Dead or Alive: X-Treme Beach Volleyball Screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 9.2 Graphics 9.5 Sound 9.5 Value 9.5 DOA X-Treme Beach Volleyball  - reviewed by Tory Favro Review Date: 08 April 2003 Review Score: 9.5/10 Not based on an average  Distributed By: Microsoft

It's finally here, the game that has raised a bit of controversy due to it's extremely sexy image wrapped up in the guise of a Volleyball game.   Dead or Alive: X-Treme Beach Volleyball Features Players 1-2 Custom Soundtracks Genre: Sports (Volleyball) Rating: M+ Dolby Digital   The title is dubbed a Sports Fantasy Simulation and is made by Team Ninja who are responsible for the Dead or Alive fighting games. The interesting thing about this title is that not only is it a great volleyball game in itself, it goes the extra mile in making you choose partners carefully when going to play volleyball. This creates the need to build up relationships carefully as the girls don't all get along and it is necessary to buy and give gifts to keep your chosen partner happy in order to play better volleyball.   The sheer complexity of the title will ensure that you will be playing this game for some time considering that in buying gifts alone will take quite some time depending on what sort of reaction you wish to get from the girl of your choice. The happier your girl is, the better she will play volleyball with you, watching your back and setting you up with some wonderful spiking opportunities.   I really loved how clever the relationship side of the game was in that not only did you have to take care of business on the court, you also had to make sure that your partner was happy. To create confusion, try giving your opponents small gifts. The cool thing is that you will get to see them wear them and it will create dissension with the recipient and her partner. If you are going to try to do this though, make sure that your own partner has more presents than them. All the players feelings toward you are displayed on the screen and are shown as a musical note that will tell you how they feel about you.   Another important part of the game is that simply giving gifts, won't enable you to get the best partner either, it's important to get a feel for who is best for you and how they interact with you. It's the stuff off the court that will directly affect the game so just be aware of it at all times. You will earn money to buy things for the girls and yourself by completing tasks, gambling or winning volleyball competitions. The better you win a game, the more you get which will make it all the easier to keep your character in the style that I am sure that she is accustomed to. Remember however that gambling costs money and you could leave with less than you started with.

The quality of the title is evident as soon as you turn on the game and the copyright warning message is over. The introductory movie has to be seen to be believed and I can understand the worried mothers who would have to have made comment that there is nothing to do with volleyball there. Especially when we take a closer look at the casino.

The casino is the place you can visit at night when your day of playing volleyball or relaxing in front of the pool are over. There are a number of games that can be played and you will certainly enjoy them as they provide clues as to the natures of the girls if you look closely enough. I won't give anything away other than to say, if you go to the casino, put on your thinking cap.

The physics of this game will also impress as much as the gorgeous ahem... scenery assaulting your senses. Players both human and CPU controlled will follow the ball as it makes it way through the air and both head and bodies move naturally as would a real person. There is no awkwardness in the way they move, and it's all done with such a natural looking grace that is magnificent to watch. Sand gets scuffed around as players move and it is some of the best animation of a controllable player I have seen for a long time. The ball moves around in the air, just the way it should and considering that there are no prompts to hit the ball, it's great to see that the collision detection between the ball and players hands is accurate.

The soundtrack for this game is a lot of fun as well adding to the general ambience and feel of the title. There's a variety of sweet tunes to listen to, but the beauty of it is that if you don't like what is offered, you can create your own custom soundtrack to listen to by ripping cds off onto the XBox harddrive and selecting them from there. It's a great touch and well done.

This game delivers everything it promises and then so much more. A great game combined with some of the most beautiful women ever to grace a video game. I highly recommend this title as it is a shining example of what can be achieved with care and attention to detail. Brilliant!

- Tory Favro