Dead or Alive Xtreme 2

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Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2

Developer(s)	Team Ninja
Publisher(s)	Tecmo
Designer(s)	Tomonobu Itagaki
Release date(s)	^NA November 13 2006 ^JPN November 22 2006 ^AUS December 7 2006 ^EUR December 8 2006
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	CERO: Ages 17 and up (D) ESRB: Mature (M) PEGI: 12+
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Media	DVD-ROM

Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2 is the sequel to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball developed by Team Ninja.

1 Development
2 Gameplay
3 Reaction
4 Voice Cast
- 4.1 English
- 4.2 Japanese
5 Sources
6 External links

[edit] Development

The game is currently available at most major retailers in the UK, US and Japan.
It is said to run on a heavily modified version of the engine used in Dead or Alive 4, allowing for new inclusions such as self-shadowing. The Marine Race mini-game, however, will use a completely new physics engine, although in terms of graphics it looks very similar to the rest of the game.
The nine girls from the previous games in the series (Kasumi, Hitomi, Leifang, Ayane, Lisa, Christie, Tina, Kokoro and Helena) are all playable.
The story takes place on New Zack Island, with the opening cinema showing how the resort came into Zack's possession and the lie he uses to deceive the girls once again.
The volleyball mechanics have been modified to require greater precision with the players input, with an emphasis on spiking and blocking to improve strategies and techniques. This was introduced as the previous game was seen by many to be "too easy".
There are three separate hotels: Gemstone Suite, Seabreeze Cottage and Moonlight Reef.
Creator Tomonobu Itagaki said during an interview part way through the development process that he will not be adding activities like trampoline games and wet T-shirt contests to the series, as he feels they would come off as vulgar and "show the women in a negative light".
Each breast has its own physics. This allows each breast to behave differently. This has been criticized, however, for making the breasts move too much (they often continue moving for an unnaturally long time after a character has stopped moving), and was parodied in a comic by Ctrl+Alt+Del. [1]
The game is playable on Xbox Live, with both the Beach Volleyball (one-on-one) and Marine Race games available for online play. However you can only currently choose the girls default swimsuits in online mode, the gallery present in the original game is missing.
As in the original game, the beginning and ending to Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 features a pre-rendered clip.
Players are able to use a variety of cameras in-game. The different cameras allow for varying levels of zoom, rotation and angle. A picture can be taken and then saved to the users storage device for later viewing.
The game features unique cloth simulation techniques.
In an exclusive interview with GameTrailers.com, Itagaki confirmed that the E3 trailer of DOAX2 was entirely done in real-time.
There are over 300 swimsuits in all, and 176 accessories. A select amount of swimsuits from the previous game also make a reappearance.
The game uses a new "tan line system" in which swimsuits will realistically block tanning. Changing swimsuits often will prevent tan lines from appearing.
To reduce the sense of defeat from having a prospective friend throw out a gift in the first game, in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 girls will simply return items they don't like. However they may not return it immediately, it can take up to 5 in game days.
For the first time since Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, players can choose between English voices or the original Japanese voice recordings.
The offline two player Exhibition mode from the previous game has been removed.

[edit] Gameplay

[edit] Story

Much like the original, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 features a 2 week vacation mode, where the player can indulge in a variety of activities (listed below). The background story to the game is that Zack has resurrected what he calls "New Zack Island", and has once again tricked the girls into coming to his island. Within the instruction manual you can find the differing reasons for which each girl has come to the island.

[edit] Partnership & Friendship

The game puts a strong emphasis on friendship; you must befriend the other girls by buying them gifts from the stores on the island that they enjoy. This will increase the bond between your character and your chosen "partner-to-be". At any point you can approach another girl and ask her to be your partner. If your friendship is at a sufficient level (represented by floating icons next to the girls portraits; the quicker they flow, the stronger the bond), you will partner up and be able to take place in volleyball matches. You must then ensure that you keep your bond strong, this can be done by giving gifts once more, spending time with your partner and winning games.

When you first start the game, you are given a tour by Lisa, who automatically becomes your partner. From that point, any new vacations you take without having a tour will result in a random girl approaching you and asking to partner with you.

You are also able to gift swimsuits to other girls, whether they are your partner or otherwise. However, the more revealing a suit is, the harder it is to get a girl to accept the gift. Once again you must ensure that your friendship level between your girl and the target girl is very strong, else you may end up having your suit returned. It is fair to say that the successful gifting of swimsuits is the main point of the game, as every achivement involves holding a certain complete collection / several collections.

[edit] The Characters

In Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2, you are able to play as any of the 9 girls currently present in the series. Each girl in the game has a certain like for items and hobbies, which affect the reaction to whether they will like or dislike a gift. They also each have an individual favourite colour, once again affecting their like of a certain item.

Kasumi

One of the most recognised of the Dead Or Alive characters. Her hobbies include fortune telling and origami, and she likes strawberry millefeuille. She is the half sister of Ayane. Her favourite colour is pink.

Ayane

A character made distinct by her natural purple hair. She had a string dislike for her half sister Kasumi, but has since reconsiled with her. Her hobbies include beauty treatment, and she likes Marrons glacés. Her favourite colour is dark purple.

Hitomi

A bubbly, cheerful character, and one of the easiest to partner with. Her hobbies include cooking, and she likes Sachertorte (a German sugary cake). Her favourite colour is sky blue.

Tina

The daughter of a male character from the series, Bass. She is a arrogant girl. Her hobbies include cycling and video games, and she likes seafood. Her favourite colour is sapphire blue.

Kokoro

A geisha in training, she made her debut in the previous game, Dead Or Alive 4, making this her first outing to the beach. Her hobbies include playing the piano, and she likes Anmitsu and Oshiruko. Her favourite colour is orange.

Christie

A ruthless character most noticable for her natural white hair. She is difficult do get along with, but has some of the most risque suits in the game in her store. Her hobbies include driving, and she likes tomato juice. Her favourite colour is black.

Helena

A very elegant lady. Her hobbies include walking her dog, and she likes blancmange. Her favourite colour is pearl white.

Lisa

The first black girl to enter the series. Her hobbies include surfing, and she likes cherry pie. Her favourite colour is crimson red.

Leifang

A very smart and cute Chinese girl. Her hobbies include aromatherapy, and she likes Chinese dessert. Her favourite colour is lemon yellow.

[edit] Volleyball

The former "main event" from Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, beach volleyball is once again present. Similar to the original, you must be partnered up to take place in a volleyball match. Once you have a partner you can simply approach another set of partners and engage in a match. The gameplay has been modified to make the game slightly more difficult and to add variety, there are still only two buttons neccesary for gameplay (pass/block and bump/spike), however greater manual control is required as, unlike the original, your 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. The camera has been slightly modified to address the criticism that the one in the original game moved too much.

Unfortunately the volleyball mode currently contains a glitch, where a CPU player will attempt to pass the ball to their partner, and the ball ends up going skyward. This results in the CPU partner repeating the same move until the ball eventually lands (which can take upwards of ten minutes).

[edit] Marine Race

An all new game mode which allows the girls race on jet skis. It has been compared to the Wave Race series [2], but fans of Wave Race have noticed considerable differences. Players earn nitro boosts (which give them a substantial, but temporary, increase in speed) by navigating through five consecutive buoy gates. Players can earn in-game currency by winning the race and by doing tricks, an exploit has been found where players can choose to lose the race by any length of time, and simply navigate the track indefinitely, pulling off tricks to earn cash. This mode is also playable online via Xbox Live.

[edit] Pool Hopping

Another minigame from the previous title, although this game has been modified slightly 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. To successfully hop to the next pad, you must conduct the correct jump; tapping any face button results in a short jump, holding it results in a long jump. Pressing the correct face button that corresponds to the next pad results in bonus points being earned.

[edit] Beach Flags

A new mini-game to the series, it is simple in nature, but can be quite difficult and frustrating. It requires the player repeatedly press a button as fast as possible to reach a flag at the end of the beach before their opponent does. To successfully grab the flag, the player must not only be fast but also correctly judge the distance to dive. If the player is too slow, falls short, or over shoots the flag, they lose. False starts also result in an instant loss.

[edit] Butt Battle

A unique new mini-game, in which the player attempts to knock their opponent off a shared floating pad before the same can be done to them. It involves feigns, dodges, normal attacks, and strong attacks, which the girls carry out using only their buttocks. It is played in a similar fashion to Rock, Paper, Scissors, in which you must correctly guess the countering move required from your girl. It has also been called the "Hip Battle".

[edit] Tug-of-War

This new mini-game is very similar to butt battle in the fashion it is played. The player must attempt to make their opponent fall off of their distant floating pad. Player victory can be achieved both by pulling their opponent into the water or by tricking them, using a feign move, into accidentally throwing themselves in. This requires correctly guessing the countering move, much like Butt Battle.

[edit] Water Slide

This is the final mini-game that takes place within the day. The basic gameplay revolves around keeping the player character from falling out of the slide as it twists and turns. Pushing forward on the left joystick speeds your character up, and pulling back slows them down. Left and right are used to prevent your character from falling out of the slide.

[edit] Casino

Similar to the original, there is a casino where you can partake in several games, these include poker, blackjack, roulette and a variety of slot machines. You can only access the casino during the evening. Rumors abound on various gaming websites that by gambling the maximum amount of currency on Christie's slot machine, the player unlocks sequences of her pole dance in the casino, and eventually unlocks the ability of their chosen character to perform this dance.

[edit] Reaction

In its online review of the game, TeamXbox.com stressed that while Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 has impressive graphics, multiple activities and nice artistry, the game is simply not fun to play with. On a scale of 1 to 10, they gave it a score of 6.7/10. It is worth noting that TeamXbox.com gave its predecessor a 9.2/10.

Online reviews from IGN and 1Up.com share similar opinions. Overall, the early reviews suggest that the added mini-games, including the Butt Battle and Tug-Of-War are based highly on luck, with a quick fire button press required to counteract what you think the computer is going to do next. The game is 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.

It is worth noting, however, that the graphics have been stated as very high quality, a vast improvement over the original and have improved even on Dead or Alive 4.

Certain reviews criticize the new breast physics. One reviewer at IGN said watching the breasts made them "seasick" [3]. The reviews suggest that only a small percentage of gamers, bar most die-hard Dead or Alive fans, will be able to enjoy the game for long.