I skipped on DOA:Ultimate when it first came out because I wasnt playing that much Live at the time and that was the games main draw. I bought DOA4 about a week after it came out and have been playing it more or less non stop every since. Ive unlocked most of the costumes and am well on my way to unlocking the hidden stage (why do you have to do so much work to get a STAGE? Especially a stage that is literally a gigantic room with no walls?
Anyway, in my playtime with the game Ive noticed about 80% of the players NEVER try a reversal. They dont hang back and try and draw the opponent into attacking. They just press you the entire time. they hit you with one combo, then another and another. Nonstop. Everynow and then they will block you. or try to a throw.. but when they try the throw, they never do it at the end of a combo, they just try and do a standalone throw to a standing opponent...
I would imagine most of the people that play this game and disregard it are simply playing against the computer this way (which would actually be pretty effective for the first 5-6 enemies in single player before the computer turns into a reversal machine). When these people play their friends all they do is button smashing combos. So it turns into nothing but a combo fest. Then, these people get to the games bosses, which are horribly overpowered. The last thing you want to do against the boss (especially DOA4) is to press the hell out of it. The boss is faster, stronger and its reversals will literally take 2/3rds of your life. Plus, the thing will transport itself behind you when you start a combo and then just jack you from behind.
Dont get me wrong the game has its problems. The charachters track way to easily if you sidestep making it a next to useless tactic (except for the 2-3 charachters that dont track AT ALL.. which doesnt make sense.. make up your mind Team Ninja).. and juggle combos are way to easy to set up and powerfull (especially in a tag match, its possible with the right combo fo charachters to juggle combo a helpless opponent to death with ONE combo).
That aside, the game is pretty fun, pretty easy to learn the system. I think the games big problem is the combos are easy to pull off and they can do alot of damage and they look pretty impressive for their simplicity, so most people are content just to use a charachters combos instead. Compare Jackies lightning kick in VF which required good timing and memorization, versus Zacks Lightning kick in DOA which required smashing one button several times very quickly.
Ironically, the game is set up to punish button smashers, which is often the complaint leveled against the game. Anyone who is halfway decent online will break away from the preprogrammed combos for fear of being reversed to death. The game of cat and mouse between attacking, reversing and throws (a rock paper scissors mechanic where attacking beats throws, reversals beat attacks and throws beat reversal attempts), while simple forces a good deal of strategy.
Anyway, in my playtime with the game Ive noticed about 80% of the players NEVER try a reversal. They dont hang back and try and draw the opponent into attacking. They just press you the entire time. they hit you with one combo, then another and another. Nonstop. Everynow and then they will block you. or try to a throw.. but when they try the throw, they never do it at the end of a combo, they just try and do a standalone throw to a standing opponent...
I would imagine most of the people that play this game and disregard it are simply playing against the computer this way (which would actually be pretty effective for the first 5-6 enemies in single player before the computer turns into a reversal machine). When these people play their friends all they do is button smashing combos. So it turns into nothing but a combo fest. Then, these people get to the games bosses, which are horribly overpowered. The last thing you want to do against the boss (especially DOA4) is to press the hell out of it. The boss is faster, stronger and its reversals will literally take 2/3rds of your life. Plus, the thing will transport itself behind you when you start a combo and then just jack you from behind.
Dont get me wrong the game has its problems. The charachters track way to easily if you sidestep making it a next to useless tactic (except for the 2-3 charachters that dont track AT ALL.. which doesnt make sense.. make up your mind Team Ninja).. and juggle combos are way to easy to set up and powerfull (especially in a tag match, its possible with the right combo fo charachters to juggle combo a helpless opponent to death with ONE combo).
That aside, the game is pretty fun, pretty easy to learn the system. I think the games big problem is the combos are easy to pull off and they can do alot of damage and they look pretty impressive for their simplicity, so most people are content just to use a charachters combos instead. Compare Jackies lightning kick in VF which required good timing and memorization, versus Zacks Lightning kick in DOA which required smashing one button several times very quickly.
Ironically, the game is set up to punish button smashers, which is often the complaint leveled against the game. Anyone who is halfway decent online will break away from the preprogrammed combos for fear of being reversed to death. The game of cat and mouse between attacking, reversing and throws (a rock paper scissors mechanic where attacking beats throws, reversals beat attacks and throws beat reversal attempts), while simple forces a good deal of strategy.
