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| On November 15, 2001 Microsoft launched the Xbox Video Game System in North America. Many dismissed the system as the next 3DO, but they could not have been more wrong. The Xbox has taken the world by storm, offering game experiences that often blur the line between fantasy and reality. The true successor to the DreamCast is finally here. And it is the Xbox. |
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| REVIEW: Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball, Tecmo's Team Ninja's 2nd of 4 announced titles for the Xbox, while ostensibly a sports game, manages to offer more variety and diversions than your average outing with John Madden and company. Lucky gamers who reserved their copy in Japan (or, like me, ones who neglected to reserve it, but who spend a significant portion of their paychecks and are a familiar enough face at the electronics store to warrant a little special service) receive a useless little "art" book, a poster that even the most extreme otaku pervert would be loathe to actually hang up in his room, and a cool little deck of playing cards in a plastic case modeled after the one used in Zack's casino. Let me start by addressing the controversy surrounding this title. Many naysayers see this game as an exploitative, overtly sexualized game that uses beach volleyball as an excuse to showcase near nude girls frolicking and giggling together. To that, I say: "You are absolutely right, but what's your point?" The way I see it, there's room for many different types of games out there. They certainly don't all have to be about renegade cops, indestructible marines, street fighting tournaments, or car racing. At least DOAXV puts its sex right out front and doesn't try to hide it. Furthermore, it should be common knowledge that both women and men, when engaging in beach volleyball, tend to wear swimsuits rather than modest three-piece suits or evening gowns. Enough with the justification. Let's get on with the review... STORY: I like that Tecmo bothered to include a story mode of sorts, allowing you to take control of one of the DOA girls and interact with the rest of the cast of characters while |
| enjoying a well deserved vacation on Zack's island (purchased, the opening movie informs us, with his gambling earnings as depicted in his DOA3 ending). In addition to participating in a volleyball tournament, our intrepid heroin must cultivate good relations with her fellow players (through the giving of presents) if she ever hopes to find a partner for the two on two games that take place in various locales on the aptly named Zack Island. GAMEPLAY: Although you can get a quick volleyball fix by selecting "Volleyball Only" on the title screen, the real meat of this game lies in the Zack Island mode, where you |
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| If varitey is indeed the spice of life, then this game is full of it. And sugar. And everything nice. |
| control a vacationing girl as she negotiates for partners (volleyball partners...get your mind out of the gutter!), shops for new swimsuits, accessories, and gifts, suns herself, engages in the perennial Japanese favorite poolside game of jumping from one floating styrofoam block to the other (more fun than it sounds), and gambles away her hard earned money at the casino. There's quite a bit of variety here: in the vast number of items one can purchase, the challenge of wooing a new partner, and the fully functioning casino (which includes BlackJack, Poker, tons of Slot Machines, and a Roulette Wheel). Of course, if you tire of all this, you can take advantage of the game's so-called "Gravia System" which allows your character to relax in unoccupied locales while you control the camera. These vacations last only a couple weeks, but you can restart from the same file to return to the island with all your money and swimsuits intact. There's never a lack of things to do, and you often find yourself playing "just one more day" before retiring for the day yourself. If variety is indeed the spice of life, then this game is full of it. And sugar. And everything nice. CONTROL: The volleyball engine is deceptively simple as it utilizes only two buttons (one to pass the ball to your partner and one to volley it to the other side), but the control is instinctive and you'll soon find deeper layers of strategy as you play. The analog buttons are given a rare workout, as a light tap will elicit a different shot than slamming the button down. The analog feature is also well utilized in the poolside "PyonPyon Game" (I have no idea how they translated that - I'm playing the Japanese version...). The black and white buttons allow you to toggle through tracks you've selected from your own music or the provided garbage. GRAPHICS: Itagaki and his crew have built up quite a reputation for themselves as being detail obsessed graphical magicians, and their hallmarks are all over this game. The character models are probably the most detailed I've seen in a game (I'd also be lying if I didn't mention the word "sexy" somewhere here, but I don't mind being a liar in this instance...), and the backgrounds provide a great deal of detail, from shadows of wind blown palm trees, to reflections of the water's surface on rocky outcroppings, to footprints and gouges in the sand left by scurrying feet. The motion of the characters is also very realistic. They will dive after balls and end up with their face in the sand after a near miss, pick the swimsuit out of their...er...intimate areas, and generally behave like real people playing beach volleyball. The instruction manual recommends a wide TV, which I am fortunate enough to have, so I can't comment on the common complaint that you too often lose sight of your player or the ball. This game was clearly engineered for wide TVs. The only thing I would have liked to see is a way to change camera angles during games, but the one that is used is quite good, so I can live without it. SOUND: Games that don't take advantage of the Xbox's surround sound feature annoy the crap out of me, but, thankfully, this game doesn't disappoint in that department. I'm also quite grateful that you can listen to tracks from your harddrive as you play, as the provided tracks are enough to make me turn the sound all the way down in protest of sugary sweet pop nonsense. The sound effects are sufficient, and the voice acting is professional sounding. OVERALL: If you like volleyball, beaches, casinos, women, jumping on styrofoam, or just wasting a Saturday afternoon shopping for sexy swimsuits with the curtains drawn, this game comes highly recommended. |
| Screenshot courtesy of GameSpot (c) |
| - David Crislip (1/23/03) |
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| SUMMARY: The girls of Dead or Alive are back and sexier then ever in Dead or Alive Xtrme Beach Volleyball for the Microsoft Xbox. This is Xtreme action, with the girls stripping down to their bikinis to go head-to-head in the most outrageous beach volleyball game this side of the Pacific! Get physical with these scantily clad ladies as they set, spike and blast their way to the championship game on the tropical beachs of Zach Island. |
| Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball |
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| Publisher: Tecmo Developer: Team Ninja Genre: Volleyball/Other Players: 1-2 U.S. Release: 1/30/03 |
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