Hardcore 3D fighting fans, are usually either from the Virtua Fighter or the Tekken camp. To these fanatics, no other game can live up to the great gameplay of their respective favorite series. So where does that put the plethora of other excellent 3D fighters? Well, in the hands of the majority or regular ol' casual gamers. Dead Or Alive 3, while still not reaching the depths of either aforementioned series, is one of the best overall fighting games I've played in quite some time. Why? Because it is gorgeous, full of different modes to play and things to unlock, and most important of all, fun to play and accessible.

Everyone's jaw hit the floor when screens of DOA3 were first released. Many proclaimed them to be mocked up or even edited in Photoshop. Fortunately, the game does look that good. The characters are slightly refined over the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 versions of Dead Or Alive 2, but besides being a bit more seamless as a result, it is not easy to point out many changes. They still feature that anime style, and the females are as bouncy as ever. The game runs at a silky smooth 60 fps framerate, and appears to be fully anti-aliased. Tecmo implemented some of the best looking textures so far seen on a console, and all that Xbox RAM and hard drive cache has definitely not gone to waste. The environments are detail-rich, and expansive and feature more little visual bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at. Dead Or Alive 3 is absolutely among the cleanest, jaggy and shimmer free games I have laid eyes on.

The game features some of your typical themed fighting stages, or rather, environments. But only this time, they are more fully realized then ever before. The beach stage for example. You have a realistic looking shoreline complete with smoothly lapping waves, cabanas, breakable fences and structures, seagulls flying overhead, and palm trees which drop coconuts when you smash your opponent into them. Best of all, you can literally fight anywhere you wish. The amount of interactivity in each stage is incredible, and one of the reasons the game is just so damn fun to play. Some are multi-tiered like those in Dead Or Alive 2. Knocking your opponent through a window, into a neon sign and onto the street only to have them get up and continue the fight, never gets old. Many of these stages have multiple secret areas to find and it is always exciting to crash through to somewhere new. I can go on forever picking out small details, but I'm sure you have already heard it before.

Yes the game has great graphics, that much you can tell from movies and screenshots. What is most important to fighting game fans is how the game plays. Honestly, if you have played Dead Or Alive 2 or DOA2: Hardcore, you know what to expect. The old characters still feature all of the moves they had before and have picked up one or two more it seems (it's hard to really tell without consulting with a move list). The new characters, although some seeming a bit too stereotypical, are still a lot of fun to use. I expect 18-year-old high school and karate student, Hitomi, to be among the favorites. She is what you would consider more of a "quick but weak" character, and is overall more original then some of the other new characters. Brad Wong, who fights in the Zui Ba Xian Quan (Eight Drunken Immortals) style, is a near carbon copy of Virtua Fighter's Shun-Di. Christie, one of the game's other new female characters should please those who prefer using a fighter who fights in the Praying Mantis style, a la Lion Rafale also from Virtua Fighter. Dead Or Alive 3 has its fair share of secrets, none of which I prefer to spoil for anyone interested in the game.

The fighting moves in DOA3 are a bit flashier and usually more over the top, and in general don't require absolute split-second timing or foot positioning to pull off in an effective way. As a result, the fights appear to flow smoother and more naturally and the overall look is more akin to a martial arts flick. The game is also more forgiving and enjoyable for those without a real lot of 3D fighting experience. One of the more controversial gameplay features of the series has been the reversal button. The fact that matches would sometimes end up as a "reverse, reverse the reverse, reverse the reversed reverse" affair, definitely frustrated some people. It was possible to alter the default setting to force reversals to be accomplished with a bit more skill, but most didn't bother with it. The emphasis on reversals has been thankfully decreased, and the window of opportunity to actually pull off a reversal seems smaller. You now spend more time fighting, and less attempting to reverse every single move thrown at you.

There are a good amount of modes to play around with, and there should be plenty to keep gamers interested for a while. Story Mode, Survival, 4 player Tag-Team, VS, Practice, Time Attack, it's all there. The Story Mode is improved, the plot makes a bit more sense occasionally, and there are some high quality FMV ending sequences for each and every character. Even though many won't care, the storyline attempts to be dramatic and unveil interesting secrets and twists in regards to relationships between characters, and the effort is appreciated.

There are honestly not many reasons to not to pick up Dead Or Alive 3 with your Xbox. For those who couldn't stand DOA2 and maybe found the gameplay too shallow or the characters too exaggerated, then the same concerns would probably apply here. The visuals and attention to detail alone are worth the price of admission in my opinion.