Dead or Alive 5 Gameplay Gallery

July 5, 2012 5:14AM PDT

By Jake Harris

Have a butchers at a few rounds from the upcoming Dead or Alive 5, the latest chapter in the seminal fighting series.

We recently got our hands on near-final code for the upcoming installment of the 3D fighting series Dead or Alive 5. The preview build gave us access to the game’s arcade and versus modes--12 of the game’s roster were playable, including Virtua Fighter's Akira.

The rock-paper-scissors style gameplay will be familiar to fans of the series, with battles taking place in interactive and highly destructible environments. The series’ signature danger zones make an explosive return; a player knocked in a particular direction will trigger a damaging quicktime event, including exploding power generators and flaming missile strikes, that set the whole stage into motion for the rest of the round.

Check out a little of what Dead or Alive 5 has to offer below!

Leifang vs Tina

Akira vs Hayate

Danger Zones

Are you excited for some Dead or Alive action or tired of the flesh-fest? Let us know in the comments below.

You can also see more of Dead or Alive 5 in this E3 Stage Demo:

62 comments

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jtthegame316

i am a big virtua fighter fan. i like doa but to me virtua fighter is number 1 when it comes to 3d beat em ups. they should of put jacky or lau in as they have a bonus vf character in akria.

QrGmNcShip016

@jtthegame316 Well i think they are both better, And Tekken as well :P

jtthegame316

@QrGmNcShip016 Tekken is garbage compared with VF. VF involes skill. you are more likely to get away with button mashing in Doa and tekken than in virtua fighter. in fact if you button mash in virtua fighter the likely hood is you are going to lose and that is how it should be. beat em ups need that learning cerve where you actually have to bother to learn the moves and the character that vf has and other 3d fighting games simply don't that same learn cerve vf has that tekken , doa, and soul calibur don't was also present in streetfighter and king of the fighters and is what makes them good. the more likely a button masher is to lose the better a beat em up is and in VF,SF and KOF they tend to lose where as in Tekken,DOA and soul calibur they tend to win..

pqwoei

2 Like

Can't wait to get this with Tekken Tag Tournament 2!

meedokicky

@pqwoei September can't come soon enough D:

Lei_11

1 Like

These gameplay vids do leave a lot to be desired :P I agree with some other commenters about that.

But they don't look particularly slower than what I remember (DOA2). Both players just suck at it.

Still worried about those over the top stages...

gatsbythepig

"Have a butchers at a few rounds from the upcoming Dead or Alive 5"

Have a butchers...

What does, "have a butchers" mean?

Jonny-Two-Delta

@gatsbythepig It's English colloquialism descended from cockney rhyming slang. "butcher's hook" used to mean "look".

nishh

@gatsbythepig

Most likely the mean "have a look"

Xizle

1 Like

@nishh Butchers hook = Look. Cockney rhyming slang. Sometimes I forget that Americans are oblivious to the existence of the rest of the world...

Jonny-Two-Delta

@bloodangel1000 I'm English and I had to look up the origins, but I still hear it often here in the south-east of London, and I knew it meant "look", just didn't know why.

bloodangel1000

I'm Irish and I had no idea what that meant@Xizle

fajin36

I'm getting this just because Akira's in it. :)

itchyflop

A very decent fighter, thoroughly enjoyed all the past games.

PrpleTrtleBuBum

1 Like

Mortal Kombat = Spam projectiles and teleporters

Soul Calibur and Tekken = Talking about clunky and slow, which isn't necessarily bad.

SF/MVC = Capcom

DOA has been unbelievably fluid and fast, and the proper counters are what really sets the game apart. When someone wants to spam an attack I can stop them 100% of the time.

But this, DOA5, without Itagaki. Itagaki was the soul and to me it looks like the new team has pretty much lost it. QTEs? Stupid "wind" effects whenever something hits someone? A lot more slower pace. And I can only guess this demo is very unfinished because it's just not the female models that look weird, Zack looks absolutely terrible too. All this reminds me of the NG3 disaster. It too tried to replace substance with flashyness and also relied on DLC.

But like Itagaki said how he feels that DOA4 is the perfect version there is right now and there is no need to do a new one at this time. I can't but agree with that, there really is nothing more substantial I'd ask from the series. And DOA5 certainly doesn't seem to bring anything I couldn't think of.

Jonny-Two-Delta

@PrpleTrtleBuBum I dunno, to me DoA4 felt like some rushed lite version of DoA. DoA Ultimate and DoA3 on the XBox were far more satisfying to play. I've been enjoying the Alpha Demo, and I'm fairly confident that DoA5 will be everything I wanted DoA4 to be, and then some.

Hidden_Ace

@PrpleTrtleBuBum

I always thought the movement in DoA was slower than SoulCalibur, which is why DoA looked more realistic. Guess it really depends which fighter you choose because most of the charcters in SoulCalibur a pretty quick.

Lei_11

Your points for why DOA is great are spot on.

This is definitely an early build of the game though, so expect it to look better later. I am concerned about those QTE's as well :( They look distracting and repetitive, but you can turn them off in options.

The one and only reason why DOA5 is MUCH needed is because I have a PS3 and no 360.

chibi-acer

Way to hit all the female characters with the ugly stick. Supposedly they tried to make them more "realistic", but apparently their template for such was a Barbie doll after a teen makeover.

Oh well, at least they saved me $60. There's no Team Ninja without Itagaki. Next time pay the bonuses you promised Tecmo.

Sir_Bozack

@chibi-acer .....They always looked like dolls anyway...

And personally, I wish DOA would ease up on the whole sex appeal thing. It really hurts its credibility as a great, technical fighter.

flio83

you can only get bored with 2D fighters because you're not that good at it...that feeling of helpless when you got beaten up must be sucked (this is the principle of 2D - if you suck theres not a chance in hell you'll win match to even beginner - mid level player)..you like 3D because you get the feeling that no matter how suck you are there still a chance for you to win.

Sir_Bozack

1 Like

How much time have you actually spent playing DOA? I've seen spammers (i.e. people who suck) get all sorts of wins on 2D fighters! (namely Street Fighter). But on DOA: spammers get that ass whooped EVERYTIME! And most fighting games (2D or 3D) leave hope for button mashers, DOA certainly does not.

flio83

@Sir_Bozack You must love DOA so i cant have a reasonable argument about this the only way to prove a point is try play 2d and 3d at the hardest setting and we'll see which one you can complete it first or faster.

flio83

@Jonny-Two-Delta @Sir_Bozack Thats a wrong analogy coz i can assure that some chinese takeaway taste better than fine dining, and i can almost guarantee that some instant noodle taste better than some hand made noodle..but thats irrelevant coz 2d n 3d have their good n bad, since u have never loved 2d anything i'd say will be invalid..only ppl that have loved both can truly understand why 2d better or 3d better. i love 3d as well all in sayin that most ppl that hate 2d probably havent spend enough time on it.

Jonny-Two-Delta

@flio83 @Sir_Bozack How hard the AI is to beat isn't relative to how good a game is. An AI can be programmed to perfectly avoid your attacks if a developer wanted to do that.I've never had any interest in playing 2D fighters on anything other than handheld devices. Now that 3D fighters are making their mark on handheld platforms too, 2D fighters just seem obsolete. Why have a microwave meal when you can experience fine dining.

Sir_Bozack

@flio83 Lol, Hey man, I never said anything about playing in arcade mode/vs cpu. I was only referring to player vs player. And I am fond of DOA, its my favorite 3D FIGHTER, but I still like plenty of 2Ds (SF & Blaze Blue being my faves). My only point is that DOA isn't like other 3d fighters. And while your analysis may be true for most 3ds, I don't think it is for DOA.

NiteX

1 Like

Not sure why, but I've always loved 3D fighters a lot more than 2D. I even grew up with 2D fighters, I loved SF and MK back in the day on SNES. But once I saw Tekken it was over for 2D, they just felt so boring and outdated to me.

Sir_Bozack

@NiteX Yep, me too. It took Soul Blade for me personally. Then Tekken 2. But I found interest in 2D again when Street Fighter Alpha 3 came out. I'll always have love for both, but I prefer 3D.

Jonny-Two-Delta

@Sir_Bozack I used to keep buying fighters in the hope that I would find one that I truely loved. I don't know if it's because I was always picky, even in my early teens. When I first read about DoA, when it was getting ported to the playstation, I started obsessing about it. I'd always liked VF, but to me it missed that undefinable quality that I wanted from a fighter. DoA just sounded perfect. That was the first time I'd ever gone out of my way to get hold of a magazine early, just to try the demo, and it rocked my world.I mock other fighters quite scornfully, because to me they're all subpar. It makes me seem like a fanatic for DoA, but the thing is, fanaticism isn't at all in my nature or my personality. I'm pretty much the hardest person to please, but somehow, DoA has always pleased me. Except for DoAX2, that sucked balls.

Sir_Bozack

@Jonny-Two-Delta Yep, DOA is the best.

MarluxiaVI

1 Like

Their were only two things that really bugged me about the dead or alive series. The first was the difficulty, Now i am not very good at fighting games but i do like to play them. the difficulty was so hard that i would just give up out of frustration. if they had a beginner setting that would be awesome.

Secondly, the recoil system drove me nuts!! when I would get hit id stagger for like 4 seconds leaving me open for multiple blows. Judging from the videos they reduced it but it still could be annoying

Overall im still looking forward to this game it seems very good

Jonny-Two-Delta

@MarluxiaVI It sounds like you need to play with friends and practice countering. It helps to practice against all the different characters 'til you recognise their moves and can counter more intuitively. Not all games are meant to be easy I'm afraid.

MysteryJ0ker

@MarluxiaVI

That's the point. If the AI is kicking your ass, then it's doing its job pretty well.

Rovelius

Soul Calibur is still the best fighter imo

...but I can't help but click on the gallery. Damn.

david1230

@Rovelius im with you on that but basically SC and DOA are almost EQUALLY the best fighting games in the genre imho, there is alot more besides just hit and block in these games, timing, counters, hitting people a second before, blades clashing in SCV when u attack at the sametime there is just so much SC did and does well, and lets not forget the best counter system in all fighting games come from DOA.

TheTHCGamer

1 Like

@ExplicitMike Agreed if your going to show some footage then thats not the footage to show. At this point the DOA series is my second favorite 3D fighting franchise just behind VF which says a lot. @blackwing55 Is that because you suck at 3D fighting games? VF is a solid 3D fighting game that isnt unbalanced or trying to hide 12 characters that are locked on disc. Believe me this footage doesnt do the game justice and there are some disappointing 3D games so i wouldnt be quick to jump on the 2D bandwagon.

Setsuka13

Tekken will always be my favorite, but I may give this a try. I never really gave this series a chance because they don't release a whole lot of them on that many systems. As long as it's a solid fighter, screw the rest. That's all I want.

cousinmerl

Doesnt look like the games has changed much, They need to boost the computations for jiggle physics and maybe also look at the benefits of panty and moisture physics.But seriously doesnt look any different from the 3 previous versions.

unicornvisions

@cousinmerl I see why you'd say that, and I agree but it could turn out to be cool.

ydnarrewop

Cool I may dust off the the 360 :D

Tikeio

1 Like

Dead or Alive is a shallow and trashy series made by and for horny losers.

Tekken, Virtua Fighter and SoulCalibur are the definitive 3D Fighters.

Jonny-Two-Delta

1 Like

@Tikeio I'd rather be a horny loser than a opinionated wankstain. Also, why you so jealous of DoA? You don't see DoA fans going out of their way to make negative comments on other game posts. Kinda says a lot, doesn't it? Hater and douchebag rolled into one obnoxious package.

Tikeio

@Jonny-Two-Delta

You cry-baby ass dude. Your tears are delicious. Throwing around personal insults because I insulted the fapping material that you enjoy? LMAO.

Cry more over opinions on the internet like the dumbass that you are. There's nothing for me to be jealous about, but your salty tears say a lot about how my post affected you. Keep 'em coming.

Jonny-Two-Delta

@Tikeio Lol, did you just rant at me like a bitch then delete it? Haha, newsflash fucker: it still emails it to me.

Tikeio

@Jonny-Two-Delta Upset me? You're the one who whined and threw around insults because I shared my opinion on a damn video game franchise.

Now you're trying to talk around that like you weren't visibly upset when you replied to my comment on DOA? LOL. Boy, you truly are stupid.

If you're some butthurt keyboard warrior and resident fanboy who can't tolerate others voicing an opinion contrary to your own, then your dumbass should take a break from the internet. You actually tried to start s**t with me because I said something about a damn video game. LMAO.

Reply if you want, but I've lost interest in making your whiny ass look like an idiot. And it's highly unlikely that I'll read your reply, so you'd just be wasting your time. But if you want to feel like you've "won" some internet argument that you tried to instigate, by all means, do whatever you want.

We're done here.

Jonny-Two-Delta

@Tikeio I'm sorry, were my insults too personal for you? Did they upset you so much that "cry-baby" was the best retort your mind could conceive under pressure?Lol!

MysteryJ0ker

@Tikeio

Because the girls in those are different right? *sarcasm*

FusionRain

1 Like

@MysteryJ0ker Yeah, The girls in those other games are defiantly more refined. It's one think for a character to look "sexy" or "hot" and another to exploit them in a beach volley ball game where the focus isn't even on volley ball.

FusionRain

@Jonny-Two-Delta I enjoy Game of Thrones even though that has tons of sex in it as well. It's really just context with me. I can tolerate and appreciate some... adult or "suggestive" themes, it's just when it get in the way of the main point it's kinda annoying. It doesn't have to be just that, it can be when a show starts trying to get serious after being a comedy for so long. That happens with movies all the time, when they all of a sudden think you should care about the characters you've been laughing at the whole time. I had a big problem with the anime Shuffle! for doing that. One reason why I couldn't get into High School of the Dead. It's cool that you can understand though. Good talk.

Jonny-Two-Delta

@FusionRain Yeah, I get what you mean. I guess I personally have a much higher tolerance for sexuality in the media. I'm a hentai artist in my spare time, and I get some really kinky requests and commissions, so a non-nudity volleyball game, even with gravure modes, is pretty tame compared to what I'm used to. I suppose we're comparable to two people with different tolerances of graphical violence watching something like Spartacus, with one of us loving it, and the other one being disgusted.When I consider that most people's tolerances for sexual content are much lower than mine, your thinking makes a lot more sense. Tecmo probably are just being pervy =D

FusionRain

1 Like

@Jonny-Two-Delta You think I don't know that? Where there is girls in games there is gonna be fan service. It comes with the territory. It's not that the make it them look better it's that they make games like DoA Extreme Beach Volley Ball. That's nothing but fan service and you know it. I have no reason to play smut like that. I know the fighting games are good and I respect them but there is no other "intentions" with titles like Beach Volley Ball than to please players fantasies. There is also a line to see, while "sexy" fan service is a part of every entertainment anywhere there is a part of juvenile intentions to want to sit there and deny that those bouncy physics were made just to make the game look better. Like I said I for one have no problem with it. Look at Skull Girls, solid fighter but the art design is really juvenile. Sexual is Sexual, there is no different intention, you make boobs super bouncy and jiggly then that what they are gonna be looked at like. I'm not saying girls in games can't be attractive but there is a line. Also DoA has been doing this for ever, I am not surprised nor do I care. In fact I'd say in this game they toned that down some. Tera ticked me off when I found that female characters ride there mounts "side saddle". Yep that means if I want to make a "cool" female character instead of a "cute" she will always look like a cutesy girl do to how she sits on the mounts. This happens all the time, and there are much great offences than bouncy mechanics but it's just ignorant to say that DoA intended those girl to be for artistic value and not for eye candy.

Jonny-Two-Delta

@FusionRain Every fighter tries to implement atleast one slutty female character. Ivy, Cammy, Poison, Mei ...The only difference is that DoA does it better. I mean, c'mon, Ivy looks like a tranny most of the time. Poison kinda goes too far into slutty instead of staying the level of sexy that DoA always hits perfectly.It takes a level of maturity to appreciate a game that's sexual and sensual without just sitting there fapping constantly, or sitting there tutting at it judgmentally. Most gamers, and people in general, aren't mature enough to do that. It isn't the fault of the artist, or the medium, that you can't appreciate it the way it was intended to be appreciated.

FusionRain

1 Like

@Tikeio I don't like what his game is looking like either. These over the top stages look annoying. I don't mind the "fan service" because it's DOA we are talking about here. They've been bouncing around people's t.v for over a decade now. I think the judging the gamplay from these terrible videos is not right but when it's all we have really besides that alpha build a while back we can mostly say it looks slow, clunky, and kinda meh. Also @blackwing55 3D fighters has made there space is insulting for great game franchise spanning years to not be call a "real fighter".

Madmangamer364

2 Like

@FusionRain Feel free to call the DOA series a lot of things, but "slow" and "clunky" should NEVER be two of those words. It's DOA's speed and fluidity that's at least a step above every other series in the genre, if anything. Besides, there are plenty of videos from the E3 build featuring players that actually have an idea of what they're doing if you're willing to look good enough. A much better way to get an idea of the game's quality than what this 'gallery' is currently showing.

Anyways, the only thing that's keeping me away from the game would be the 2+ months I still have to wait before it's released. No doubt that I'll be having some long gaming sessions once I get my hands on this title.

FusionRain

@Madmangamer364 Most def, I would never hope to call the game slow and clunky because I know that is the most smooth fighter I've ever played. This gameplay is just terrible. I should look up better gameplay but I was going off this, which I mentioned. Don't get me wrong I have full confidence in the games rhythm, speed, and fluidity. These gameplay totally negates that though. The way it looks right here right now, brings up my notions.My wording was terrible but maybe you can understand me more clearly now.