Dead or Alive Paradise
Encyclopedia
is a 2010
video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo Koei
for the PlayStation Portable
as part of the Dead or Alive series. The game is a port and a remake of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
for the Xbox 360
, and the title expands upon the activities available in the original which consisted of mainly beach-related mini-games. The game was released in all regions during March and April, 2010.
-clad girls from the Dead or Alive series.
similar to Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. The mini-games include beach volleyball
, pool
hopping, and casino
games like poker
, blackjack
and slots
. The second aspect of the game would be interacting with the girls by mingling with them, giving them presents including swimwear. The third aspect is to purchase a camera from the Island Shop and take photographs of the girls which can then be assembled into an album. Once the relationship with the girls is on an intimate level, the girls would then present the player with "venus clips" which can be viewed and edited by the player.
had previously expressed interest in bringing the Dead or Alive Xtreme
series to handhelds such as the Nintendo DS
and PlayStation Portable
in 2004. The game was first revealed in Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu
in December 2009. A North American release was announced a month later in January 2010.
-free demo was released on the Japanese Playstation Store
, and then distributed by Japanese site 4Gamer and other web sites. Accordingly to IGN
, the demo features a sample of the game's Gravure Mode, where the player chooses a character, a swimsuit and a situation to take photos. On the demo, Hitomi is the only available character, with two bikinis and three situations. Unlike in the full version, the pictures cannot be saved in the demo. The demo can currently be downloaded on PSP demo specialized web sites, as well as in the game's official Japanese site.
Director Yoshinori Ueda said to Eurogamer
that the game isn't supposed to be softcore pornography, neither degrading towards women. In his own words:
"That's certainly not something we're intentionally going for", "From our perspective, we're trying to make beautiful women, that has been the focus - we want our characters to be beautiful. The DOA characters are strong and that they look the way they do is based on trying to bring out the beauty of women", "We're certainly not trying to degrade women. They have beautiful bodies. We're trying to show off the beauty of their bodies but we're not trying to be degrading about it - we're trying to show that they are beautiful characters.", and "It's not that we were trying to make softcore porn. That's definitely not the goal".
Ueda also said to VideoGamer.com:
"We feel that the original text that went up was a subjective opinion. Of course everyone will have their own take on what the game is and what it means for them as they play it. For us the game is about providing a vacation, a resort, a place to have fun, and providing that experience to players. Part of that is taking pictures and having beautiful women in a beautiful locale. That's part of the fun in what we're trying to do with the title.
"We understand everybody will have their own opinions about it, but we would like people to take a look at the title, play it, and judge for themselves. We tried hard to make it a real paradise. We hope people will get that from the game."
The art director Yasushi Nakanura also said to VideoGamer.com that if fans did masturbate to the series, Team Ninja "could consider that a success". He also said that Paradise was an effort to restart making the Dead or Alive series, as well as to broaden its appeal. On his words:
"Dead or Alive has a bit of a history," "It's been around for a while and the fans have grown with the series. With this title, Dead or Alive Paradise, we're looking at resetting that. We're trying to get new fans, people who aren't familiar with the series, and cast the net wide for people who might be looking for something different."
score of score around 55/100. Many famous site giving it a low score but special gaming sites dedicated to the DOA alive series a reasonable score.
Scott Jones
and Victor Lucas
from Reviews on the Run
, though, both gave the game a 0.0/10 rating saying the best word to describe the game is "pathetic", while GamesRadar
website gave it a 7/10 saying on its veredict that it is "Overall fun and deceptively deep". The website Gamepro gave the game 3,5 stars out of 5, an average score from 7/10
GamingUnion gave the game a score of 6/10 .
The ComputerAndVideoGames.com
gave the game a score of 6.9/10 close to other scores which where given positive. .
2010 in video gaming
The year 2010 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, including several new titles.-Events:-Game releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2010 in North America....
video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo Koei
Tecmo Koei
Tecmo Koei Holdings Co., Ltd. , is a holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Japanese video game developers and publishers Koei and Tecmo....
for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
as part of the Dead or Alive series. The game is a port and a remake of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2 is a 2006 video game for the Xbox 360 game console. Developed by Team Ninja, it is the sequel to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, and the title expands upon the activities available in the original which consisted of mainly beach-related mini-games. The game was released in all regions during March and April, 2010.
Plot
Players start the game at the getaway resort, New Zack Island, as part of a two week vacation. The island is inhabited mostly by the swimsuitSwimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...
-clad girls from the Dead or Alive series.
Characters
The game features mostly playable characters from the Dead or Alive series,- Ayane
- Christie
- Helena
- Hitomi
- Kasumi
- Kokoro
- Leifang
- Lisa
- Tina
- Rio - A character who appears from a series of pachislotSlot machineA slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
titles by Tecmo, which has also been adapted into an animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series named Rio: Rainbow Gate!Rio: Rainbow Gate!is an anime series produced by Xebec under the direction of Takao Kato. Based on Tecmo's of pachinko games, the series revolves around titular character Rio Rollins, a popular casino dealer working at the Howard Resort, and the thirteen cards called Gates which are used to determine the world's...
.
Gameplay
The game has several gameplay aspects, featured most prominently is the minigameMinigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
similar to Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. The mini-games include beach volleyball
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
, pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
hopping, and casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
games like poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
and slots
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
. The second aspect of the game would be interacting with the girls by mingling with them, giving them presents including swimwear. The third aspect is to purchase a camera from the Island Shop and take photographs of the girls which can then be assembled into an album. Once the relationship with the girls is on an intimate level, the girls would then present the player with "venus clips" which can be viewed and edited by the player.
Development
The previous team leader of Team Ninja, Tomonobu ItagakiTomonobu Itagaki
is a Japanese video game designer who created the Dead or Alive fighting game and beach sport simulation series and also revived the Ninja Gaiden franchise in 2004...
had previously expressed interest in bringing the Dead or Alive Xtreme
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
is a beach volleyball game by Tecmo released in 2003 exclusively for the Xbox. The game is a departure from the rest of the Dead or Alive series which otherwise consists of fighting games and marks the first game in the series to have a Mature rating due to the very revealing swimsuits featured in...
series to handhelds such as the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
in 2004. The game was first revealed in Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
in December 2009. A North American release was announced a month later in January 2010.
Game Demo
On 11 March 2010, a DRMDigital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
-free demo was released on the Japanese Playstation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
, and then distributed by Japanese site 4Gamer and other web sites. Accordingly to IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, the demo features a sample of the game's Gravure Mode, where the player chooses a character, a swimsuit and a situation to take photos. On the demo, Hitomi is the only available character, with two bikinis and three situations. Unlike in the full version, the pictures cannot be saved in the demo. The demo can currently be downloaded on PSP demo specialized web sites, as well as in the game's official Japanese site.
ESRB Controversy
The ESRB, on a polemic post about Dead or Alive Paradise, classified the game as "creepy voyeurism" and "bizarre, misguided notions of what women really want", saying also that "Paradise cannot mean straddling felled tree trunks in dental-floss thongs". Later, the post was changed into something more neutral, and ESRB apologized saying the first post was posted "in error", considering it "improperly" and filled with "subjective language".Director Yoshinori Ueda said to Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
that the game isn't supposed to be softcore pornography, neither degrading towards women. In his own words:
"That's certainly not something we're intentionally going for", "From our perspective, we're trying to make beautiful women, that has been the focus - we want our characters to be beautiful. The DOA characters are strong and that they look the way they do is based on trying to bring out the beauty of women", "We're certainly not trying to degrade women. They have beautiful bodies. We're trying to show off the beauty of their bodies but we're not trying to be degrading about it - we're trying to show that they are beautiful characters.", and "It's not that we were trying to make softcore porn. That's definitely not the goal".
Ueda also said to VideoGamer.com:
"We feel that the original text that went up was a subjective opinion. Of course everyone will have their own take on what the game is and what it means for them as they play it. For us the game is about providing a vacation, a resort, a place to have fun, and providing that experience to players. Part of that is taking pictures and having beautiful women in a beautiful locale. That's part of the fun in what we're trying to do with the title.
"We understand everybody will have their own opinions about it, but we would like people to take a look at the title, play it, and judge for themselves. We tried hard to make it a real paradise. We hope people will get that from the game."
The art director Yasushi Nakanura also said to VideoGamer.com that if fans did masturbate to the series, Team Ninja "could consider that a success". He also said that Paradise was an effort to restart making the Dead or Alive series, as well as to broaden its appeal. On his words:
"Dead or Alive has a bit of a history," "It's been around for a while and the fans have grown with the series. With this title, Dead or Alive Paradise, we're looking at resetting that. We're trying to get new fans, people who aren't familiar with the series, and cast the net wide for people who might be looking for something different."
Special Bundles
In Japan, Dead or Alive Paradise had on its release, other than the stand-alone game, two different bundles: one costing ¥7,329 and the other costing ¥15,729. The first comes with a secret photo album, a soundtrack CD, an original Kasumi box cover and the game. The second one is bundled with all that plus a Kasumi figurine, which wears two different swimsuits.CD Tracklisting
The bundled CD includes the following soundtrack:Reception
The game has received mixed to negative reviews, most of them varying around 3 and 5, resulting on a MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of score around 55/100. Many famous site giving it a low score but special gaming sites dedicated to the DOA alive series a reasonable score.
Scott Jones
Scott Jones
Scott Jones is the name of:*Scott Jones , American soccer midfielder for F.C. Dallas*Scott Jones , American football offensive tackle...
and Victor Lucas
Victor Lucas
Victor "Vic" Lucas is a Canadian television producer and personality, mainly known as the creator, executive producer, writer, co-host and director of the television program The Electric Playground. He is also the creator, executive producer, and co-host of Reviews on the Run; the show was known...
from Reviews on the Run
Reviews on the Run
Reviews on the Run and "Reviews on the Rock" in the earlier seasons of the Electric Playground is a video game review TV show hosted by Victor Lucas and Scott C. Jones . The show is produced by Lucas' company Greedy Productions...
, though, both gave the game a 0.0/10 rating saying the best word to describe the game is "pathetic", while GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
website gave it a 7/10 saying on its veredict that it is "Overall fun and deceptively deep". The website Gamepro gave the game 3,5 stars out of 5, an average score from 7/10
GamingUnion gave the game a score of 6/10 .
The ComputerAndVideoGames.com
ComputerAndVideoGames.com
ComputerAndVideoGames.com is the web-based successor to Computer and Video Games magazine, the world's oldest specialist gaming publication.- History :Launched in August 1999, CVG is one of the UK and Europe’s leading gaming web sites...
gave the game a score of 6.9/10 close to other scores which where given positive. .