Dead or Alive 2

Dead or Alive 2 is a fighting game from the Dead or Alive series. The gameplay of DOA2 and all subsequent Dead or Alive games borrows heavily from the Virtua Fighter series, but makes some important changes that drastically alter Dead or Alive's gameplay compared to Virtua Fighter. The basis of the entire combat system in DOA2 is the circular relationship between three types of movements: Punches, Throws and Grabs The other crucial feature of DOA2, besides the punches, throws and grabs, is the stun system. In DOA2, many attacks cause the opponent to be stunned when they are hit. While stunned, the opponent cannot attack or guard, but he can hold. If the attacker performs an attack that does not knock down or launch the opponent while stunned, the opponent will be stunned in a new way depending on which attack was performed. A big difference between DOA2 and other fighters is the safety and non-punishability of attacks, both hits and blocked attacks. Most strikes in DOA2 can be punished both on hit and on block by the characters' faster throws, making a strike-based offense very risky. In addition to the normal rules of juggling, each character falls into a certain weight class, which affects how the character reacts to being thrown and juggled. In DOA2, fights can take place either on water or on ice. When a character is on such a surface, any attacks that do not result in a throw will result in a stun on a successful hit. Walls and drops in the middle of stages are everywhere in the game. Many stages are also multi-stage: to get to other areas of the stage, a character must be pushed off a ledge and fall into the next area. These falls usually do quite a bit of damage, but can't knock the enemy down. Other notable features were the introduction of CG cutscenes that matched the storyline, the replacement of the original "danger zone" in the stages with fully interactive areas, the ability to juggle each other against walls, and to hurl characters off landmarks to do more damage.