E3 2005: Dead or Alive 4: First Look!

Take a look at the first ever screenshots from the upcoming Dead or Alive 4 for Xbox 360 - set to rock E3 next week! First details and screens.

As regular readers will know, Dead or Alive 4 is up and running and all set to make its exclusive appearance on Xbox 360, with a playable version expected on the show floor of E3 in Los Angeles next week.

As you can see in these first screenshots, the edgy, vibrant flair of the DOA world is in tact, quashing rumours that the series would be heading for a more super-real visual style.

While the considerable extra power of Xbox 360 is clearly powering a super-souped-up, high-res masterpiece here, it's arguably not a phenomenal leap from the stunning Dead or Alive 3 or Dead or Alive Ultimate - but then, these are titles at the very pinnacle of current-gen visuals. However, there are some noticeable improvements.

For starters, background detail is massively increased. While the characters themselves maintain the over-saturated, classic look of DOA fighters, backgrounds are now hyper-real, with advanced filtering techniques putting things in focus - the distance is blurred while the foreground appears ultra-sharp. The new sense of perspective and distance is something you can expect to appear even more pronounced in other Xbox 360 launch titles.

Meanwhile, the utterly breathtaking poly count afforded to the new hardware is capable of generating images such as the towering castle-like backdrop you see in one of these screenshots - complete with texture detail that could, frankly, make us cry. And on the topic of backgrounds, it looks like a Ninja Gaiden setting or two might have been thrown in...

As is the tradition, a handful of new characters have been added to the mix, including a Rumble Roses-like female wrestler with face mask and (shock) skimpy pants, and a beautiful Aikido fighter based in authentic Japanese garden affair - the spitting image of Virtua Fighter's Aoi Umenokoji, you might say. Meanwhile, many of the classic oldies return, looking as great as ever - and those Kasumis are still being cloned in a lab somewhere, it seems.

We'll be bringing you (hopefully) hands-on impressions from Los Angeles next week, along with another brand new interview with charismatic series creator, Tomonobu Itagaki. Don't miss it.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com