Spikers may not have the �stunning visuals� (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean? Know what I mean?) of DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball or the crappy fights of Outlaw Volleyball, but, in the steadily growing volleyball genre (there are four of them now!), its really the only one that gets the basics right.
Firstly, it actually has a game engine that won�t put you to sleep. The unusual �hard to learn, easy to master� difficulty curve is actually good for the game. Once you figure out how to do a good jump shot, you�ll never have any trouble pulling it off.
World Tour mode is a bit lacking (it�s really short!), but it gets a lot of things right. Being able to customize your team is a pretty basic idea, and it works too, but very few games actually bother to include it, and being able to encourage your partner is an awesome idea, although it doesn�t really have much use. A definite draw back, though, it that you have to upgrade your partners skill during the year, so, for the first few matches, she screws you up more then she helps.
Sponsored arenas and crowds that don�t look like a bunch of cardboard cutouts add to the already good, glossy looking graphics, and the sound would be excellent if it wasn�t for the annoying arcade style announcer that AV (the people who make this game) seems to want in every game they make (*cough*F-zero GX*cough*).
My biggest problem with this game, though, is how short it is. It can be easily beaten in a rental.
Oh, and if you have a friend that�s half decent at the game, multiplayer matches will have you screaming and punching each other, just like all good multiplayer games should.
Story � N/a
Gameplay � 7/10
Graphics � 8/10
Sound � 7/10
Replay � 5/10
Overall � 6/10 (NOT AN AVERAGE!)
~Alex Brander (PhazonX, Venom Dream, Webmaster)
