Beach Spikers

• Release Date: August 14, 2002
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Volleyball
• Similar Games: Outlaw Volleyball (Xbox), Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (Xbox)

Game Description

The first beach volleyball game for GameCube, Beach Spikers offers two-on-two competition with a choice of 16 men's and women's teams from eight countries: U.S., Brazil, Australia, Spain, Japan, Italy, France, and Cuba. The control scheme is designed to be accessible, requiring only two buttons. An icon appears along the sand to signal where the ball is heading, and players can align their athlete underneath the symbol to set the ball to their teammate, dig, or attack in multiple directions. A vertical power meter determines the strength of each shot, and close-up views of the net during spike attempts allow for a more dynamic presentation.

Modes of play include Arcade, World Tour, VS Mode, and Tutorial. Arcade is structured like the 2001 coin-op game, where players take their chosen country through an eight-team tournament against men or women. World Tour lets players create their own team and develop the AI of their computer partner through practicing different scenarios (as seen in AM2's Virtua Fighter 4 on PlayStation 2). VS Mode lets up to four players compete against each other, while Tutorial has players familiarizing themselves with the control scheme. As the game progresses, instant replays will highlight the key shots or blocks that lead to a point or side-out.

Review: Overall

Nearly every major publisher has shied away from volleyball titles for some strange reason, even though the sport offers the same type of strategy and timing as in games like tennis. It apparently is more lucrative to release countless soccer games in the hopes of tapping into a much larger audience than it is to create a fun-to-play volleyball game that would appeal to sports fans looking for something new. Fortunately, this sentiment has changed with the announcement of no fewer than three volleyball games scheduled for release within a year of each other: Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, Outlaw Volleyball, and the first of the bunch, Sega's own Beach Spikers.

Based on the 2000 coin-op game, Beach Spikers is an excellent port for those looking to re-create the same experience at home enjoyed in the arcade. The immediate allure is the lifelike visuals of tanned and toned women (the likeliest reason volleyball has received a renewed interest among publishers) strutting their stuff on breathtaking sun-kissed beaches. Everything is presented in high resolution, from the individual sponsors on a player's sun visor to the incredible sight of a giant Pringles can (one of many product licenses found in the game) swaying back and forth in the background.

The one aspect of the visuals that suffers isn't the crowds, which look 3D, but rather the camera angles. The developers have created such enticing visuals they probably wanted to show them off as much as possible, so the camera angles will change after every serve, volley, and spike, making returns far more challenging than they should be. The act of returning a ball is simple enough -- move your player to the circle on the sand, but it's hard to get a bearing when the camera constantly disorients you by showing different looks at the sand and net after every hit. You don't know where your player is at all times.

The actual volleyball action is solid but rather basic, true to its arcade roots. Serving involves tapping a button or two when the vertical meter reaches its desired power level. Returning is a simple matter of getting underneath the circle in time and pressing one of two buttons. The computer-controlled opponent is serviceable in Arcade Mode, but is almost useless in World Tour Mode, where players are forced to build up their partner's abilities just to get them to be competent, let alone good. Players can help improve teamwork by praising, encouraging, or scolding their teammate, but scolding doesn't really pay off in the long run, so there's not so much strategy involved as it first appears.

Beach Spikers is significantly more limited in control than Sega's two previous arcade-style sports games, Tennis 2K2 and Soccer Slam, which is disappointing considering the beautiful courts and players. You'll want to enjoy this more than you do, but there should be options to play at a fixed perspective, control the toss of the ball and actually time when to hit it based on sight alone, and follow the ball's shadow along the sand instead of running under a giant circle -- in short, it's too simplistic and oftentimes annoying due to a hyperactive camera. Kings of the Beach did volleyball right nearly 12 years prior to this title's release, and that game even let you argue the judge for questionable calls. As it stands, Beach Spikers might have some appeal to players who don't normally like sports games or those who just want to ogle polygonal women.

Review: Enjoyment

Terrible camera angles try to mask the simplistic nature of gameplay. Players can learn to adjust, but there's more that could have been done with this title.

Review: Graphics

The women's faces are a little stiff at times, but the crisp visuals make you feel like you are really on the beach. Players can also customize their characters in World Tour Mode, choosing from various hairstyles, faces, and swimsuits.

Review: Sound

The announcer sounds like he was pulled off the street and forced to read lines off a cue card. The music is catchy at first but becomes repetitive as the matches wear on.

Review: Replay Value

Four-player action suffers from the same problems found in the single-player matches, but there's no annoying computer teammate to worry about. Mini-games such as hot potato and beach flag racing are throw-ins.

Review: Documentation

The included manual covers all of the basics, but there's also a tutorial within the game itself, allowing players to practice each of the main aspects (serves, returns, etc.) found in a volleyball match.

Production Credits