The Dead or Alive franchise wouldn’t be what it is if they never included the voluptuous babes they advertise so heavily on. Dead or Alive started off way back in 1998 being the first ever title to include everyone’s favorite, breast physics. This became a major trait to Tecmo and Itagaki and vastly improved the amazing realism in each title. At the beginning of 2003, Tecmo released Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball to the Xbox system and it was a one strange game, it was a the first Dead or Alive title to escape from the ultimate fighting tournament and enter more of a relaxed and friendly environment. Now for the past year, Team Ninja has been working on a sequel to this fun and addicting game adding more enjoyable mini-games and not to mention the improved visuals and realism.
At this years Tokyo Game Show Tecmo showcased both a sexy trailer and a playable demo of there upcoming title Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2. At the Microsoft press conference they showcased an older trailer and finally released an official date for North America on November 15th and Japan a week after, along side a Japanese price point at 9240 yen ($80USD), the North American price point should be the standard $60. They then commented that a European copy will be released shortly after. After that, a new trailer was shown that featured the very attractive babes of Dead or Alive in their sexy poses, I guess they’re implying sex really does sell.
Once again, Zack has won the previous Dead or Alive tournament and with the prize money he bought another island, this time making sure there is no volcano so they won’t have another ‘accident’. One of the big reasons Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 lost its “beach volleyball†title is the fact that the game’s main premise will no longer be based on volleyball; instead the game is Xtreme to the max with new and exciting mini games. Of course there will everyone’s favorite team volleyball and what’s better than kicking someone’s ass online? But there are more entertaining games you will be able to access throughout the island.
Volleyball is still one of the major games in Xtreme 2 as it now includes one on one online play, one of the only two mini-games that have online capability. This is a major leap from the first title because it only included multiplayer through the systems offline support. This should keep players busy, although there isn’t any mention of rankings or leaderboards, we can only hope. The second mini-game that features an online mode is the new Jet Ski racing. Similar to Wave Race for the N64, the game will feature four players through Xbox Live and its similar to an arcade racer, get from point a to point b, but you do have lots of area to cover, you can go off but it’ll warn you, you will be setting off course. This of course you can perform amazing tricks like having your character hop onto the front of the Jet Ski and ride it; there are various tricks to earn experience points. This is going to be a major part of the next installment.
A couple new mini-games in DOA were added to your enjoyment, they include butt bumping, on water tug-a-war fights and Flag capture. Butt bumping takes place on a platform that is floating in the middle of a pool with two characters on it. Both characters are back to back to one another and are controlled by a couple buttons. There are two basic animations here; one is butting your opponent causing them to move closer and closer to the end, lastly you can dodge and make it a stronger attack possibly pushing your character over the edge right away. Right when the opponent is at the edge and is just tipping over, you basically won, all you have to do is time you last strike right and the babe is overboard. This seems like a fun and addicting game but it’s a very simple mode to play. The second new mini-game is the tug-a-war. This is an interesting new game. It’s similar to the butt bumping game but it includes two platforms and one rope. Each character will grab onto one of the ends and you will be given two commands. One command being pull and the second command is a fake. Pulling of course makes the opponent tip on the edge but faking allows the opponent to fall on their own making sure you don’t do anything. Each game is based on three points; the one who reaches the third win will take the victory.
Lastly the flag capture is also known as the bleach flag event, this is more of a racing game. You select a character and you begin on the ground with your back facing up, you quickly jump to your feet and race against your opponent to the flag many feet away. You will have to tap a couple buttons vigorously in order to get to the flag in time, you will quickly jump and grab the flag and you win. It’s that simple. Most of these games you will find are easy to play and are actually are pretty fun. Lastly is a mini-game already in the first title, and this is the pool run. This is where there are various floating platforms in the pool, each with a specific space between each other. You will have to press one button like the last time, lightly to jump one block or press it hard to jump two blocks. This time you will be up against an opponent so this is another race to the finish line, which is the other side of the pool. All the mini-games included in the next installment of Dead or Alive Xtreme title have been enhanced and improved to keep you playing again and again, and with the new ones they’ve added this should be more than worth your money.
Graphics in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 aren’t massively improved from previous titles but they are some of the best looking you’ll see. Each character has a high polygon count and looks superb in high definition. Physics are always well done as each body moves with excitement. The dynamic water effects really seem like something unique but they don’t look as good as some of the other environment effects in the game. Jet Skis will fly when larger waves are brought up and will rock back in forth on the current. Animation looks fluent as everything in the world is affected by the interactivity of the women. From the CG video shown at the Tokyo Game Show, it really makes you want to play it. The sex appeal was never higher with the graphics being the best they could ever be at the moment.
With the game less than two months away from release both in North America and Japan, this is sure to please those laid back gamers. With various mini-games, both old and new, and great looking Japanese anime style graphics, this is sure to be something we’ll have to watch out for. Keep your eyes on Advanced Media Network for your Tokyo Game Show coverage and more on Dead or Alive Xtreme 2.
