Team Ninja should be commended for improving on the, already superb, formula that Itagaki already laid with the previous Dead or Alive titles. However, in strengthening the skeleton of the franchise, they forgot to add more meat to those bones.
Pros: Perhaps the best fighting system yet, great roster, most of the arenas are wonderfully detailed and interactive, smooth 60fps gameplay, strong net code, great character models, fantastic tutorial(s), all the necessary modes are represented with a few welcome additions
Cons: Atrocious story, bareboned modes, incredibly cheap AI on higher difficulties (sometimes on the lower ones too), slightly washed out colors, a few character faces are strange, poor selection of costumes and overpriced DLC