Nicole, codenamed SPARTAN-458, is a fictional character from Team Ninja's 2005 fighting game Dead or Alive 4. Originating from the Halo fictional universe, she is a result of collaboration between the game's developers and Bungie Studios, the developer of the Halo series. After Team Ninja asked Bungie to use the protagonist of Halo, the Master Chief, in their game, Nicole was created instead to avoid storyline conflicts. Her appearance in pre-release promotional previews of Dead or Alive 4 raised interest in the game's development.

Nicole is portrayed as a twenty-sixth century human female from Mars who was kidnapped by the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and placed into the SPARTAN-II Project, and who eventually becomes a Petty Officer Second Class. Her presence in the Dead or Alive universe is explained as an accident involving the space-time continuum that has transported her to the twenty-first century.

Development

Nicole is the result of collaboration between Tecmo's Team Ninja and Microsoft's Bungie Studios.^[1] Team Ninja originally asked Bungie for permission to use the Master Chief, which proved impossible due to storyline restrictions.^[1] But the staff at Bungie were intrigued with the idea and wanted to try something similar. As a result, Bungie developed the concept of a Spartan not entirely connected to the Halo storyline who could conveniently and somewhat plausibly be fit into the Dead or Alive universe. This concept evolved into the character of Nicole. Nearly all of the resources for her design came straight from Halo 2 game data. The data was modified to work in the Dead or Alive game engine as a female combatant, but kept to the traditional Spartan design; a feminine figure would have been implausible for such a heavily armored, cybernetically enhanced individual.^[1]

Background

According to Nicole's fictional backstory, she is born in the Martian city of Legaspi in 2531. Members of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) kidnap her at the age of six and enroll her in the SPARTAN-II Project, an initiative designed to develop supersoldiers;^[2] this is the same program that the Master Chief, and other Spartans from the Halo series undergo.

Bungie explained Nicole's presence in the Dead or Alive setting of the twenty-first century in an article that revealed the character's background. The studio stated that the character, who has never appeared in any other Halo fiction, is sent to the twenty-first century when a partially stable "bubble" in the space-time continuum opens near Nassau Station, where she and her unit are preparing for a secret mission.^[3] This "bubble" is created when Apocalypso, an ONI stealth vehicle, interacts with real-space, as a result of an unusual slipspace incident.

This incident traps Nicole in the twenty-first century. While waiting for the bubble to collapse, which she hopes will enable her to return to the future, she battles any member of the DOA cast to arrive at the station, protecting its classified information.^[4] To keep the space-time continuum stable, she avoids lethal force in executing her current task.

Gameplay

Nicole's fighting style is very quick and powerful, a variation of standard military close quarters combat. Her move list contains moves of other characters in the game, such as Leon and Bayman.^[5] Her style meant to incapacitate an armed opponent in a matter of seconds and take advantage of her enhanced strength, as well as to exploit any environmental advantages.^[6] She is described as having great speed despite her large size.^[7] Many of her moves allude to the Halo universe, with names such as "The Great Journey" and "The Grunt Punt"; the former is a powerful move that sends an opponent down stairs or off a ledge.^[8] Also in Nicole's repertoire are several technologies from Halo, including active camouflage and the plasma grenade.^[9]

Reception

Previews of Dead or Alive 4 showed a Spartan among the game's characters; this attracted attention and curiosity regarding whether such a character would appear fully functional in the final version of the game.^[10] The character's moves, all of which were homages to the Halo series, and the inclusion of a Halo-based level were positively described in pre-release reviews.^[10] Post-release reviews described Nicole as one of the game's positive aspects; the character being described as not only a way to attract fans of the Halo franchise but also as a fearsome, evenly balanced character. Reviewers stated that she has deliberate power and is a dangerous foe when controlled by an experienced player.^[11]

References