Beach Spikers: Virtua Beach Volleyball

"Be sure to invite some friends over, because this game's multiplayer experience is why you'll want to play..."

Beach Spikers plays exactly like an arcade game—as it should, since that is how it was originally created. With a few single player options to keep the lonely interested, Beach Spikers is a simple, yet addictive arcade game that really shines in multiplayer. This game should prove to be lots of fun for yourself and a few buddies, however, it has enough flaws and drawbacks that you might want to stick to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball for the Xbox if you have the choice.

Gameplay:

First, let me talk about the single-player options. There is the typical arcade mode, in which you can customize how a match is played and then go for it. There is the career mode or ‘World Tour’ in this case, which allows you to take your women around the world to battle it out with some of the best. And finally, there is the tutorial mode, in which you are taught the basic game mechanics of Beach Spikers and learn how the game is played. Seeing as how the entire single-player experience revolves around the World Tour mode, that is where I will be spending a good portion of this review.

In World Tour mode, you are paired with a computer teammate and taken around the planet to take on other teams. It becomes quite clear that this game was meant to be a four player multiplayer experience, however the artificial intelligence is done quite well, but it just isn't as enjoyable as multiplayer. The first thing you will notice is that your computer teammate is absolutely awful. I cannot stress how atrocious they are, but the whole point of the World Tour mode is to strengthen your skills as well as the attributes of your AI partner.

You are allowed to customize several different statistics for your computer friend. They are serve, attack, power, receive, block, toss, and response. It becomes clear why your computer player is so bad when you realize that she has zero in all of these categories out of a possible of twenty. That’s why you have to play through these matches, earn a whole bunch of points, and then assign them accordingly. This is a good way to reward the player for playing, and makes the World Tour that much more rewarding. It is also good, because as the improvements are so drastic, you will be able to see an immediate change for the better, which is quite satisfying. The drawback is, however, that starting the World Tour again won’t be as much fun, as you will have been used to your improved computer partner, and won’t want to go back to the horrors of having a buffoon with no strength, speed, reflexes or skills. Also, it is possible to become frustrated early in the game, seeing as how the difficulty of mastering the game mechanics is coupled with the fact that you have an idiot for a partner. But that’s why you have to keep playing…

Also, for more replay value there are a few options that are included. There is the create-a-player option, as well as some unlockable features for it. You can even unlock some more game modes if you want to. None of them are really deep at all, but it’s nice that there is at least some reward for coming back and playing this game through. There are, however, two major setbacks for the ogling men. First, in the create-a-player mode, you cannot increase bust size or change the women's body types. Also, much unlike Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball there is no chest movement. This isn’t all that bad, unless you really want to stare at female polygons all day [the living flesh is much better] but it also detracts from some of the animations, as some of the movements seem rather rigid than flowing.

Like I’ve said before, this game is an arcade game, and it shows. It is very simple, quite fast passed, and easy to pick up. Much like Mario Tennis for the Nintendo64, Beach Spikers uses the A and B buttons to do almost everything in combination with the analog stick. This has the immediate benefit of being very easy to learn the basics, which is a definite plus, because you will want to invite some friends over and have them learn how to play without too much difficulty. Serving is done in a typical way with a power meter going from the bottom to the top, where you try to stop it at its very peak.

The real satisfaction in this game is to get a good rally going—back and forth, back and forth. In Beach Spikers, this is handled by these little circles which indicate where the ball is going to land. Based on the buttons you press, you can do a two-hit setup, spike the ball, or whatever. There are also some nice animations including blocks, dives, and of course spikes. It’s not very complicated at all, but the real measuring stick is how fun the game is, and Beach Spikers is quite enjoyable.

Truthfully, if you don’t like multiplayer games, then you will really be missing out on a great experience in Beach Spikers. It is really a multiplayer game at heart, and the single-player mode isn’t enough to make you come back to the lonely experience time and time again. You can team up with a friend against two computer opponents, battle it out with a computer opponent on either side, or grab three other friends and have a four player frenzy. It’s really fun and quite addictive. The only game that can even be comparable to this multiplayer experience is Mario Tennis for the Nintendo64, with its simple controls and amazingly addictive and enjoyable four player matches. Be ready to bring all of your friends over, because you won’t want to stop playing this.

Graphics:

The player animation is pretty good. The players move in a very nice, fluid manner. The serves, spikes, and dives all seem natural and it looks even better during replays when you can see the action close-up. The detail seems pretty consistent; the high polygon counts are matched by generally high quality textures. Even the hair of these girls will flap in the wind, like a dog’s ears when it sticks its head outside of a car window. But, that’s not to say that it’s all good. There are some animations which seem out of place, and the camera is sometimes a nuisance. Also, the aforementioned breast jiggling actually detracts from the animation quality, without even thinking about the “erotic” aspect of it. It just makes the players seem like they are not real, but instead rigid objects that just happen to be moving through space the way normal humans do.

But besides that, Beach Spikers has some nice graphics. The crowds are all fully animated, as are the background objects. It’s really well done. The thing you’ll immediately notice is that the sand conforms to the player’s actions. There will be sand marks all around the beaches when you’re done playing a match, and if you dive for a ball you can sure bet that you’ll leave an impression in the sand, as particles fly up as you crash to the ground. Even better, because the shadows are calculated real-time, they will stretch and conform to the various imperfections in the sand. Nice! Did I mention it runs without slowdown? [I’m sure it must be 60 fps, but I haven’t confirmed this.] Suffice it to say, it runs very smoothly.

The one thing that I do have a problem with, however, is the menus. What were they thinking? But, as long as the game plays well, and the rest of it looks clean, I believe you can overlook this fact. Whoever was in charge of these menus should definitely be sacrificed as an example to the others, though. My god…

Sound:
I don’t know what I should really say here. It gets the job done, even though a lot of it isn’t pretty. The crowds cheer and boo when appropriate, and the ball makes the sounds that you would expect. All of the sound effects are quite good, and add to the experience and realism of Beach Spikers.

The music is a completely different picture. It stinks. As long as we are going to sacrifice whoever was in charge of the menus, we might as well sacrifice whoever was in charge of this music. Which brings me to another point…the announcer’s speech in the menus is almost as poorly done as the menus themselves. Very bad form.

Replayability:
The amazing multiplayer experience is surely enough to give this game incredibly replay value. There are also enough single-player elements to keep you interested while your friends are coming over to join you in this game. But, the real fun and replayability of Beach Spikers lies in this multiplayer experience, so have your friends over and have them over often.

Buy or Rent:
The truth of the matter is, although this game has a lot of single-player replay value, you will get the most of the experience with some friends. If you are the type of person who prefers single-player games, then Beach Spikers may not be the right choice for you. It still can keep your interest on the single-player side, but you will be missing out on a lot, and the game’s main drawing point. The multiplayer experience just brings so much value to this game, that it will definitely become a party favorite. Also, if you have an Xbox and already have Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, then you don’t have too much reason to buy this game—DoA’s version is superior.

In summary…if you like playing alone, it’s worth a rent to see if it’s your type of game. If you enjoyed the multiplayer experience of Mario Tennis for the Nintendo64, then this game is definitely for you. And if you have DoA Xtreme Beach Volleyball, then you should probably stay away from this game, and see if they improve on its shortcomings in the next version.

Final Thoughts:

If video games were judged on their menus alone, this game would get the lowest score possible. If video games were based on music, it would get a pretty bad score as well. But the truth of the matter is, the only thing that should really matter is how fun the game is. And Beach Spikers is amazingly fun. The only setback is that you won’t want to play this game single-player after getting a taste of the wonderful multiplayer action. So, invite some friends over now, and thank me later.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/03, Updated 03/06/03