|
| |
 |
| Title |
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball |
8 |
| Publisher |
Tecmo |
| Developer |
Team Ninja |
| Genre |
Sports/Friendship Simulation |
| Players |
1-2 |
| Version |
UK PAL |
Remarkable feat
|
When Team Ninja announced that they would be producing a beach volleyball game that contained only the women from the Dead or Alive series of fighting games, many thought it was a joke. Apparently they were deadly serious, and as it turned out, it appeared to be quite the coup for Team Ninja and Microsoft alike.
I?ve read and heard many people?s comments on this game as by sheer definition, this game is a talking piece. I?ve heard people ?refuse? to call this a volleyball game. I?ve heard people who ?refuse? to even play the game on the grounds that it?s a shameful interpretation of a game. This sort of opinion shocks me as these same people will go out and buy games such as Soldier of Fortune 2 where severing your enemies limbs is common place, or will revel in the wonder of games such as Grand Theft Auto 3 where one can pick up a prostitute, have sex with her then kill her for your money back. Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (DOAX) contains no violence and no sexual exploitation, so where is the harm?
DOAX may not indeed fit into the sports genre though, as the actual volleyball in the game is but one aspect. The real theme of the game is more closely associated with friendship simulation. The premise of the game is you, as the player, choose one of a number of the Dead or Alive female fighters and take them to a tropical island. The story actually revolves around Zack supposedly winning the last Dead or Alive tournament and duping the women to come to his island (which he bought with the money he won gambling the winnings of the tournament) in order to take part in Dead or Alive 4. Of course there is no such tournament so these women find themselves stuck on a tropical island with two weeks to spare. Of course they decide beach volleyball is the order of the day.
Despite the rather meagre plotline, the gameplay hidden within is, in fact, rather deep. Since the volleyball matches require two players per team you must find yourself a partner to play with. But getting the partner you want is fairly challenging. You need to learn the characteristics your chosen partner-to-be has and her likes and dislikes. You then play on this by giving her various gifts that appeal to her tastes. These range from accessories like sunglasses and wristbands to miscellaneous trinkets to, of course, swimsuits. If the lady in question likes the items you are giving her then you will find that she will wear them while playing or lounging around the island. If she likes you enough then she will finally agree to partner with you, and then it?s time to get down to business.
For while the volleyball may not be as large a part of the game as Team Ninja would have you believe, they certainly have put the time and effort into it that one would hope for. It?s again obvious that sport isn?t what they are trying for here as there are no on screen markers or anything to give you an indication of where to move or when to press the buttons. The whole process is simply based on timing and placement. It?s also very simple at a base level as there are two buttons, defensive and offensive, with which to play. The defensive button will knock the ball in the air for your partner to make a play and the offensive will send it over to the other side of the court. Before long it?s easy to find that you can make some very excellent plays happening and it all feels very natural indeed. The gameplay actually reminds me a lot of Virtua Tennis in it?s execution since the controls and feel are all extremely solid and while a beginner can find their feet easily, once you get going it?s easy to increase your skills.
But the aforementioned friendship management also has more usage than just getting a partner. The interaction between yourself and your partner on the court depends largely on the interaction between the two of you off of it. So if you have been showering your partner in gifts that she likes off of the court then when it comes time to play you will find that your partner is very easy to play with and the teamplay is increased because of it. This is a good move on the part of Team Ninja as it adds more to the friendship side of the game as keeping your partner sweet is integral if you want to keep winning.
But what incentives are there for you to keep winning? This is most likely where the majority of the criticism is aimed as upon winning volleyball matches you are awarded with Zack Dollars. You can spend these dollars in the three shops around the island and of course the main one being the swimsuit store. For there is no real aim to this game other than to collect more and more swimsuits for the women in the game. While at times the bikinis can get rather provocative, then always remain, on the whole, fairly tasteful although that?s debatable when it comes to the Venus swimsuit that many no doubt will try and get.
But collecting in games is becoming more and more normal these days, with Pokemon obviously being the prime example. The truth is if you really find collecting swimsuits and dressing up the on screen women tasteless and immoral then this probably isn?t the game for you. But after all, it?s just a bit of fun right?
If you do get tired of playing volleyball though you can do a few other things around the island. You could take your chosen lady bike riding, or have her dance by the fire on the beach in the evening. Maybe you?d prefer her to just lounge by the pool? Of course these are all just times to show of the women in the game and serve no real purpose to the gameplay itself. They do add to the theme and feeling that this game is about relaxation though and it does serve to make you feel more comfortable with that fact.
What?s so wonderful about all this though is that while many will be simply ogling the women on display, if you take a moment to look at the rest of the game you will notice that graphically, it simply incredible. Obviously all the women are modelled in extreme detail and their outfits are all textured in high resolution and fit the models perfectly. But other elements in the game such as the sand physics have clearly had a great deal of time spent on them. During matches the sand will kick up and spread around realistically during play and stay as such until the end of the match. It?s perhaps the most realistic sand ever in a video game and hopefully this technology can be used to good effect in other games also. The water as well, while playing a game of float hopping, ripples and flows more realistically than ever before seen. The light refractions easily measure up to those seen in Super Mario Sunshine and all these vast graphical effects add up to make the island seem even more realistic. At times it does seem more like a tech demo for Team Ninja?s artists than a true game in it?s own right, but that would be the cynics approach.
Accompanying these splendid graphics is a quite sickeningly happy soundtrack. Featuring songs from some well-known artists as well as others that are not, the music does indeed fit well with the game. It?s true bubblegum pop but let?s face it, that?s what this game is as well. While one could listen to B*witched or Christine Aguilera for hours, fortunately the option is there to listen to your own ripped soundtracks if you so wish. It?s a good idea to try and choose something that fits the scene though so as to not spoil the mood. Ska and reggae generally does the trick.
I think that the reason so many people have written this game off without even playing it is down to two reasons. The first is that they don?t want to e seen as a pervert by playing a game that is based around bikini-clad girls, but the other is that they don?t understand the true mentality behind it. It was a Japanese company that made the game obviously, and this is an important fact. The Japanese tend to look on things such as sex in a completely different light to your average westerner and it?s usually a subject that isn?t so taboo as it is over here. But more importantly than that this game isn?t trying to sell on the sex factor ? at least not to the Japanese market, and this is something difficult to comprehend to a western mind. While this is clearly a factor in the whole process, the major reason this game is selling more Xboxes than GameCubes in Japan right now is because the friendship simulation is so clever and the whole concept of the game makes you want to comeback for more. Whether it be for the volleyball or just to continue to collect more and more bikinis, the compulsion is there.
Yes it?s easy to look at it and label it as a cheap spin off of a fighting game, but it is so much more than that. It?s not for everyone, but if you are mature enough to be able to play a game with nothing but girls in bikinis in it without feeling embarrassed or the urge to play with Mr Tinkle and explore all this has to offer then you will not regret it. This Is without a doubt one of the Xbox?s most impressive games to date.
Seth Powell |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
