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Chronicle mode is a great place to start for those new to the series, or fans that need a bit of brushing up. Offering up a complete retelling of the Dead or Alive storyline, Chronicle mode teaches you everything you need to know about the entire DOA series. The game uses a mix of cutscenes from previous story modes in the series as well as all new motion stills to help play out the story. These stills are comprised of unanimated character models that are given voice work and occasionally will rotate or slide across the screen to give a sense of action. For the most part these are used during more conversational cutscenes. It took a bit of getting used to, and they're not bad, but when switching from the real animated scenes to the stills, it's a bit of a let down.
To help players understand the story of DOA, the bottom screen in turned into a sort of quick reference display that shows explanations for any characters or important aspects of the storyline. This was extremely helpful in clearing up any confusion I had during my playthrough. On the bright side, all of the cutscenes are skippable.
During your time spent with Chronicle mode, the game will show you have to counter, throw, combo, and crush the opponents you'll face later. The game achieves this by presenting you with small segments that take place before matches. These segments break down certain play mechanics button for button explaining what to do in that scenario and how to do so. Once finished the fight begins and you're able to take on the actual fighter using the skills you have learned. Those who are already familiar with these abilities can easily skip ahead to the actual fight. If the game feels that you're getting more than your share of a beating it'll slow the action down and remind you of what you should do to get back. This generally happens in instances where you should be countering or reversing an attack. This is a great little feature and the developer did an exceptional job at not making any of this too tedious for players who know how to play already. Chronicle is definitely the most impressive tutorial mode I've come accross for a fighting game, especially one as technical as Dead or Alive.
Arcade, Survival, and Tag Challenge mode make their respective appearances in Dead or Alive Dimensions, but in a slightly different fashion.
Arcade is broken up into a series of 6 courses that pit you against a series of opponents for your fastest time, each one more difficult than the last and the final being a boss rush mode. This isn't much more than an alternate time trial mode. Arcade mode should have been just a dedicated ladder tournament like the story mode of previous DOA games. Once you're finished playing through Arcade modes courses, there's really not much to do except try and beat your time. I'd be more inclined to do this is the difficulty could be raised or altered.
Survival mode is broken up in the same manner of courses starting you out against 10 opponents, then 20, 30, 50, and lastly 100. Much like Arcade mode, once you've made your way through all of the courses, your left to try and beat your high score.
The Tag Challenge mode is an alternate take on the Tag Battle matches from the series which are strangely absent from this title. Instead of controlling two fighters on your own, you are paired up with a computer controlled AI to fight in a series of 20 challenges against super tough opponents. Aside from the 100 player survival, this is where the difficulty steps up. The opponents in these challenges are very strong and take little damage.
Arcade is broken up into a series of 6 courses that pit you against a series of opponents for your fastest time, each one more difficult than the last and the final being a boss rush mode. This isn't much more than an alternate time trial mode. Arcade mode should have been just a dedicated ladder tournament like the story mode of previous DOA games. Once you're finished playing through Arcade modes courses, there's really not much to do except try and beat your time. I'd be more inclined to do this is the difficulty could be raised or altered.
Survival mode is broken up in the same manner of courses starting you out against 10 opponents, then 20, 30, 50, and lastly 100. Much like Arcade mode, once you've made your way through all of the courses, your left to try and beat your high score.
The Tag Challenge mode is an alternate take on the Tag Battle matches from the series which are strangely absent from this title. Instead of controlling two fighters on your own, you are paired up with a computer controlled AI to fight in a series of 20 challenges against super tough opponents. Aside from the 100 player survival, this is where the difficulty steps up. The opponents in these challenges are very strong and take little damage.
Dimensions does it's best to serve up it's own multiplayer offerings, but unfortunately falls flat in the online department. Local play runs as expecting, giving you and a friend the same quality fighting you get in the single player modes. Online, however, is so tied down by horrendous lag it's almost not worth the time. I have had a few matches that ran fairly smooth, but were few compared to the abundance of stop and go matches I regularly encountered. That being said, I did come across quite a few players that held records of playing hundreds of matches online. Perhaps this experience isn't mutual across the board, but I have tried using several different wifi connections and had the same problems. If there is one flaw that has held this game from being THE best fighting game I have ever played, it's this. Hopefully the latency issues can be fixed in the future.
The last of Dimensions' multiplayer modes is the ever-so-simple-but-extremely-addictive Throwdown mode. Using the 3DS' street pass feature, anyone you come across with DOA Dimensions game data on their 3DS will show up as a challenge for you to take on. You are given the opportunity to fight an AI based on a person's statistics in the other game modes (the better the person, the tougher your opponent).
Rounding out the DOA Dimensions experience is the Showcase mode. Essentially a photo mode much like the one featured in the DOA Xtreme titles, but instead of photographing active characters, you are able to choose from a selection of static character models and stage backgrounds and take pictures from any angle or distance. While the mode itself isn't very entertaining, partly because of the horrible use of the 3DS' gyroscope , all of the character models have to be unlocked (there's over 900!). Fortunately for you, the game awards you with these trophies for everything. Win a match? Get some trophies! Beat 78 fighters in survival? Get a bunch of trophies!! This actually has it's own share of addictive qualities, it also serves as a way to show your progress through the game. Adding to the experience is that several trophies are unlocked under specific conditions are on certain occasions, giving you all the more reason to keep playing the game regularly.
The gameplay of DOA Dimensions has remained largely the same with a few key tweeks and changes. The developers put more of an emphasis on juggle combos, you'll notice that characters have more hang time in the air allowing you more time to position yourself or make your next series of attacks. The camera has also been modified to shift closer to the person who is in mid combo, getting closer the longer the combo goes on. The counter system has omitted the forward counter feature in favor of a simple high, mid, and low counter option (the same from Dead or Alive 3). For the most part, I feel the changes have improved the way the game plays and are a welcome addition to the series.
The game's controls translate perfectly to the 3DS' layout, the Dreamcast's controller already proved the game works on this layout (one analog, one d-pad, four face buttons and two triggers). I was easily able to pickup and play the game without having to adjust or change how I play it. Team Ninja did attempt to use the bottom screen as a dial-a-combo menu, but I rarely found myself using this feature at all. Not that it doesn't work, it does, but using it doesn't necessarily benefit play at all. It's great as a quick reference, but not much else.
The game's controls translate perfectly to the 3DS' layout, the Dreamcast's controller already proved the game works on this layout (one analog, one d-pad, four face buttons and two triggers). I was easily able to pickup and play the game without having to adjust or change how I play it. Team Ninja did attempt to use the bottom screen as a dial-a-combo menu, but I rarely found myself using this feature at all. Not that it doesn't work, it does, but using it doesn't necessarily benefit play at all. It's great as a quick reference, but not much else.
The graphics of DOA Dimensions are by far some of the best I've seen on the 3DS. The game does it's best to hold up to it's high-def predecessors, and accomplishes for the most part. Aside from the obvious drop in resolution, all of the level designs and textures hold up fairly well. The 3D mode looks fantastic and doesn't interfere with gameplay or your ability to see clearly. With 3D switched off the game runs are a gorgeous 60 fps. Characters are beautifully animated and the stages hold up to their console counterparts. There's an obvious difference in the framerate of the two modes, but not enough to make either one the superior of the other. In fact, I constantly find myself switching between the two when I play because I can't seem to make up my mind. This is definitely a showcase title for the 3DS hardware and what it's capable of.
I do want to note of one graphical addition specifically. Dimensions takes on a new particle effect for hit detection. It compares to ones present in Capcom fighting titles. It really stands out best in 3D mode as the sparks jump out toward the screen at some instances. Personally, I like the addition. It adds a different personality to the game that stands out among the past titles in the series.
"Dead or Alive: Dimensions is a fighting game for the Nintendo 3DS. It was announced as an official title on 15 June 2010 at E3 under the working title Dead or Alive 3D. It is the 15th game in the Dead or Alive series. It will also be the first Dead or Alive game to be released on a Nintendo system. It was going to be released at launch but due to the Japan Pacific Tsunami and Earthquake on March 11, 2011, this game was pushed back to two months.
Dimensions has 26 playable characters, more than any previous installment in the franchise had to offer. It was released on May 19, 2011 in Japan, May 20, 2011 in Europe, May 24, 2011 in North America, and May 26, 2011 in Australia." [wiki]
