Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball

• Release Date: January 22, 2003
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Volleyball
• Similar Games: Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball (IBM PC Compatible), Outlaw Volleyball (Xbox), Beach Spikers (Nintendo GameCube)

Game Description

A sports offshoot from Tecmo's successful fighting franchise, Xtreme Beach Volleyball features the seven women of Dead or Alive as they enjoy some sun and fun on a tropical island. Players have an opportunity to enter a volleyball tournament or explore various other activities while staying at the luxury resort. A movie theater is available to view trailers of Ninja Gaiden and previous games in the Dead or Alive series, while a casino includes themed versions of slots, blackjack, roulette, and poker. Players can also kick back and watch their character relax by the pool or engage in a hopping mini-game between volleyball contests.

An eighth character, Lisa, has been added to the roster and will be featured in later Dead or Alive fighting titles. Also available are over 100 swimsuits to collect and more than 50 accessories to wear. Players can purchase outfits and accessories for their favorite female, which may result in better team play during matches if the gift matches a character's preferences. Competitions are scheduled daily for a period of 14 days, referred to as a "vacation." Players can listen to 20 licensed songs or import their own music saved on the hard drive, and those having a Dead or Alive 3 file stored on their Xbox will be able to start with more money than the default $10,000.

Review: Overall

Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball may not be the first time an established fighting game series has taken a detour into a completely different genre (the poorly received Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero was released in 1997), but it is a surprise just the same. What initially promised to be a strong entry in the overlooked sport of volleyball has become little more than a flimsy excuse to ogle women. Players expecting a traditional sports game will be surprised to find an absence of tournaments, statistics, practice sessions, or other modes outside of a single match.

While players also get to participate in a mini-game for money, relax at a casino, and purchase a vast assortment of items, the volleyball is pathetic, the gambling is rudimentary at best, and the lone mini-game is hopping across floating platforms in a pool. There's nothing worthwhile to do other than look at eight polygonal women dressed in revealing swimsuits. If that's your idea of fun, then Xtreme Beach Volleyball deserves a spot between BMX XXX and Panty Raider in your library. Everyone else should proceed with extreme caution.

To be fair, the idea isn't necessarily a bad one. The problem with the game is that its poor execution ruins any potential for fun. What should have been first and foremost a volleyball title bolstered by adventure elements is a title that focuses solely on women and throws in several underdeveloped games. Most handheld LCD volleyball games are more enjoyable than this version of the sport, whose annoying camera makes Sega's Beach Spikers deserving of a special award for cinematography. It's clear what the developers wanted to accomplish: show the most appealing views of the women above all else, even at the expense of gameplay.

The perspective of the volleyball court is unusual since it is at a diagonal with the player and teammate on the left. Hitting the ball over the net has the camera automatically following it over to the other side, which leaves your character temporarily out of view. This is not a good thing when trying to determine positioning. Players needlessly watch a close-up of the computer hitting the ball before the camera finally decides to return back to their side of the beach. To account for this sloppy viewpoint, the controls are intentionally forgiving but also extremely basic. At times it feels like you're not really in control of anything and are merely a bystander.

The teammate you are partnered with early on is beyond pathetic, and this game completely relies on teamwork to defeat your opponents. You'll watch in horror as you set the ball for the computer character to spike, and she instead gingerly taps it over the net as if she were afraid to break a nail. If you move to the net and try to have her set the ball, she will often miss it completely or get out of position. Factor in the irritating camera, two-button controls, and the inability to see where the ball is going to land (there's no onscreen cursor to show position or height), and you have a sport that you will tire of within ten minutes.

Unfortunately, there's not much else on the island to keep you interested. The world of Xtreme Beach Volleyball is played in a span of 14 "days," during which players can have their female character lounge in and around the pool, which provides opportunities to look at them from various angles as they sit in an inner tube, at a table, or on a recliner. Or players can have their characters frolic on the beach and invite other females from the Dead or Alive cast to become their partner for upcoming volleyball games. All will decline the request unless players buy gifts, which is the bulk of the "gameplay" in Xtreme Beach Volleyball: earn money to buy gifts (in the form of accessories or items pertaining to a specific character's background) and swimsuits, then repeat. The casino is where players can make a considerable amount of cash, but surprisingly, there's no option to play poker with the women, strike up conversations, or just simply walk around and have fun exploring the island.

Like most adventure games, players are taken to a fixed screen by clicking on a destination. They never get to control an actual character until on the volleyball courts, and we all know how well that works. There is a game that could have been salvaged from this mess. Had the volleyball been stronger and the modes more robust, with tournaments, the ability to increase skill and so forth by on-court experience instead of wooing women, it would have made the other elements easier to swallow. It would have also been nice if players could go parasailing, swimming, boating, horseback riding, or perform other activities you'd expect to do on a tropical island.

Every element in this game has been done before in other genres and done much better. Vegas Stakes on Super NES allowed players to stay at a hotel, attend casinos with a partner, and interact with other gamblers. Kings of the Beach on NES lived up to its name when it came to volleyball, and titles in the Harvest Moon series offered both dating and marriage. The strangest thing about Xtreme Beach Volleyball is that players aren't even given the chance to just freely walk the beach and interact with the women or even take pictures for a modeling shoot. Instead, players feel like they are some creepy stalker or voyeur that has control over the island's closed circuit camera system.

Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball is a huge disappointment for sports fans, for role-playing fans, and for casino game fans. Tecmo is capable of delivering unique properties that offer new and exciting experiences, but with this game they are appealing to the lowest common denominator. There is an expression that beauty is only skin deep, which fits Xtreme Beach Volleyball to a tee. Those who purchase this game will soon discover the beautiful graphics are hiding a shallow, pointless game underneath.

Review: Enjoyment

None of the game elements come together as well as expected. The volleyball in particular is poorly done, and the gameplay is suspect at best.

Review: Graphics

The game's visuals are fantastic, with smooth character models, varying times of day, and realistic looking beach environments.

Review: Sound

The upbeat music features licensed music from artists such as Christina Aguilera and Bob Marley, and players can import songs stored on the Xbox hard drive. The voice acting is in Japanese.

Review: Replay Value

Players can choose from eight different women, improve their "attitudes" by giving them gifts, and by buying more and more swimsuits on repeat visits, but the game is dull.

Review: Documentation

All characters have brief bios and are rated in their volleyball ability. Each phase of the game is described well, but it's unclear which items are preferred by certain characters. Players have to experiment.

Production Credits

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