Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
Encyclopedia
Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2 (DOAX2) (デッドオアアライブエクストリーム2 Deddo oa Araibu Ekusutorīmu 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
. The title expands upon the activities available in the original, supplementing beach volleyball
with additional beach-related mini-games.
The game puts a strong emphasis on friendship; players (playing as one of the women) must befriend the other girls by buying them gifts they enjoy from the various stores on the island, playing pool-hopping and playing butt battles. Doing so will increase the bond between the two characters.
The former "main event" from Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, beach volleyball is once again present. Similar to the original, players must have a partner in order to compete in a two-on-two 7-point volleyball match. The gameplay has been modified to make the game slightly more difficult and to add variety. While there are still only two buttons necessary for gameplay (pass/block and bump/spike), greater manual control is required as, unlike the original, girls will not automatically maneuver themselves into the best formation. In the online mode, two players can compete against each other, each having a computer-controlled partner. Lastly, the camera has been slightly modified to address the criticism that the one in the original game moved erratically or too frequently. The offline two player "Exhibition" mode from the previous game has been removed, forcing players who wish to play against other players to do so via Xbox Live
.
An all new game mode which allows the girls to race on jet skis, either offline or on Xbox Live. The game has been compared to the Wave Race
series.
Aside from the main beach volleyball mode, this is the only mini-game which supports multiplayer play via Xbox Live, making all others single-player only:
Shopping is an essential part of the game, buying accessories, swimsuits or food and drinks. Similar to the original, the game features a casino which players can visit during the evenings. Once there, one can partake in several games, including poker
, blackjack
, roulette
and a variety of slot machines (themed after each woman). There are also three hotels for the girls to stay.
, allowing for new inclusions such as self-shadowing
and new cloth simulation techniques. The Marine Race mini-game, however, uses a completely new physics engine, although with similar graphics.
As well as the gameplay tweaks (as compared to the original), various cosmetic modifications were made. For example, the female characters' individual breasts now have their own "physics." This allows each breast to behave differently, although this has been criticized for making the breasts move in an exaggerated fashion (i.e., they often continue moving for an unnaturally long time after a character has stopped moving and sometimes one or both breasts will freeze in mid-bounce). Additionally, the game adds a new "tan line system" in which swimsuits realistically block tanning; changing swimsuits frequently will prevent tan lines from appearing.
Instead of relying on a single game mode, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 contains a number of different sub-games. Starting with an initial pool of 42 different mini-game ideas, a total of 7 games (counting beach volleyball) actually made the final cut. During the development process, creator Tomonobu Itagaki
stated that he would not be adding activities like trampoline games
and wet T-shirt contest
s to the series. He indicated that he felt that this would come off as vulgar and "show the women in a negative light". Despite this, however, a pole-dancing minigame/clip was included as a bonus after getting all 7s with Christie's slot machine in a certain order.
Note that Kokoro did not appear in Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and hence is a new addition to the cast of available volleyball players.
stressed that while Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 has impressive graphics, multiple activities and nice artistry, the game is simply not fun to play. On a scale of 1 to 10, the reviewer gave it a score of 6.7. TeamXbox.com gave its predecessor
a much higher score of 9.2. Metacritic
aggregates a rating of only 53%.
Online reviews from IGN
and 1UP.com
share similar opinions. The reviews suggest that the added mini-games, including the Butt Battle and Tug-of-War are based highly on luck, relying on an arbitrary button press to counteract what one thinks one's opponent is going to do next. The game is also apparently too similar to the original DOAX for most reviewers' likings, stating that a large amount of the girls’ animations were taken from the original title and simply tweaked to fit the new game engine. Changes to the volleyball
portion, still the main attraction of the game, have apparently made it significantly more difficult. Lastly, certain reviews criticized the new breast physics, causing them to bounce independently when running or moving and continue to jiggle or swing even when the character is still, resulting in awkward sequences. In addition, this extra focus on the women's breasts and their wildly exaggerated animation led many reviews to state that this installment crossed the line from the naughty but fun and playful voyeurism
of the previous game to downright creepiness and perversion.
In 2006, GamesRadar
ranked gravure scenes of DOAX to be one of the 100 greatest gaming moment in history.
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...
game console. Developed by Team Ninja, it is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
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...
. The title expands upon the activities available in the original, supplementing 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....
with additional beach-related mini-games.
Story
The background story to the game is that Zack has resurrected "Zack Island" from the depths of the sea, where it was buried following a previous volcanic eruption. He has re-dubbed it "New Zack Island", and has once again tricked the girls into coming to his island. The instruction manual details the differing reasons for which each girl has come to the island, while cut-scenes further flesh out the plot details.Gameplay
Much like the original, Dead or Alive Xtreme beach vollyball features a two-week vacation mode, where the player can indulge in a variety of activities (listed below). Each day is broken up into three segments (morning, afternoon, and evening), where players can perform a single activity during each.The game puts a strong emphasis on friendship; players (playing as one of the women) must befriend the other girls by buying them gifts they enjoy from the various stores on the island, playing pool-hopping and playing butt battles. Doing so will increase the bond between the two characters.
The former "main event" from Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, beach volleyball is once again present. Similar to the original, players must have a partner in order to compete in a two-on-two 7-point volleyball match. The gameplay has been modified to make the game slightly more difficult and to add variety. While there are still only two buttons necessary for gameplay (pass/block and bump/spike), greater manual control is required as, unlike the original, girls will not automatically maneuver themselves into the best formation. In the online mode, two players can compete against each other, each having a computer-controlled partner. Lastly, the camera has been slightly modified to address the criticism that the one in the original game moved erratically or too frequently. The offline two player "Exhibition" mode from the previous game has been removed, forcing players who wish to play against other players to do so via Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
.
An all new game mode which allows the girls to race on jet skis, either offline or on Xbox Live. The game has been compared to the Wave Race
Wave Race
is a 1992 personal watercraft racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Game Boy. It is the first game in the Wave Race series...
series.
Aside from the main beach volleyball mode, this is the only mini-game which supports multiplayer play via Xbox Live, making all others single-player only:
- Pool Hopping is a mini-game carried over from the previous title, although with slight modifications to account for the lack of pressure sensitivity on the Xbox 360 controller. In this game, players race another girl, hopping across multi-colored floating pads.
- Beach Flags is a new mini-game to the series which is simple in nature, but can be quite difficult and frustrating.
- Butt Battle, also dubbed the "Hip Battle", challenges the player to knock her opponent off a shared floating pad before the same can be done to them.
- Tug-of-War is very similar to the "Butt Battle" in the manner in which it is played.
- The final mini-game, Water Slide, involves successfully sliding down a water slide at high speeds.
Shopping is an essential part of the game, buying accessories, swimsuits or food and drinks. Similar to the original, the game features a casino which players can visit during the evenings. Once there, one can partake in several games, including 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...
, roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
and a variety of slot machines (themed after each woman). There are also three hotels for the girls to stay.
Development
Developed exclusively for the Xbox 360, the title runs on a heavily-modified version of the engine used in Dead or Alive 4Dead or Alive 4
Dead or Alive 4 has received generally positive reviews. IGN gave the game 9.0/10, calling it "a move in the right direction for the series", and praised the fighting system as "deeper and more sophisticated". GameSpot awarded the game a score of 8.8/10, with one of its only negative comments going...
, allowing for new inclusions such as self-shadowing
Self-shadowing
Self-Shadowing is a computer graphics lighting effect, used in 3D rendering applications such as computer animation and video games. Self-shadowing allows non-static objects in the environment, such as game characters and interactive objects , to cast shadows on themselves and each other...
and new cloth simulation techniques. The Marine Race mini-game, however, uses a completely new physics engine, although with similar graphics.
As well as the gameplay tweaks (as compared to the original), various cosmetic modifications were made. For example, the female characters' individual breasts now have their own "physics." This allows each breast to behave differently, although this has been criticized for making the breasts move in an exaggerated fashion (i.e., they often continue moving for an unnaturally long time after a character has stopped moving and sometimes one or both breasts will freeze in mid-bounce). Additionally, the game adds a new "tan line system" in which swimsuits realistically block tanning; changing swimsuits frequently will prevent tan lines from appearing.
Instead of relying on a single game mode, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 contains a number of different sub-games. Starting with an initial pool of 42 different mini-game ideas, a total of 7 games (counting beach volleyball) actually made the final cut. During the development process, creator Tomonobu Itagaki
Tomonobu 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...
stated that he would not be adding activities like trampoline games
Trampolining
Trampolining is a competitive Olympic sport in which gymnasts perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. These can include simple jumps in the pike, tuck or straddle position to more complex combinations of forward or backward somersaults and twists....
and wet T-shirt contest
Wet T-shirt contest
A wet T-shirt contest is an exhibitionistic beauty contest that typically features young women performing at a nightclub, bar, or resort. They have traditionally been a staple of college spring break celebrations at locations such as Daytona Beach and Cancún.Contest participants generally wear...
s to the series. He indicated that he felt that this would come off as vulgar and "show the women in a negative light". Despite this, however, a pole-dancing minigame/clip was included as a bonus after getting all 7s with Christie's slot machine in a certain order.
Characters
In Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, players are able to play as any of the nine girls currently present in the series. Each girl in the game has certain items and hobbies which she likes or dislikes, and these preferences influence her reaction upon receiving a gift. Characters also each have an individual favorite color, again affecting their like or dislike of a certain item (and the wrapping paper used to wrap it). The playable characters are (in brackets: their favourite color, and favorite food):- AyaneAyane (Dead or Alive)is a player character in the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden fighting game series by Team NINJA and Tecmo Koei. Ayane has also a complex relationship with Kasumi, the leading heroine of the Dead or Alive series, ever since they grew up together...
(Dark Purple, Marron glacé) - Christie (Black, Tomato juiceTomato juiceTomato juice is a juice made from tomatoes. It is usually used as a beverage, either plain or in cocktails such as a Bloody Mary or Michelada.-History:...
) - Helena (Pearl White, BlancmangeBlancmangeBlancmange is a sweet dessert commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with gelatin, cornstarch or Irish moss, and often flavored with almonds. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Although traditionally white, blancmanges are frequently given a pink color as well...
) - Hitomi (Sky Blue, SachertorteSachertorteSachertorte is a chocolate cake. It was invented by chance by Austrian Jewish Franz Sacher in 1832 for Klemens Wenzel von Metternich in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties. The Original Sachertorte is only made in Vienna and Salzburg, and it is shipped from...
) - KasumiKasumi (Dead or Alive)is a player character in Dead or Alive fighting game series by Team Ninja and Tecmo. Kasumi has served as the main character of the Dead or Alive franchise since its beginning in 1996, being the official protagonist in the first two main games in the series, and playing very important roles in the...
(Milky Pink, Strawberry millefeuille) - Kokoro (Orange, Japanese fruit cocktail)
- Lei Fang (Lemon Yellow, Almond tofuTofuis a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
) - Lisa (Crimson Red, Cherry pieCherry pieCherry pie is a pie baked with a cherry filling. Traditionally, cherry pie is made with tart rather than sweet cherries as it is easier to control how sweet the pie eventually becomes and also eventually translates to a sharper taste...
) - Tina (Sapphire Blue, SeafoodSeafoodSeafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
)
Note that Kokoro did not appear in Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and hence is a new addition to the cast of available volleyball players.
Music
Background music includes:- "Like That Girl" by Fatty KooFatty KooFatty Koo is a R&B and Hip-Hop sextet from Columbus, Ohio that made its way into the music industry in 2005. The group consists of members Eddie B, Gabrielle, Josh, Marya, Ron, Valure, Their fame mostly came from their television show on BET, Blowin Up: Fatty Koo...
- "Another Love Story" by Play
- "If It Don't Fit" by B*Witched
- "Sweet Sixteen" by Hilary DuffHilary DuffHilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
- "The Kids Don't Like It" by Reel Big FishReel Big FishReel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...
- "Double Lovin'" by Baha MenBaha MenThe Baha Men are Bahamian singers in a Bahamian band. They play a modernised style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo.-Early career as High Voltage :...
- "Holla!" by Baha MenBaha MenThe Baha Men are Bahamian singers in a Bahamian band. They play a modernised style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo.-Early career as High Voltage :...
- "Quiero que tú me quieras" by Olga TañónOlga TañónOlga Tañón is a two-time Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy-winning Merengue and Latin Pop artist. Tañón has earned 5 Latin Grammy Awards and 19 Premios Lo Nuestro awards during her career.-Early years:...
- "Nothing To Lose" by Sweet Female AttitudeSweet Female AttitudeSweet Female Attitude was a UK garage duo, consisting of Leanne Brown and Catherine Cassidy, who are considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom. Their April 2000 single "Flowers", with music video directed by Pete Nilsen and Ryan Davids, made it to number two in the UK Singles Chart...
- "Flowers" (Cutfather & Joe Mix) by Sweet Female AttitudeSweet Female AttitudeSweet Female Attitude was a UK garage duo, consisting of Leanne Brown and Catherine Cassidy, who are considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom. Their April 2000 single "Flowers", with music video directed by Pete Nilsen and Ryan Davids, made it to number two in the UK Singles Chart...
- "Dreamin'" by Sweet Female AttitudeSweet Female AttitudeSweet Female Attitude was a UK garage duo, consisting of Leanne Brown and Catherine Cassidy, who are considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom. Their April 2000 single "Flowers", with music video directed by Pete Nilsen and Ryan Davids, made it to number two in the UK Singles Chart...
- "Lovin' You" by Janet KayJanet KayJanet Kay is a British singer of Jamaican parentage best known for her lovers rock songs of the late 1970s - "Silly Games" and a cover of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You". She has also had roles as a theatre and television actress...
- "How Crazy Are You?" by MejaMejaMeja , is a Swedish composer, artist and singer. Among her best known songs are "I'm Missing You","All 'Bout the Money" and "Private Emotion"...
(Main Theme) - "Is This Love" by Bob MarleyBob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
Reception
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 got generally lower review scores than its predecessor. In its review of the game, TeamXboxTeamXbox
TeamXbox is a gaming media web site dedicated to Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360 platforms. While the majority of content is Xbox and Xbox 360 related, the site occasionally covers general technology and other video game news....
stressed that while Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 has impressive graphics, multiple activities and nice artistry, the game is simply not fun to play. On a scale of 1 to 10, the reviewer gave it a score of 6.7. TeamXbox.com gave its predecessor
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...
a much higher score of 9.2. Metacritic
Metacritic
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,...
aggregates a rating of only 53%.
Online reviews from 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...
and 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
share similar opinions. The reviews suggest that the added mini-games, including the Butt Battle and Tug-of-War are based highly on luck, relying on an arbitrary button press to counteract what one thinks one's opponent is going to do next. The game is also apparently too similar to the original DOAX for most reviewers' likings, stating that a large amount of the girls’ animations were taken from the original title and simply tweaked to fit the new game engine. Changes to the volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
portion, still the main attraction of the game, have apparently made it significantly more difficult. Lastly, certain reviews criticized the new breast physics, causing them to bounce independently when running or moving and continue to jiggle or swing even when the character is still, resulting in awkward sequences. In addition, this extra focus on the women's breasts and their wildly exaggerated animation led many reviews to state that this installment crossed the line from the naughty but fun and playful voyeurism
Voyeurism
In clinical psychology, voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature....
of the previous game to downright creepiness and perversion.
In 2006, 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...
ranked gravure scenes of DOAX to be one of the 100 greatest gaming moment in history.