Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Keith Schleicher

When you hear the words “Dead or Alive” in a videogame context, you probably think of the series of fighting games from Tecmo.  While some fighters have used gimmicks like non-human fighters or characters that change into an animal form, Dead or Alive has had some of the best rendered characters in a fighting game, especially of the female form.  While the male characters have ranged from Bruce Lee figures to broad shouldered wrestlers, the women have always had an alluring form with some rather large protruding features.

A few years ago the Dead or Alive series moved in a different direction with Xtreme Beach Volleyball on the Xbox.  While the premise sounded promising, especially with the story of the ladies of the Dead or Alive tournaments going to an island resort built by Zack, the presentation was favorable but the execution was a bit lackluster.  Now Tecmo has come back with Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (DOAX2), but is it for the better or for the worse?

Tecmo mastered the hardware of the Xbox to produce some of the most impressive visuals on that console.  That tradition has continued on with the Xbox 360.  DOAX2 is absolutely gorgeous, with some of the best visuals to appear on the Xbox 360.  The sandy beaches almost look like you would be able to step onto them and relax.  The trees scattered around provide shade.  A jungle paradise nestled within the island shows vines hanging down from the rock formations and trees.  The straw-roofed huts and umbrellas surrounding the pool add to the ambience.

You can’t talk about the graphics in DOAX2 without mentioning the female characters.  The characters look absolutely stunning.  The long hair of some characters flows in the air, although it sometimes go through the shoulders of the character.  If you switch swimsuits on a character, you can actually see the tan lines of the previous suit worn by that character.  Finally, the answer to the question you are probably on the edge of your seat to find out is yes, they do bounce separately.  They jiggle like the people in the Jell-o commercials.  It’s almost as if you an entire episode of Baywatch in slow motion.

The only area of complaint of the graphics is the water effects, and even then they aren’t that bad.  The water in the pool ripples when playing the pool hopping game and shifts while racing jet skis in the Marine Race, but it doesn’t seem to be as reflective or as clear as it should be.  Still, this is a minor complaint of the graphics.

The intro music of DOAX2 should be familiar to anyone who played the original game.  It’s a J-pop tune that is catchy if you enjoy that style of music but is grating to those who can’t stand it.  The rest of the tunes are a mishmash of pop tunes.  While the music is turned down by default in the settings, you might want to keep it that way during the game.

The Dead or Alive fighting games have used Japanese voice actors with English subtitles.  However, DOAX2 actually has English voice acting.  Hearing the characters actually speak in English is a bit of a shock.  Hearing Tina’s southern accent or Helena’s French accent is a bit jarring at first.  What gets really frustrating is the lack of variety in what each character says.  The lack of variety in the conversations makes them feel contrived and bland.  One would have expected Team Ninja to have done more to give the characters more diversity and personality.

DOAX2 is comprised of several minigames.  The most prominent game is volleyball.  Hitting the A button tosses the ball and hitting A again serves it.  Holding left on the analog stick or D-pad performs and underhand serve, holding right performs a jump serve, and not moving the D-pad in any direction performs a normal serve.  After you have served the ball, passing and setting is done with the B button, as well as tipping the ball over the net.  Hitting A spikes the ball on the other side of the net.  Hitting A also blocks spikes from the other side of the net with the correct timing.  While the controls are simplistic, it still feels like there are times when you don’t have complete control over your character.

The Marine Race is the other big game that you can play at any time.  Controlling your jet ski is done with the left analog stick while the triggers control banking.  Pressing A handles the throttle while the X button performs different stunts.  The right bumper does a short turbo boost to help you increase your speed in the races.  The controls are fine for the earlier courses, but they are incredibly difficult later on.  The analog stick is almost too sensitive with the curves, making the jet ski feel a bit unpredictable.

The other minigames mostly comprise of button pushing, like the gambling or the pool games.  These are very simplistic, and they have on-screen instructions when the situation calls for it.

After being subjected to a crazy cutscene of Zack raising his old resort island, you land on the island and choose a character and a partner.  Then you go about your fun for the day.  There are several different areas with different activities.

At the Marina you can compete in Marine Races.  Here you get on a Jet Ski and race against other players.  There is a standard jet ski, but you can purchase upgraded ones at the Sports Shop.  Course Buoys guide your way through the course, and passing through the correct side of seven consecutive Gate Buoys earns you another Turbo.  Ramps are scattered through the course, and throughout the race you can perform stunts.  Performing stunts give you bonuses that equate to Zach dollars.  This is an easy way to get money for purchasing items, especially if you don’t have a partner to play volleyball with.

The other main attraction of the game is the beach volleyball.  There are four areas where you can play beach volleyball.  The games play to seven points with a team scoring on each serve regardless of who serves.  Games are won by two points or until a team scores ten.  Sidelines and endlines are ignored.  There are a few issues with the volleyball game.  The first is the camera angle.  You would think that even with the game in widescreen you could constantly see your character.  Occasionally the camera goes to the other end of the court and your character disappears.  You can try moving forward, but if you do that you run the risk of not being in position to return a spike.

The AI partners in the volleyball game aren’t the brightest bulbs in the world either.  Granted, we are talking about the girls of DOA, and they don’t give the greatest impression of intelligence.  They still lack a lot of common sense though.  I won a match because both members of the opposing team were looking down and kicking the sand.  Sometimes your AI partner just sits there and lets the ball go.  It’s also very difficult to see where the ball is going to land and sometimes while you think you might be in position you actually aren’t.  The buttons seem unresponsive at times and there were times I didn’t feel in complete control of my character.  There isn’t a practice mode either which would have been nice to practice serves and spikes, some of the more complex aspects of the volleyball game.  While volleyball is the featured game of DOAX2, there is still a lot more room for improvement.

If you start doing poorly in volleyball your partner might leave you.  This means you have to find a new partner.  You can purchase items at the Sports Shop, Accessory Shop, and Zack of All Trades.  At the Sports Shop you can purchase items like swimsuits, activity tickets, and watercraft.  The inventory changes constantly.  The swimsuits range from fairly modest to illegal in most states.  At the Accessory shop you can find items like hair ribbons, caps, sunglasses, watches, and shoes.  Zack of All Trades is reminiscent of a flea market where you’ll see odds and ends, like a watering can, sketchbooks, laptop computers, and chocolate.  The items you purchase can be kept for yourself, or you can get it gift wrapped and give it to someone else.  This is how you woo someone else to be your partner.  You need to do this constantly to try to get a partner for volleyball once you lost a partner.  DOAX2 might be the closest thing to one of those Japanese dating sims that we’ll ever see in the US.

If you don’t feel like playing volleyball or racing Jet Skis, you can go to the pool and relax for a bit, or you can play a couple of minigames.  Pool Hopping is a game where you hop from one float to another from one side of the pool to the other.  In Beach Flags you run towards a flag as fast as you can and try to grab it before your opponent does.  In Tug of War you and your opponent are on floats and you tug to try to catch your opponent off-balance and have her land in the pool.  Finally there is Butt Battle where you and your opponent are on a single float and you both try to bump each other off with your backside.  Pool Hopping is free, but Beach Flags, Tug of War, and Butt Battle require tickets that cost money.  These games are nice distractions, but they aren’t games you are going to play for hours on end.

Once you are finished for the day, you can relax and play games in the casino.  They include slot machines, Roulette, Blackjack, and Poker.  All of the games play realistically, but the chatter of the other women gets annoying quickly.  Also, you can’t see the sums of money that your opponents have.  While in games like Roulette and Blackjack it doesn’t matter how much money your opponents have, making strategic moves in Poker requires knowing how much your opponents have.  I probably spent more time in the casino than any other area to try to make money.

You have a certain number of periods in each day.  You get to play through two weeks or fourteen days.  While this sounds like a lot of time to play through, it really goes quickly, especially if you go shopping and are trying to convince someone to partner with you.  If you can’t play volleyball during the game, the game feels rather pointless.

DOAX2 has lots of different games, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be playing them over and over.  The mini-games are a nice distraction, but they aren’t anything special.  You can also watch your character relax by the pool or doing other activities like riding a bike.  You can even take pictures if you have a camera and film purchased on the island.  There is a bit of a “creepy” factor to it though, instead of being a guilty pleasure.

If you are the type of gamer who wants to get everything in the game, it will take a while because of the number of items available in the shops.  Earning money can take a while, and while you can win a lot of money in the casino, it’s just as easy to lose it.

DOAX2 does support online play through Xbox Live, but you can only play the Marine Races and Beach Volleyball.  Marine Races support four players, but Beach Volleyball only supports two players.  This is odd since the beach volleyball games have four players in them, so you’d think it would make sense that four people could play at the same time.

Dead of Alive Xtreme 2 is one of the most unique titles available for the Xbox 360, and it is one of the best pieces of eye candy for the console.  The game plays very similarly to the first Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.  If you enjoyed the first game, you might enjoy the second game, although the minor differences between the two games make you wonder if Team Ninja could have done more to differentiate it from the first game.  Give the game a rent before buying it and having to have an uncomfortable conversation with your significant other.

Gaming Trend Score

68

1. Graphics: 92
2. Audio: 74
3. Controls: 74
4. Gameplay: 50
5. Value/Replay: 70
6. OVERALL:68