outlet

Please pick up the Nov. issue of the official XBOX magazine. It has an awesome video for Ninja Gaiden and a wonderful Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball music video. One word. Delicious. OK, OK, OK. Besides all of the half naked women running around, I do believe this will be a great game. A great game that revolves around half-naked women, but great nonetheless.

Story: What a great story!!!! With his DOA tournament winnings, Zack goes to Vegas and hits it big gambling, and with his newfound wealth, he buys an island. He then sets up the lovely DOA ladies to come to his tropical island getaway by making them believe a DOA4 tournament is being held there. When they show up and realize there is no tournament, "Hahaheehee" they laugh it off and spend a summer on the tropical island playing volleyball in bikinis. Delicious. But that's not all. There's a new character named Lisa who joins in on the fun. Yah!

Gameplay: Tecmo makes great games and this will be another solid title. It will have solid volleyball action, playing out with simple button actions. It will be very user friendly. But don't let that fool you. So was Tennis 2K2. Easy to learn, but the real joy will be in mastering the game. Timing bumps and sets will be vital in becoming a DOA Xtreme beach volleyball champion. The multiplayer will be great too. 4-player volleyball is going to rock. And the one player story/career mode will actually be pretty deep. You can build relationships with other potential volleyball team partners. You can buy a potential partners a gift, and she may wear it during a match or even buy you something in return. Sounds like the sims. But regardless, it will be an important part of the game for strong relationships off the court will lead to better tag play in the matches. Sega had a simialar aproach early this year with Beach Spikers. (Which by the way is a solid volleyball game also) Also, on the relationship aspect, past DOA grudges will come into play, and rivals will not play as well when paired together, so you'd better know your DOA!

Features Features Features: This is where the game gets good. 100 swimsuits and 50 accessories to choose from. Playing games will earn you points to buy new items. Just like Tennis 2K2 on Dcast and PS2. There will be tons of patterns and styles to choose from or even use your artistic skills to create your own! (This feature may or may not be in the final version) See-throughs here we come!!!!! Ok what would an Xbox be without the use of the hard-drive. Not only will the game have a 20+ song soundtrack, but you can use your own custom soundtrack! (Make sure to pick up the "Top Gun" and "Cocktail" soundtracks with your purchase) And you can record volleyball matches to the Xbox's hard drive, then watch them later or show them to your friends! "Remember that time I destroyed you in DOA Xtreme Volleyball? Don't remember? Well, I have it right here!!!" Hahaha.

Not just Volleyball going on: Not only will there be extreme volleyball going on, but extreme partying. You can explore Zack Island's night scene. The island casino features many favorites like blackjack, roulette, slots and poker. An arcade even lets you play a DOA 3 mini-game. Speaking of mini-games...

Mini games: Lifeguard drill, a dance competition, and a beauty contest. My my my. Delicious.

This game is just that: Delicious. I really don't have to tell you there will be half-naked girls running around on the beach, because you probably already know. But aside from that, It will be great game. Pick it up.

Let me start out by saying a couple of things that genuinely need to be said about this game. First: It is clearly targeted towards the early-to-mid-teen male audience. Second: There was a lot of contorversy when this game came out when it recieved the "Mature" rating from the ESRB, becuase the Dead or Alive games had all been rated "Teen" and Tecmo wanted it to recieve a "Teen" rating as well so its target audience would have an easier time purchasing it. The the ERRB tagged it with the 'Nudity' mark for its reason on giving it the "M" rating. Well, whether there is nudity or not - (there isn't except for very briefly in the intro) - this game more than deserves it's "Mature" rating. Dress up one of a number of young, virtual women, (the womed from the DOA fighting series) in a nukber of ultra-revealing swimsuits and then you are free to do whatever you'd like with them. You don't HAVE to play volleyball. Wanna get them tanned? Send 'em to the pool, and rotate the camera, zooming it in and out on any part of their bodies as the lay in the afternoon sun. Buy them accessories like visors, sunglasses, and suntan oil. Have them ride their bike along the beach, or just feel free to stare at them as they swing around on a large tree branch, strectching, flexing, etc, etc.
Still, it's actually a lot of fun. The volleyball system isn't half bad considering it's not the only focus of the game. Sure, the swinging camera takes a lot of getting used - (Your character will spend an awful lot of time off of the screen if you're not careful) - but it's not a hard to deal with. Also, the game includes a virtual casino, where you can bet away your winnings from the volleyabll matches. PLay a number of different slot machines, roulette, poker, or blackjack. Then head back to you hotel room, get some sleep, and start it all over again.
Fun, Funny, enjoyable.

The game initially seems like it is just an animated Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. My wife took one look at it and said "Only guys would like that". She played an exhibition match with me and was hooked. We have both logged over 15 hours playing it.

Volleyball - very easy to learn but much more difficult to master. It is really a lot of fun to play. Just don't expect it to be a hardcore simulator.

Zack Island - buying the swimsuits and items for the girls is pretty neat and trying to figure out how to get the other girls to give your character gifts and play volleyball with you is unique.

Items - There are close to 700 items to collect in the game. About 260 of those items are swimsuits for the DOA girls.

Casino - Lots of fun but pretty much your average casino sim.

Pillow hopping minigame - Actually is pretty fun and helps you learn the analog button controls. gives you a way to make money before you figure out how to make friends.

Graphics and Physics - Unmatched. Nothing better exists. It is as close to real as any game to date. Looks amazing on a Widescreen HDTV.

All in all it is a very addicting/relaxing/ replayable game. The game seems very simple on the surface, but the gameplay becomes very deep as you begin to figure out how it is mastered.