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In 1996, the Dead Or Alive series made its mark on the 3D fighting game world with a bang. Or rather... A bounce. Well known for its buxom heroines, this little sister of Virtua Fighter and Tekken has matured quite a bit in terms of gameplay and visuals. But we're not here to talk about the fighting games. No, we're here to talk about Itagaki's naughty little side project: Chicks in bikinis. 2006 marks the 10 year anniversary of Dead Or Alive, and what better way to celebrate than with the release of Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2 on the Xbox 360.
 

See you on...the Island.
 
Zack Island is back with something of a vengeance! DOAX2 features all the bang of the first game, plus a few new surprises to persuade volleyball veterans to open their wallets a second time like jet skiing, water slides and more. There are tons of new bathing suits, an all new online mode and the addition of DOA4's Kokoro to the character roster.
 
No more trash cans and the addition of selectable wrapping paper makes gift giving easier and less frustrating. Give a girl a gift wrapped in her favorite color and she's more likely to accept it... and if she doesn't like it, her only option is to give it back! Gone are the days of wasting millions on that one suit just to stare in horror as Christie tosses it in the trash.
 
The most notable and important improvement is the volleyball gameplay itself. The game is no longer a mind-numbing button pressing exercise where characters magically float to where they need to be, provided they're somewhere in the general vicinity. DOAX2 actually forces you to be under or at least near where the ball will touch down and to time your button press accordingly. This overdue amelioration combined with a slightly more advanced pass-and-set system adds more challenge to an otherwise bland modernization of Pong.
 
The addition of the jet ski mini game adds even more replay value. In Jet Ski, you and your partner - if you have one - take to the seas to race against the other girls through a set course, around directional buoys and over ramps. The more you play, the harder and longer the courses get. You can also do stunts on your jet ski for a slight money boost, but this is usually more trouble than it's worth, as it requires you to take your thumb off the acceleration.
 
You also have the option of purchasing tickets for other events such as Butt Bumping, Waterslide Races and Tug-O-War, mini games that add a bit more flesh (if you'll pardon the pun) to your vacation, but don't do much for the overall gaming experience.
 

The game breaks a nail.
 
Unfortunately, with all the improvements they made to the volleyball gameplay, they forgot to improve on the partner AI, and I'd almost argue she's even more retarded now. She will rarely ever set your spike up correctly, often times forcing you to spike from the back of the court. This is passable if you're using a strong technique character like Kasumi or Ayane, but with characters like Tina or Hitomi, this generally equals your ball going directly into the net and then directly into the sand on your court and there's nothing you can do about it. Your partner also rarely moves, no matter how much she likes you. You can change her position with the right analog stick, but this really doesn't help when she just stands there as the ball is coming directly at her, forcing you to haul ass to the opposite back sector of the court to set the ball. Really, this game should be called “Dead Or Alive Xtreme Cleaning Up Of Your Partner's Messes”. Also, there's still no Haul Ass button, which this game desperately needs. Kick ass ninja girls can move faster than that. Kasumi can teleport across rocky terrain and roll-flip backwards onto her feet after several roundhouse kicks, but can't be buggered to do more than speed walk six feet across sand and has to slowly push herself up like she just broke her tailbone after taking a volleyball to the face.
 
The jet skiing also needs a ton of work. Cornering on just about any jet ski is a chore and a half, making it difficult to do such basic things as recharge your turbo, get points, stay in the track or win. The computer corners like it's going out of style. You? Not so much. And buying better jet skis won't help you, as the computer upgrades along with you. In the end, you're just paying two million Zack Dollars for a shorter, harder gaming experience. Memorization of courses and careful turbo boost timing can give you some advantage, but otherwise you're better left just sticking with the volleyball.
 
The offline multiplayer? There isn't any. The only way to play DOAX2 with your friends is on Xbox Live. This is a horrible omission. Your friend comes over and you two want to play volleyball together? Better plug in the old Xbox because you aren't doing it here.
 
Almost as if to add insult to injury, the online multiplayer is severely limited, giving you only the options for jet skiing and volleyball and nary a swimsuit selection in sight. Dead Or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball's offline multiplayer allowed for swimsuit selection, so why not here? Since players have to have the game to play it online, it should be no problem to load up the graphics.
 
Load times are unacceptable. It's understandable to load before and after the events, but there's absolutely no excuse for taking a full four seconds to register a love or hate reaction to a gift.
 

So little trying to cover so much.
 
No review of DOAX2 would be complete without mentioning the bouncy. It's a major selling point of the series to horny teenage boys and to the rest of us, it's just part of the animation. Real women bounce when they jump or fight, so why shouldn't the DOA girls bounce? In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the series, Team Ninja has returned us to the exaggerated bouncing that put the spotlight on the first DOA fighting game... Only much much bigger.
 
The girls jiggle when they jump. They bounce when they pout. They wobble when they sway... But they also move when they're standing still. And the breast physics are individual. The boobs move independent of each other. This is both comical and a little creepy. The breasts seem to have minds of their own, existing on a consciousness separate from their host body. They also look like they may very well bounce up and smack their host body in the face. Luckily, the jiggling is quite a bit more subdued - or at least far less noticeable - while playing volleyball, so it's not particularly distracting during actual gameplay, but try watching a win pose. Tina's going to put her own eye out.
 
With the outfits themselves, there are more styles to choose from, but a lot of them are a little on the vulgarly slutty side. Now, there's nothing wrong girls in revealing thongs. The girls in the DOA series are all fit and busty with the perfect bodies to wear a micro-kini, but this is bordering ridiculous.
 
The first game had its fair share of Skankwear, but it had a nice variety of trendy, sporty, demure, and cute style suits also, as well as shorts, skirts and dresses. The slutty to not-slutty ratio in DOAX2 is very unbalanced. There are still cheerleader outfits and one pieces and a few others, but gone are the shorts sets, and the few remaining sets featuring short-like apparatuses feature some manner of revealing cutout on the bum or elsewhere. Great for horny teenage boys, not so great for those of us that like varying styles.
 
There are also far more lingerie type suits. You don't wear your underwear to the beach, and if you do you don't run around in it. If Team Ninja wants to force feed us panty sets, they should include a Pillow Fight mini game. Send a girl an invite to your hotel room, and if they like you, they come over and you whack each other with pillows in your negligee. A little gratuitous, sure, but it'd be fun.
 
All in all, DOAX2 is... well, not for everyone. It's an improvement over the first one, but is there enough of a difference to warrant buying it? Only if you're a fan of the series and plan to spend a lot of time collecting.

Video produced by: Michael Benson