A fighting game’s bread and butter, to me, has to be the variety of characters inside the game. I still remember Killer Instinct on the SNES had some of the most diverse characters for a fighting game, going from a stereotypical native American to an undead skeleton. However Team NINJA seems focused on keeping their characters as real as possible, even though they fight against each other with bare fists while wearing stilettos or an oil rig is blowing up around them. Team NINJA has announced tag-team combat mode and two new characters in the roster for Dead or Alive 5: Tina and Jann Lee.
Tina (a.k.a. “The Superstar”) is the daughter of legendary wrestler Bass. Tina has amazing skill at wrestling, easily tying up opponents with a combination of arm and leg locks and powerful throws. However, Tina has forgone her father’s wish to keep up the family wrestling tradition in favor of joining the Dead or Alive Tournament.
Jann Lee (a.k.a. “A Scorching Soul”) is a self-taught master of Jeet Kune Do. Lee has taught himself martial arts by watching films as an orphan, which points out that you could learn and get some exercise by watching TV if the muscled frame of Lee is any evidence. Lee intends to enter the Dead or Alive Tournament with the goal of becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and to avoid Lei Fang, another fighter who is obsessed with him after he saved her from some thugs in her youth.
Dead or Alive 5 will feature a tag-team combat mode. In this mode two fighters can work together against another fighter-couple in dangerous stages. For example, Jann Lee and Lei Fang can face off with masked wrestlers Mariposa and Mr. Strong in an electrified ring. The fighters must carefully outmaneuver and counter their opponent’s attacks while avoiding the ropes containing high voltage. Dead or Alive 5 will also come with an improved training mode to get players ready for other fighters. Here the players can adjust the AI of their opponent, or adjust hit conditions such as increasing the stun timer.
Dead or Alive 5 will be released on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on September 25, 2012. For more information, visit Team NINJA’s Web site.
