heads once they open the game to competitive player feedback.

And a QTE for wall damage. . .until I see how its implemented I'm just going to say "What the Fuck?"
 
Arnell Long

Arnell Long

Active Member
I'll wait til we get a video and further details because the whole ordeal over QTE moments isn't clarified enough for a rational or logical discussion and the very loose info we have now isn't worth much of anything. However, advantage should always be giving to the player who set the advantage situation up...
 
Berzerk!

Berzerk!

Well-Known Member
I'm not confident of much information in this article. They didn't add anything or give new insight, I read this when I saw it on the TN twitter and thought it was another bland generalised preview.

Still waiting for something that goes more indepth on how everything works.
 
Arnell Long

Arnell Long

Active Member
Yea tell me about it bro, from the early look of things, it seems DOA5 is aiming for "Entertainment" over "Competitive".
 
U

UncleKitchener

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I don't like this mindset they got, then again, we can't really convince them otherwise other than to make it clear that this is their last straw. Sooner or later some other team is gonna start making a new 3D fighter with dynamic levels and TN is going to lose the edge, so they better not forgot to fix the major gameplay and ignore the competitive players.
 
Relius Starkiller

Relius Starkiller

Active Member
We really need to play it before we start shitting all over it people.

Yeah, some of that stuff sounds really wack but lets not pass judgement until A) We play the Demo and B) We play the post E3 version.

God help me if they F this up. . .I'm taking a week off from work, jumping a plane to Japan and will be ripping off the shirt collars of many a stupid nigga - don't F this up Team Ninja, thats my word.
:mad:
 
Arnell Long

Arnell Long

Active Member
Relius, that's why half of us including myself stated we won't go into detail with a discussion since we still have limited information. Hell, either way, I'm still buying my copy of DOA5 and also the Collector's Edition of NG3.

I feel Team Ninja can still have that "Entertainment" factor as long as they can add that "Competitive" edge most have been longing for since DOA 3.1. However, I was glad to hear DOA now has a more useful sidestep functionality ala VF5.

I would of thought TN would have shown Ayane and Hitomi in action already since that could help their sells with NG3 as it seems they're trying to do. We were once notified that we were getting the Alpha demo shown at TGS, but now it's been confirmed that we'll be getting the build they have now which has updated models, move tweaks, another stage, etc...so Team Ninja, why not show us "the current build we'll be getting with NG3 to further help you and us out"...?
 
Arnell Long

Arnell Long

Active Member
Yes I know, and that's a later build than the one we saw with Hayabusa vs Hayate. I remember seeing those two posters with the Ayane and Hitomi character models which I didn't like until I seen the more recent images of them which showed improvement.

So my basic point is that I and believe others would like to see this in action, at the very least Ayane and Hitomi seeing as how Team Ninja stated that the DOA5 demo is at a better standpoint of completion than the one shown at TGS...which was like 15% or so I spec reckon.
 
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