Now, for DoA2: Hardcore, it's a completely different story. Become good at the game and it will be quite a struggle for an inexperienced friend to join in and beat you. This is truly a thinking man's fighting game. With the introduction of the whole emphasis on the reversals and counters in the first game carried over, you will now have to think about not only offense, but defense as well. If you think you can walk in and whip someone's tail at it because you think your pretty good at other games, think again. You can literally beat someone by just countering every move your opponent hands out. This is extremely refreshing in this gamer's opinion.

Ouch

While the DoA series isn't the first to heavily rely on counters (I'll give that award to the Virtua Fighter games), my own take on that is this: Dead or Alive 2 is the first one to balance the game to a point at which you don't need to be a complete master or God of the game to excel at countering. If you can learn to time your counters right and know where to put them, you can become a very good player at the game (though if you don't, well, good luck at trying to win). It's this challenge of trying to master the art of reversals that will make you keep coming back to this time and time again 'till you believe you've got a complete handle of what the game has to offer.

Most likely the biggest draw that DoA2 originally had was its "Team Battle" mode. Here you can play with up to 4 players (or against the computer), each assigned a character of their choice. The players are split up into teams of 2, and you'll start off a regular match. At any point in the fight you can call in your partner to swap with you by means of a simple button press. You can make small linking combos with your partner, and this mode can keep you and some friends going for hours. A high point is the fact that there is no slowdown or hitch in the framerate when trading places. My only complain about this feature in the Dreamcast version was that there was only one stage to fight on – and that, of course, was the most boring and uninspiring one of them all. However, Team NINJA was kind enough to supplement Hardcore with a plethora of stages for teams to dance in, including this dark pit which has purple electrical circuits surging around the walls which will make beautiful illuminations if a character is tossed into it.

Looking for the best sound a fighting game can give? Well, this is almost the one you're searching for. All the usual smacks and hits are found here (which can be "felt" much better than those in Soul Calibur). The music itself, which is a combination of techno-ey/rock scores, is better than the usual fan fare we see in fighters today. On a personal basis, I found that Namco's brawler to have a better overall presentation aurally. Soul Calibur actually had themes that related to the game and to the feeling of each stage a certain song played on. It featured a somewhat rock-ish classical soundtrack to it, and in the end it produced a better package than what DoA2: Hardcore delivered.

When it comes to controlling the game, Dead or Alive 2 is fantastic. I can not tell you all how important it is for a fighting game to have a good set of controls to play with. If moving your character onscreen is a task more than a pleasure, than the player will automatically hate the game. After all, who wants to play a fighter if putting one move together is as complex as putting a combo together is from another game? Initially I was worried that the smaller controller of the PlayStation 2 would be just plain out not snug enough for me to handle all the quick movements needed in a fighter. However, I soon learned that the stiffer D-pad of the controller helped win me over considerably. Many of the combos in the game require quick reflexes, and the tighter, more precise buttons of the PS2 were decidedly more enjoyable to use than the larger, more bulky Dreamcast pad.

What I’ve failed to truly home in on in this review, though, is the differences between Hardcore and it’s DC counterpart. Sadly, there really isn’t a whole lot to write home about. Team NINJA gave us some new costumes to win after beating it with characters and the ability to play as Bayman, but one could have wished for more than a simple cosmetic makeover. I guess we’ll have to wait for DoA 3.

In the end though, if you can look beyond the fact that Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore is a fighting game at heart and is not trying to impress you with a high number of moves or replay ability, than you will have a hell of a time with the game. It has one of the best fighting engines ever created and it's easy playability but strong challenge will make you play it until you've mastered every nook and cranny of the game. A truly excellent title, and something that will be measured by in the future.