Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

Overall, Team Ninja has done a great job making Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate worth the double dip with additional modes including team play, and a ‘new’ training mode. The additional features make this the game Dead or Alive 5 should have been.

The DOA series has always looked great, and the hidden depth is still there. Whether this is a must buy for you depends on if you already have the original game.

Make no mistake: Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is still a very strong fighting game. The offline game modes are excellent, and the mode and roster additions are very welcome, especially since they don't seem to upset the balance of the game.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate doesn't add too much to the original game, which is now one year old. It's a good edition for a very good fighting game, but it comes maybe a little bit late to the party.

Once again, Dead or Alive ticks all the right boxes and givers gamers that love fighters a very enjoyable game!

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 try the free-to-play game out to see if you like the gameplay mechanics.

Hardcore fans will get it for the new characters alone. But if you've ever been interested in DOA, and might be intimidated by its unique fighting mechanics, Ultimate offers a great platform to take the leap.

Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate is a great fighter for new players and might be a worthy upgrade for those that already own the original DOA5.

A high quality re-package that gives series newcomers the best bang for their buck while remaining lots of fun for competitive and casual gamers alike. Still, the Ultimate edition perks aren't substantial incentive for current Dead or Alive 5 owners.

If you already have the previous one, you really don't need this Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate. There is not enough new features and content to justify the opening of your wallet. However, huge fans, wealthy players and new challengers would probably try the five new characters and levels, as well as the Power Blow.

With five new characters, improved online play and extra modes, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is a great deal at $40. Fans who own 2012's model may not like buying a brand new game, but everybody else needs to pick it up on the strength of the single-player story mode.

Anyone who already owns either Dead or Alive 5 or Dead or Alive 5 Plus already knows a lot of this stuff, so why am I repeating it? Because it's probably only worth buying if you don't already own it in one form or another, unless you absolutely must have the few additional characters or environments. However, if you don't already own Dead or Alive 5, this is certainly the best version of the game.

More robust, more extensive, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is the most complete version of DOA5 and proves to be an excellent 3D fighting game for those who do not know DOA5 yet. However, it is difficult to recommend it to those who have purchased DOA5, unless they are incorrigible fans who feels like they have to own every episode.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is the ultimate version of Dead or Alive 5 (to date), but its additions serve more to please existing Team Ninja fanatics than to make the game more appealing to a general audience.

If you’re a fan of the franchise you’ll be getting this for new challengers Jacky Bryant, Rachel, Momiji, Leon and Ein. The Power Launcher move is about the only new mechanic addition. It looks hilarious, won’t rock worlds. [November 2013, p85]

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is a more robust, refined version of Team Ninja’s work on Dead or Alive 5, providing a fighting-game package that’s a better starting point for players new to this iteration of the series. Current Dead or Alive 5 owners, however, will have to pony up the exact same amount of scratch to join in on the fun.