Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball

The Good
Dark and dangerous looks, deadly weapons, enemies to be feared, and fight to the death... Dead or Alive 4!!! Or so the girls have thought ;)) No, no tournament at all this time, not deadly one anyway. One of the reasons for my getting Xbox was Shenmue II... the other one was this beauty. As new as I could possibly be in this, I entered the world of DOA franchise with only one thought in mind... "this has gotta be some relaxation or pleasureful game"... and believe it or not, 'tis exactly what this game is. There is no real goal to it, no real fighting, no deadly arenas to enter, but a far away remote tropical island with the known contestants of Dead or Alive tournaments. Only this time, the better half of our gender, only. Soundtrack includes various artists and it fits quite nice most of the way, and ability to play your own tracks is really great. The voice acting was perfect... and so cute, left fully japanese with subtitles. And views... well, views are exotic alright, in every sense of the way. It is a perfect game to play over the hot summer, when you're out of air conditioner, with nothing but a cold beverage to cool you off, not to mention it's far more affordable than a ticket to Hawaii.

The Bad
The opening cinematic alone is so tempting and beautiful that one (and that very one am I in this case) may assume he can find such things in a game. But no, no seduction, no provocative scenes, and nothing of a sort are you to find in the game, sigh. This makes you wonder why is this game rated for mature since top it basically has (one assumes you didn't master the "topless" mode) is a pack of beautiful girls sunbathing, swimming, and playing volleyball.

The Bottom Line
Xtreme Beach Volleyball features:

The Good
Beautifully rendered Babes, breathtaking scenarios, fluid animations, make this game enjoyable for kids and adults. Just to make an example, if you lead Hitomi at the pool side, she looks tanned on the deckchair. And that is only one, of the several nice issues, that could be narrated about this game. However, don’t forget to read also the Cons, just below, since there are some…

The Bad
I have to say, before the considerations on this game that follows, that my wife managed for about three years, as trainer of an “all female beach volley team”. Well then, you DO know what I mean. If you ever had the chance to watch a volley match, along with all the “flesh and bones” of the case, you couldn’t play DOAXBV at all. It seems like the developers, dazzled by their own digital Venuses, forgot all what they learned developing the previous, and glorious, Dead or Alive 3. This game does not have the same flare of its predecessor, nor it has the same longevity. I only could excuse while waiting for the fourth Tecmo establishment, also clearly indicated by Zack-the-Rocket-man while landing on the island, the long awaited Dead or Alive 4!

The Bottom Line
You can go with it for miles; you can throw it on the bin after a while.