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I'm a p.c. gamer; not exactly spoilt for choice on the fighting game front, but no less entertained by the notion of button bashing, face-punching mayhem, so any new addition to this most limited of p.c. genres is automatically of interest. Having played the older console versions I already knew what to expect from the game, so as far as I was concerned it was a limited risk. Those two factors alone almost guaranteed I'd be buying a copy, and sure enough, I'm now merrily slapping, kicking, punching and body-slamming my way through a ludicrous cast of over-the-top characters wearing the most impractical of fighting garb.
More than anything else, I think any review of this game should attempt to put a few things into perspective. There has been a mass of angry commentary on the p.c. version, much of it to do with the control system, graphics and general performance, with most of the rest being a general "dislike" of the supposed overtly sexist nature of the visuals. I suspect that any opinion will be contentious, but to be clear, I have tried to be rational rather than sold on an idea.
Performance and graphics
Graphically, this game is a bit of a mixed bag; on the one hand, you've got high poly count, richly textured models, state of the art lighting and shadows, some beautifully animated moves and sequences and some truly impressive water and particle effects; on the other hand, limited anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, some flat background and environment textures and the now-infamous missing "soft skin" effects. On the face of it, things could be better, but all is not lost.
Crack open your graphics card interface (nVidia control panel or Catalyst control centre), override the game's limited settings, restart. Now your game looks as good as it should, and because of the exceptionally low demands on your system, there's no noticeable performance hit. An interesting but no doubt arguable view of this would be that this is actually an incredibly smart move by the designers. The important factor for any viable fighting game is smooth, lag-free action at, dare I say, the expense of overtly pretty graphics. DOA 5 strikes a perfect balance, allowing enough prettiness to shine through in each short, intense round without a drop in frame-rate on most mid-range systems. On the right hardware however, it looks gorgeous, and the effort to achieve this is minimal.
Controls
I am an advocate for keyboard and mouse control for the majority of games. FPS games are faster, more responsive and easier to control accurately with keys, strategy games are simply made for keys, but fighting games... well, they're a different breed altogether. Intricate, rapidly changing combos demand a control pad to be effective, and DOA 5 is no exception.
A generic 360 controller is what I use, and it works perfectly straight out of the box. There are four pre-programmed configurations in the game options, as well as a custom mode for user set up. PS3 and 4 controllers will also work, however it's been reported that some pc specific control sets are flaky at best. Given that this is originally a console game, I don't find it terribly surprising, nor do I consider it a negative for the game. The 360 controller is a fine piece of kit, and you can pick up decent quality third party ones for less than £10, so no real drawback if you needed one to fully experience the game.
Gameplay and longevity
There's all the usual modes here; story mode, arcade, versus, time trial, combo challenge, survival, free training mode, all with multiple levels of difficulty, tag team or solo, and there's even a "team event", allowing up to seven members for your team to participate. With over 400 outfits, dozens of hairstyles, customising options, 34 fighters in the roster and loads of stages, there's plenty to keep you amused for hours. Offline multiplayer can be achieved by plugging in up to four controllers, and online is coming in a future patch.
There are no Steam achievements, however the game has its own system of rewards, or "Titles", to win. These are gained by meeting certain criteria with a specific character or team, beating a particular part of the story mode or winning a time trial. There are hundreds of these, so don't expect to get them all any time soon. For the 100% completionists out there, this is going to be a marathon session. The basic controls are easy to learn but hard to master, so this is a game suited to all levels from learner to expert.
The nice thing about fighting games is that most of the sense of achievement come from beating your own performance, and the natural "pick-up-and-play" aspect means that a spare five minutes can be filled with a quick bout in Versus mode, a self-challenge, whilst longer time periods can be spent attacking the arcade or story modes. That's not to say that DOA 5 is nothing more than a filler, it's merits extend well beyond the throwaway and provide a reasonably complex and varied experience. Flexibility is simply a bonus.
Controversial bits
It seems you can't mention this game without at least commenting on the visual styling. A lot of coverage has been given in regard to the skimpy outfits and rather buxom nature of the female members of the cast, none of which can be denied; string bikinis, nurse and santa outfits, short skirts and crop tops abound, none of which is terribly conducive to effective fighting, all of which could be viewed as unnecessarily sexual, but just look at most of the competition out there; Street Fighter has it's Chun Li, Killer Instinct has Orchid, even "bridge" games like the Arkham series have Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. There is a certain target audience that are unquestionably attracted by this type of graphical content, and, let's face it, all games companies need to sell vast quantities of their product to stay afloat.
However, I suspect that any game that has "Breast Physics" as a configurable option is likely to spark some controversy. Oddly, it would probably have been less controversial if the physics had been added as a non-configurable option, and, even more odd, is the inordinate amount of time and effort spent by modders to add those effects to games that lack them, such as the Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 series'. In reality, all the games developers have done is pre-empt the modding community.
A little bit of perspective
Okay, so it's over the top, extreme and, to some extents, a little tacky and tasteless. But, underneath that super-glossy plastic veneer is a fine, well-honed and balanced fighting game that deserves some credit. Any game developers wondering if fighting games would work on the p.c. format could do worse than take DOA 5 as a prime example of how to do things right. It's slick, responsive and well-crafted, and it'll give any console counterpart a run for it's money, so from that angle, it does the job admirably. It would be a shame if DOA 5 was ignored for featuring some pixelated flesh.
Plus, you don't ever have to see the "questionable" bits if you choose not to; all of those parts are configurable options, you can switch them off, elect not to use them. To discount the game because of those features would be like cancelling your Sky TV subscription because you have access to the Horror Channel; wouldn't you simply elect not to watch that channel?
To the p.c. gamers out there whining about "poor controls", poor performance and lag, poor graphics; FIX YOUR KIT!!! My cpu costs less than £60, my graphics card is three years out of date, what the hell are you running?! I don't overclock, I run everything at stock, I have no issues. Controllers, I've already covered. Buy one that works.
I find it hard to be bothered that two stages from the console version are missing from the p.c. version; I don't really care about "soft skin"; I have no urge to purchase the over-priced DLC (400 outfits should be sufficient for anyone!) so it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I have an excellent, exciting and challenging fighter on p.c. and that's something that been absent for far too long.
If you want a fight, there's nothing better. 10/10.
More than anything else, I think any review of this game should attempt to put a few things into perspective. There has been a mass of angry commentary on the p.c. version, much of it to do with the control system, graphics and general performance, with most of the rest being a general "dislike" of the supposed overtly sexist nature of the visuals. I suspect that any opinion will be contentious, but to be clear, I have tried to be rational rather than sold on an idea.
Performance and graphics
Graphically, this game is a bit of a mixed bag; on the one hand, you've got high poly count, richly textured models, state of the art lighting and shadows, some beautifully animated moves and sequences and some truly impressive water and particle effects; on the other hand, limited anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, some flat background and environment textures and the now-infamous missing "soft skin" effects. On the face of it, things could be better, but all is not lost.
Crack open your graphics card interface (nVidia control panel or Catalyst control centre), override the game's limited settings, restart. Now your game looks as good as it should, and because of the exceptionally low demands on your system, there's no noticeable performance hit. An interesting but no doubt arguable view of this would be that this is actually an incredibly smart move by the designers. The important factor for any viable fighting game is smooth, lag-free action at, dare I say, the expense of overtly pretty graphics. DOA 5 strikes a perfect balance, allowing enough prettiness to shine through in each short, intense round without a drop in frame-rate on most mid-range systems. On the right hardware however, it looks gorgeous, and the effort to achieve this is minimal.
Controls
I am an advocate for keyboard and mouse control for the majority of games. FPS games are faster, more responsive and easier to control accurately with keys, strategy games are simply made for keys, but fighting games... well, they're a different breed altogether. Intricate, rapidly changing combos demand a control pad to be effective, and DOA 5 is no exception.
A generic 360 controller is what I use, and it works perfectly straight out of the box. There are four pre-programmed configurations in the game options, as well as a custom mode for user set up. PS3 and 4 controllers will also work, however it's been reported that some pc specific control sets are flaky at best. Given that this is originally a console game, I don't find it terribly surprising, nor do I consider it a negative for the game. The 360 controller is a fine piece of kit, and you can pick up decent quality third party ones for less than £10, so no real drawback if you needed one to fully experience the game.
Gameplay and longevity
There's all the usual modes here; story mode, arcade, versus, time trial, combo challenge, survival, free training mode, all with multiple levels of difficulty, tag team or solo, and there's even a "team event", allowing up to seven members for your team to participate. With over 400 outfits, dozens of hairstyles, customising options, 34 fighters in the roster and loads of stages, there's plenty to keep you amused for hours. Offline multiplayer can be achieved by plugging in up to four controllers, and online is coming in a future patch.
There are no Steam achievements, however the game has its own system of rewards, or "Titles", to win. These are gained by meeting certain criteria with a specific character or team, beating a particular part of the story mode or winning a time trial. There are hundreds of these, so don't expect to get them all any time soon. For the 100% completionists out there, this is going to be a marathon session. The basic controls are easy to learn but hard to master, so this is a game suited to all levels from learner to expert.
The nice thing about fighting games is that most of the sense of achievement come from beating your own performance, and the natural "pick-up-and-play" aspect means that a spare five minutes can be filled with a quick bout in Versus mode, a self-challenge, whilst longer time periods can be spent attacking the arcade or story modes. That's not to say that DOA 5 is nothing more than a filler, it's merits extend well beyond the throwaway and provide a reasonably complex and varied experience. Flexibility is simply a bonus.
Controversial bits
It seems you can't mention this game without at least commenting on the visual styling. A lot of coverage has been given in regard to the skimpy outfits and rather buxom nature of the female members of the cast, none of which can be denied; string bikinis, nurse and santa outfits, short skirts and crop tops abound, none of which is terribly conducive to effective fighting, all of which could be viewed as unnecessarily sexual, but just look at most of the competition out there; Street Fighter has it's Chun Li, Killer Instinct has Orchid, even "bridge" games like the Arkham series have Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. There is a certain target audience that are unquestionably attracted by this type of graphical content, and, let's face it, all games companies need to sell vast quantities of their product to stay afloat.
However, I suspect that any game that has "Breast Physics" as a configurable option is likely to spark some controversy. Oddly, it would probably have been less controversial if the physics had been added as a non-configurable option, and, even more odd, is the inordinate amount of time and effort spent by modders to add those effects to games that lack them, such as the Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 series'. In reality, all the games developers have done is pre-empt the modding community.
A little bit of perspective
Okay, so it's over the top, extreme and, to some extents, a little tacky and tasteless. But, underneath that super-glossy plastic veneer is a fine, well-honed and balanced fighting game that deserves some credit. Any game developers wondering if fighting games would work on the p.c. format could do worse than take DOA 5 as a prime example of how to do things right. It's slick, responsive and well-crafted, and it'll give any console counterpart a run for it's money, so from that angle, it does the job admirably. It would be a shame if DOA 5 was ignored for featuring some pixelated flesh.
Plus, you don't ever have to see the "questionable" bits if you choose not to; all of those parts are configurable options, you can switch them off, elect not to use them. To discount the game because of those features would be like cancelling your Sky TV subscription because you have access to the Horror Channel; wouldn't you simply elect not to watch that channel?
To the p.c. gamers out there whining about "poor controls", poor performance and lag, poor graphics; FIX YOUR KIT!!! My cpu costs less than £60, my graphics card is three years out of date, what the hell are you running?! I don't overclock, I run everything at stock, I have no issues. Controllers, I've already covered. Buy one that works.
I find it hard to be bothered that two stages from the console version are missing from the p.c. version; I don't really care about "soft skin"; I have no urge to purchase the over-priced DLC (400 outfits should be sufficient for anyone!) so it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I have an excellent, exciting and challenging fighter on p.c. and that's something that been absent for far too long.
If you want a fight, there's nothing better. 10/10.
This and Mortal Kombat X for PC if you want good fighting games.
I'd say that the PS3 controller tends to be the preferred one for fighting games due to the position of the D-Pad (rather than the analogue sticks)
I'd say that the PS3 controller tends to be the preferred one for fighting games due to the position of the D-Pad (rather than the analogue sticks)
I agree Chas, DOA 5 is one of the best beat em ups out there.
I'm a p.c. gamer; not exactly spoilt for choice on the fighting game front, but no less entertained by the notion of button bashing, face-punching mayhem, so any new addition to this most limited of p.c. genres is automatically of interest. Having played the older console versions I already knew what to expect from the game, so as far as I was concerned it was a limited risk. Those two factors alone almost guaranteed I'd be buying a copy, and sure enough, I'm now merrily slapping, kicking, punching and body-slamming my way through a ludicrous cast of over-the-top characters wearing the most impractical of fighting garb.
More than anything else, I think any review of this game should attempt to put a few things into perspective. There has been a mass of angry commentary on the p.c. version, much of it to do with the control system, graphics and general performance, with most of the rest being a general "dislike" of the supposed overtly sexist nature of the visuals. I suspect that any opinion will be contentious, but to be clear, I have tried to be rational rather than sold on an idea.
Performance and graphics
Graphically, this game is a bit of a mixed bag; on the one hand, you've got high poly count, richly textured models, state of the art lighting and shadows, some beautifully animated moves and sequences and some truly impressive water and particle effects; on the other hand, limited anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, some flat background and environment textures and the now-infamous missing "soft skin" effects. On the face of it, things could be better, but all is not lost.
Crack open your graphics card interface (nVidia control panel or Catalyst control centre), override the game's limited settings, restart. Now your game looks as good as it should, and because of the exceptionally low demands on your system, there's no noticeable performance hit. An interesting but no doubt arguable view of this would be that this is actually an incredibly smart move by the designers. The important factor for any viable fighting game is smooth, lag-free action at, dare I say, the expense of overtly pretty graphics. DOA 5 strikes a perfect balance, allowing enough prettiness to shine through in each short, intense round without a drop in frame-rate on most mid-range systems. On the right hardware however, it looks gorgeous, and the effort to achieve this is minimal.
Controls
I am an advocate for keyboard and mouse control for the majority of games. FPS games are faster, more responsive and easier to control accurately with keys, strategy games are simply made for keys, but fighting games... well, they're a different breed altogether. Intricate, rapidly changing combos demand a control pad to be effective, and DOA 5 is no exception.
A generic 360 controller is what I use, and it works perfectly straight out of the box. There are four pre-programmed configurations in the game options, as well as a custom mode for user set up. PS3 and 4 controllers will also work, however it's been reported that some pc specific control sets are flaky at best. Given that this is originally a console game, I don't find it terribly surprising, nor do I consider it a negative for the game. The 360 controller is a fine piece of kit, and you can pick up decent quality third party ones for less than £10, so no real drawback if you needed one to fully experience the game.
Gameplay and longevity
There's all the usual modes here; story mode, arcade, versus, time trial, combo challenge, survival, free training mode, all with multiple levels of difficulty, tag team or solo, and there's even a "team event", allowing up to seven members for your team to participate. With over 400 outfits, dozens of hairstyles, customising options, 34 fighters in the roster and loads of stages, there's plenty to keep you amused for hours. Offline multiplayer can be achieved by plugging in up to four controllers, and online is coming in a future patch.
There are no Steam achievements, however the game has its own system of rewards, or "Titles", to win. These are gained by meeting certain criteria with a specific character or team, beating a particular part of the story mode or winning a time trial. There are hundreds of these, so don't expect to get them all any time soon. For the 100% completionists out there, this is going to be a marathon session. The basic controls are easy to learn but hard to master, so this is a game suited to all levels from learner to expert.
The nice thing about fighting games is that most of the sense of achievement come from beating your own performance, and the natural "pick-up-and-play" aspect means that a spare five minutes can be filled with a quick bout in Versus mode, a self-challenge, whilst longer time periods can be spent attacking the arcade or story modes. That's not to say that DOA 5 is nothing more than a filler, it's merits extend well beyond the throwaway and provide a reasonably complex and varied experience. Flexibility is simply a bonus.
Controversial bits
It seems you can't mention this game without at least commenting on the visual styling. A lot of coverage has been given in regard to the skimpy outfits and rather buxom nature of the female members of the cast, none of which can be denied; string bikinis, nurse and santa outfits, short skirts and crop tops abound, none of which is terribly conducive to effective fighting, all of which could be viewed as unnecessarily sexual, but just look at most of the competition out there; Street Fighter has it's Chun Li, Killer Instinct has Orchid, even "bridge" games like the Arkham series have Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. There is a certain target audience that are unquestionably attracted by this type of graphical content, and, let's face it, all games companies need to sell vast quantities of their product to stay afloat.
However, I suspect that any game that has "Breast Physics" as a configurable option is likely to spark some controversy. Oddly, it would probably have been less controversial if the physics had been added as a non-configurable option, and, even more odd, is the inordinate amount of time and effort spent by modders to add those effects to games that lack them, such as the Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 series'. In reality, all the games developers have done is pre-empt the modding community.
A little bit of perspective
Okay, so it's over the top, extreme and, to some extents, a little tacky and tasteless. But, underneath that super-glossy plastic veneer is a fine, well-honed and balanced fighting game that deserves some credit. Any game developers wondering if fighting games would work on the p.c. format could do worse than take DOA 5 as a prime example of how to do things right. It's slick, responsive and well-crafted, and it'll give any console counterpart a run for it's money, so from that angle, it does the job admirably. It would be a shame if DOA 5 was ignored for featuring some pixelated flesh.
Plus, you don't ever have to see the "questionable" bits if you choose not to; all of those parts are configurable options, you can switch them off, elect not to use them. To discount the game because of those features would be like cancelling your Sky TV subscription because you have access to the Horror Channel; wouldn't you simply elect not to watch that channel?
To the p.c. gamers out there whining about "poor controls", poor performance and lag, poor graphics; FIX YOUR KIT!!! My cpu costs less than £60, my graphics card is three years out of date, what the hell are you running?! I don't overclock, I run everything at stock, I have no issues. Controllers, I've already covered. Buy one that works.
I find it hard to be bothered that two stages from the console version are missing from the p.c. version; I don't really care about "soft skin"; I have no urge to purchase the over-priced DLC (400 outfits should be sufficient for anyone!) so it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I have an excellent, exciting and challenging fighter on p.c. and that's something that been absent for far too long.
If you want a fight, there's nothing better. 10/10.
More than anything else, I think any review of this game should attempt to put a few things into perspective. There has been a mass of angry commentary on the p.c. version, much of it to do with the control system, graphics and general performance, with most of the rest being a general "dislike" of the supposed overtly sexist nature of the visuals. I suspect that any opinion will be contentious, but to be clear, I have tried to be rational rather than sold on an idea.
Performance and graphics
Graphically, this game is a bit of a mixed bag; on the one hand, you've got high poly count, richly textured models, state of the art lighting and shadows, some beautifully animated moves and sequences and some truly impressive water and particle effects; on the other hand, limited anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, some flat background and environment textures and the now-infamous missing "soft skin" effects. On the face of it, things could be better, but all is not lost.
Crack open your graphics card interface (nVidia control panel or Catalyst control centre), override the game's limited settings, restart. Now your game looks as good as it should, and because of the exceptionally low demands on your system, there's no noticeable performance hit. An interesting but no doubt arguable view of this would be that this is actually an incredibly smart move by the designers. The important factor for any viable fighting game is smooth, lag-free action at, dare I say, the expense of overtly pretty graphics. DOA 5 strikes a perfect balance, allowing enough prettiness to shine through in each short, intense round without a drop in frame-rate on most mid-range systems. On the right hardware however, it looks gorgeous, and the effort to achieve this is minimal.
Controls
I am an advocate for keyboard and mouse control for the majority of games. FPS games are faster, more responsive and easier to control accurately with keys, strategy games are simply made for keys, but fighting games... well, they're a different breed altogether. Intricate, rapidly changing combos demand a control pad to be effective, and DOA 5 is no exception.
A generic 360 controller is what I use, and it works perfectly straight out of the box. There are four pre-programmed configurations in the game options, as well as a custom mode for user set up. PS3 and 4 controllers will also work, however it's been reported that some pc specific control sets are flaky at best. Given that this is originally a console game, I don't find it terribly surprising, nor do I consider it a negative for the game. The 360 controller is a fine piece of kit, and you can pick up decent quality third party ones for less than £10, so no real drawback if you needed one to fully experience the game.
Gameplay and longevity
There's all the usual modes here; story mode, arcade, versus, time trial, combo challenge, survival, free training mode, all with multiple levels of difficulty, tag team or solo, and there's even a "team event", allowing up to seven members for your team to participate. With over 400 outfits, dozens of hairstyles, customising options, 34 fighters in the roster and loads of stages, there's plenty to keep you amused for hours. Offline multiplayer can be achieved by plugging in up to four controllers, and online is coming in a future patch.
There are no Steam achievements, however the game has its own system of rewards, or "Titles", to win. These are gained by meeting certain criteria with a specific character or team, beating a particular part of the story mode or winning a time trial. There are hundreds of these, so don't expect to get them all any time soon. For the 100% completionists out there, this is going to be a marathon session. The basic controls are easy to learn but hard to master, so this is a game suited to all levels from learner to expert.
The nice thing about fighting games is that most of the sense of achievement come from beating your own performance, and the natural "pick-up-and-play" aspect means that a spare five minutes can be filled with a quick bout in Versus mode, a self-challenge, whilst longer time periods can be spent attacking the arcade or story modes. That's not to say that DOA 5 is nothing more than a filler, it's merits extend well beyond the throwaway and provide a reasonably complex and varied experience. Flexibility is simply a bonus.
Controversial bits
It seems you can't mention this game without at least commenting on the visual styling. A lot of coverage has been given in regard to the skimpy outfits and rather buxom nature of the female members of the cast, none of which can be denied; string bikinis, nurse and santa outfits, short skirts and crop tops abound, none of which is terribly conducive to effective fighting, all of which could be viewed as unnecessarily sexual, but just look at most of the competition out there; Street Fighter has it's Chun Li, Killer Instinct has Orchid, even "bridge" games like the Arkham series have Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. There is a certain target audience that are unquestionably attracted by this type of graphical content, and, let's face it, all games companies need to sell vast quantities of their product to stay afloat.
However, I suspect that any game that has "Breast Physics" as a configurable option is likely to spark some controversy. Oddly, it would probably have been less controversial if the physics had been added as a non-configurable option, and, even more odd, is the inordinate amount of time and effort spent by modders to add those effects to games that lack them, such as the Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 series'. In reality, all the games developers have done is pre-empt the modding community.
A little bit of perspective
Okay, so it's over the top, extreme and, to some extents, a little tacky and tasteless. But, underneath that super-glossy plastic veneer is a fine, well-honed and balanced fighting game that deserves some credit. Any game developers wondering if fighting games would work on the p.c. format could do worse than take DOA 5 as a prime example of how to do things right. It's slick, responsive and well-crafted, and it'll give any console counterpart a run for it's money, so from that angle, it does the job admirably. It would be a shame if DOA 5 was ignored for featuring some pixelated flesh.
Plus, you don't ever have to see the "questionable" bits if you choose not to; all of those parts are configurable options, you can switch them off, elect not to use them. To discount the game because of those features would be like cancelling your Sky TV subscription because you have access to the Horror Channel; wouldn't you simply elect not to watch that channel?
To the p.c. gamers out there whining about "poor controls", poor performance and lag, poor graphics; FIX YOUR KIT!!! My cpu costs less than £60, my graphics card is three years out of date, what the hell are you running?! I don't overclock, I run everything at stock, I have no issues. Controllers, I've already covered. Buy one that works.
I find it hard to be bothered that two stages from the console version are missing from the p.c. version; I don't really care about "soft skin"; I have no urge to purchase the over-priced DLC (400 outfits should be sufficient for anyone!) so it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I have an excellent, exciting and challenging fighter on p.c. and that's something that been absent for far too long.
If you want a fight, there's nothing better. 10/10.