Dead or Alive 3

Hot Games

There's not a lot holding DOA3 back from becoming X-Box Game of the Year: it's that good. Every time you pop this disc in you're instantly amazed by the leaps and bounds that the X-Box engine has achieved.

Next Generation Magazine

It’s fast, it’s deep, and it’s so beautiful it almost hurts. [Jan 2002, p.33]

GamePro

Minor audio issues aside, DoA3 nails its Xbox debut and firmly establishes itself as the best home console fighting game of 2001.

Gaming Age

It is gorgeous, full of different modes to play and things to unlock, and most important of all, fun to play and accessible.

Official Xbox Magazine

Glorious looking, fast moving fighter with all the right moves. [Dec 2001]

GameReviewer

But it offers a unique, stylish, and realistic experience, and playing... fighting... exhilarates me. For those whose hearts long to battle, this game strikes to the core.

ActionTrip

What DoA3 truly excels in is the variety of fighting styles and different moves.

IGN

But the team didn't stop setting standards in just the graphics as they combined this level of visual quality with subtle but innovative 3D gameplay mechanics incorporating a new standard of strategy never experienced in a 3D fighting game before.

Game Informer

A masterpiece in both form and function. [Dec 2001, p.98]

Electric Playground

The true King of Fighters, and it is a perfect showcase for what kind of games the Xbox is able to deliver.

XenGamers

A few secret characters, some more levels and a greater variety of techniques for each character would have made this an A+ title.

GamerWeb Xbox

Graphics are great, not many complaints there - except the issue of clipping.

Cloudchaser

Because Dead or Alive 3 utilizes nearly all the controls on the Xbox controller and does it with such ease, that alone is an incredible achievement.

GameShark

Is it the best fighter ever? No, but hey, it's light years better than "Tekken Tag" and a hell of a lot more fun than "Virtua Fighter 3."

TotalGames.net

A finely honed beat-‘em-up that reveals an exceptional amount of depth after prolonged play. Sadly, however, even the most ardent Xbox fans in the office struggled to argue that this is anything more than "DOA2" with big brass knobs on.

Gamezilla!

I wish its storylines were more compelling, but since it has beautiful graphics, easy controls and decent sound, I guess three out of four isn’t bad.

GameZone

Believe it or not, the water in DoA3 is more realistic than the water in "Wave Race: Blue Storm."

Xbox Exclusive

It won't win any medals for a perfectly balanced cast or an innovative control scheme, and it certainly won't be a tourney fighter, but it's still one of those games that you and your friends can play for hours.

Talk Xbox

This is a great game to have for people who want to get friends interested in fighting games, and is a fun party game in its own right.

TeamXbox

Arguably one of the best fighters to have been created. Its graphics are unparalleled and the character models are detailed and life-like.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Just a prettier version of the last game, "DOA2: Hardcore." [Jan 2002, p.223]

Maxim Online

Though the one-player mode can get a bit stale, it’s saner than picking fights at the local Teamsters hall.

GameSpy

One major failing -- its gameplay lacks the depth and innovation it needs to differentiate itself from its famous predecessor. Don't get me wrong, it's not that it's a poor game -- on the contrary, it's very fun while you try out all the characters and absorb all the pretty visuals.

Computer and Video Games

Unsuitable however, is the camera angle used to fight bossman 'Ganryu'. It looks great to watch, but to control your character from the back is immensely frustrating, especially when the boss character is cheaper than a tupenny whore.

G4 TV

Unfortunately, aside from slight interludes and fantastic-looking, if generally pointless, prerendered end movies, any actual meaningful bits of plot are almost nonexistent for most of the characters...[yet] one of the greatest fighting games ever made.

Cincinnati Enquirer

A perfect game for "guy's night" at home.

Total Video Games

Behind all of the surface gloss is a very shallow game that will disappoint fighting fans, there isn’t a lot to go back to once you’ve completed it and the end feeling is slightly cheap.

GameSpot

Looks absolutely stunning. It's the best-looking home fighting game ever released...Once you get past its graphics--and you will--you'll find that DOA3 doesn't offer much of anything that hasn't been done in other 3D fighting games.

Media and Games Online Network

While the graphics are certainly a feat, they alone can't make the game worth playing.

Xbox Evolved

Whether you’re a pubescent teenager, who likes to get cheap peep shows from games, an Xbox gamer looking for something new to play, or a DOA fan, there are better choices out there but none quite like Dead or Alive 3.

Game Revolution

The whole game makes as much sense as watching an episode of "Twin Peaks" backwards. But it looks a helluva lot better.

Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

It's fine, spectacular, stunning, in a thoroughly ordinary fashion. It thrills, but will leave those who've previously visited the series contented rather than elated.

Xbox Nation Magazine

There is very little here that we would describe as new, original, or subtle. [Jan 2002, p.76]

Yahoo! Games

Once you get past the graphics, though, everything else is virtually unchanged. As mentioned above, there's really not much new here.

All Game Guide

The old adage "beauty is only skin deep" basically sums up Dead or Alive 3 rather nicely.