With Super Street Fighter 4, Dead or Alive Dimensions, and BlazBlue 2 all available within two months of the system's launch, it looks like the 3DS is going to have a really healthy selection of fighters to choose from. Which is great for me because I personally love them--They're so exciting! Well, as someone new to the DoA series, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I'm having a great time with it!

The game seems to have a lot going for it. For one, it looks REALLY good! It looks a lotlike playing on the 360, which I suppose isn't surprising considering Capcom's nearly flawless emulation of Super Street Fighter 4. The character models and the environments all look really sharp and detailed, as well. I think Team Ninja did a really good job here. The 3D adds a great sense of depth but doesn't add to the experience too much, except maybe in Chronicle mode where everything is laid out to take advantage of the 3D. The scenes are animated in such a minimalistic fashion that it doesn't really add up to anything worthwhile though.

DoA Dimensions offers all the typical fighting game trappings; there's Story Mode (Chronicle), Arcade, Survival, Training, Local Multiplayer, and Online Multiplayer. As for more original offerings there's always Throwdown, which lets you fight people you've met with Street Pass, and Showcase mode, which lets you take 3D photos of all the Figurines the game offers as rewards. It's all a little bare bones but fun all the same. I do wonder why they didn't include a dedicated Time Attack mode though.

Of course I've been spending all my time online. It's so addicting! I've been working my way up and I'm finally at the point where I'm consistently winning more than losing. Currently I've won 106 out of 197 matches, which I suppose isn't too bad for someone who's been at it for two days. I tend to take these more seriously than I should though so when I lose it only makes me want to play more so I can prove I can do better. But then if I keep losing it puts me in a bad mood. Eventually I have to force myself to put it down! :oops:

Anyways, the options are pretty limited, but the battles are fast paced and mostly lag free. After the system finds an opponent for you, it asks both players if they want to proceed with the battle or reject the opponent, which is nice. It was always so frustrating in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom when the computer kept pairing me up with someone I just couldn't beat. This system also gives you some control over what characters you face by displaying potential opponents most used character. I got so tired of the projectile spam that it got to the point where I was rejecting anyone who mains Hayabusa. Which happens to be a lot, unfortunately. Something I found really odd though is that they don't give you the option to rematch your opponent after the battle. You'd think that'd be standard by now.

Since the online is so limited, what really pushes the game forward is the fights themselves. Luckily this isn't a problem as they prove themselves to be quite enjoyable. The fighting is based on a triangle system where Punches and Kicks beat Throws, Throws beat Grabs, and Grabs beat kicks and punches. It's all really fast paced and exciting. Something I really like too is that all the stages are all really different and actually have a role in the outcome of a fight. It's so satisfying tricking someone into falling off a bridge or pushing them into an electric fence! So yes, very happy with it gameplay wise, and that's what's more important.

The game features 25 characters, but some of them appear to be clones, at least in appearance, which is a disappointment. As someone used to Street Fighter's zanier character designs (Rufus!) the DoA cast seems decidedly toned down as well. Still, I'm crazy about LeiFang's design, and I do like Kasumi's, Hayabusa's, Zack's, Hitomi's, and Ayane's designs, so overall I'm pretty satisfied with the roster, but it could be better.

Obviously I'm thoroughly enjoying Dead or Alive Dimensions and I highly recommend it. It's been really awesome learning how to play the game from scratch and I think the game is worth a shot for anyone looking for something to hold them over 'til Zelda comes out. :P If anyone has the game and wants to play I'd be happy to obliege.