Dead or Alive 5 Xbox 360
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
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  1. Console Monster
    Dec 5, 2012
    90
    Dead or Alive 5 is a serious contender for the best fighter of the year with interesting characters, an in-depth fighting system which is easy to play yet hard to master so appeals to a wide range of players and also brings something new from its predecessor. If you're only buying one fighting game this year, Dead or Alive 5 would find a perfect space on your shelf.
  2. Eurogamer Sweden
    Oct 16, 2012
    90
    Beneath the oversexualized surface with bouncing breasts and moaning girls, we can find one of this generation's best fighting games, no matter if you're new or old to the concept. Team Ninja has enhanced the mechanics in every single detail and it hasn't felt this good to counter-attack a well-placed punch as in this game. The really new stuff may seem to be few at the beginning, but they will have a strong impact when you have learned the difference.
  3. Game Over Online
    Sep 26, 2012
    95
    Overall, Dead or Alive 5 is not only the best entry in the series yet, but my favorite fighting game this generation. It's got the smoothest gameplay of anything out there now and delivers the goods online more often than not. It also raises the bar for graphics in fighters and has some great animation too. The story mode's a blast to play through and provides the right mix of drama and B-movie wackiness to make it fun to get through despite its epic length. If you've ever loved the series before, make this a part of your collection ASAP, and if you've been turned off by it before, at least give it a rental – I'm positive it'll win you over.
  4. Gaming Nexus
    Oct 11, 2012
    89
    You might not know it from the box, but Dead or Alive 5 is one of the most baffling games of the year. It's full of weird editing, ninja clones and large breasted women. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what makes this game so incomprehensible. Thankfully the solid gameplay and gorgeous graphics make up for the often disjointed story telling!
  5. IGN
    Sep 25, 2012
    88
    Give Dead or Alive 5 an honest chance, and you'll find a formidable, enormously entertaining fighter that will keep you busy for a long time to come.
  6. Videogameszone.de
    Sep 25, 2012
    87
    Although very short on modes and true innovation, the title refines the proven DoA-formula and offers one of the smoothest fighting games of the current generations. The systems are easy to understand, hard to master and the visual presentation is better than ever before.
  7. ZTGD
    Sep 25, 2012
    91
    Dead or Alive 5 has been a long time coming, but I definitely feel it was worth it. Fans of the series are likely to be satisfied with the amount of content within. The new characters are great, the guest characters are fun and the new mechanics create a new way to play without sacrificing familiarity. This is a supremely polished title outside of the questionable online portion. Hopefully, they can clean that up shortly after launch and continue supporting it with future costume and stage DLC. This game has legs if things come together, and being a fan as long as I have I can say, it feels good to be back.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 80 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 19
  3. Negative: 3 out of 19
  1. YipManSays
    8
    A nice addition to the fighting game genre. The game is faster paced than Dead or Alive 4 and overall is put together better. There is better balance and the story isn't as absurd or confusing as DOA 4. The best part of DOA 5 is definitely the graphics. Characters pick up dirt on their clothes when thrown to the ground and you can see sweat on the fighters. The game looks absolutely fantastic. This a good buy for fighting game fans and even novices to fighting games such as myself.… Full Review »
  2. cleppy
    10
    it was exactly what I wanted... some balance tweaks... a broader story. still a little goofy, still fast paced. Thank you team ninja, after what you did to ninja gaiden, I see this as redeeming. I'll see you bama's in the ring!… Full Review »
  3. TheWinner
    2
    Missing characters, Missing any acknowledgement to the past 7 years of inventive ideas in Fighting Games, Missing any redeeming qualities as a fighter with dozens of bugs, issues, and missing features. Everything about this game defies the previous Dead or Alive games, never mind **** on what is widely regarded as the pinnacle of 3D fighting games, Dead or Alive 4. Dead or Alive 4 paved the way for almost every fighting game release in the past 7 years. Fighting games have adopted one thing or another from Dead or Alive 4 and incorporated them into their own design, be it the "bounce" combo mechanic, Online ranked lobbies and network inspiration, or even Motion Blur as a detail enhancing visual feature. In one way or another, nearly every fighting game made in the past 7 years has taken notes from Dead or Alive 4 in hopes to compete. Dead or Alive 5 doesn't aim to be better than, or even as good as Dead or Alive 4. It lacks features from previous DOA games, it lacks network capabilities from previous DOA games, it lacks balance from previous DOA games, it simplifies combat immensely by **** the **** out of Counter-Holds making them relatively useless, thereby ruining the "Triangle System" brand of combat that DOA is famous for. It's buggy, rushed, highly in favor to the over-sexualization of it's female characters (even more-so than previous DOA games) so much as to be called misandry. Dead or Alive 5 is the biggest fighting game scandal in the history of fighting video games. Please understand that the Team Ninja that made the previous four DOA games no longer exists. In 2008, Tomonobu Itagaki and over 36 key members of Team Ninja quit and sued Tecmo for business malpractice. leaving Tecmo's Team Ninja with a shell of what once was a development studio. The publicized departure of Itagaki and around 40 people caused a stir up that dissuaded prospective engineers, programmers, animators, artists, and designers from choosing to work for Tecmo/TeamNinja, and because of that - they could only end up hiring people who were not entirely capable. This game is as much of a bastardization to the Dead or Alive series and fighting games as a whole as Ninja Gaiden 3 was to the Ninja Gaiden series and action-adventure hack-n-slash games. Anyone who praises this game either doesn't play fighting games or is simply lying through their teeth. This is one of the cheapest Lie Detectors available, while still being the most expensive Fighting Game without content.… Full Review »
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