Dead or Alive Xtreme 2

"Paradise or Purgatory?"

DOA Extreme 2 is probably one of the most controversial games to come to the 360 in its short life span, but in reality is no racier than anything you'll see on reality tv or the Fox network. If you haven't heard about this game, you've been living under a rock , but I'll humor you. There are nine girls, all voluptuous and flawless, with one exception. They are all freakishly gullible. Born fighters, they came to an island at the request of Zack, a fellow fighter, and apparently a pimp in training. They all think there's going to be some sort of fighting tournament, and find instead that they have two weeks to lay around and play volleyball or other beach-themed games. Somehow they're surprised by this, even though he did the exact same thing to them a few years ago. But they're troopers, and struggle through their vacation anyway, much to your delight. Anyway...on with the review.

GRAPHICS- 8/10
Yeah, they're pretty. The fact the girls can get distinct tan lines is pretty impressive. All the models are well done, with the exception of the hair, which nobody has ever gotten right in any game I've seen. Fans of exaggerated breast physics will rejoice, as these girls have almost comically mobile breasts. Females will either wince or laugh, and possibly be offended.

CONTROLS-8/10
All of the games have very simple control schemes that anyone can remember, normally consisting of no more than two buttons. Great for new players, or people not normally seen playing videogames, like parents or your significant other.

GAMEPLAY-5/10
This is where the game suffers, and suffers mightily. Though there are several different games to play on the island, you have to unlock them with money won from other games. This isn't exactly the most fun in the world, especially when the achievements revolve around spending money on gifts and swimsuits for the other girls. Also, beyond the volleyball and jetski racing, none of the other games are particularly compelling to play, nor are they profitable, which erases much of any reason to play them at all.

There is also no two player mode, aside from online multiplayer. This means that if you want to show the game off to your friends, either they'll be watching you play it while they sit on your couch, or you'll have to pass the controller around. This also means you'll all be using the same girl, as you can't change players without leaving the island and starting the game's only mode over again. This is a MAJOR oversight, as it prevents a large amount of the fun that you could have with this game at a party.

There is a requisite photograph mode, but unlike the games, the camera is rather unwieldy without some practice, and actually requires you to manually focus the camera to take photographs. Too much movement will cause a blurry photo as well, further taking a certain amount of the cheesecake fun out of this game.

REPLAY FACTOR 9/10
I feel kind of weird, giving this game such a high replay score, but it holds a certain charm. There's certainly a lot to do, when you factor in all of the girls, but you'll be doing the same thing over and over again. But if you have a soft spot for collection type games like Pokemon or such, and won't get in trouble for watching some cheesecake scenes from time to time, you might find this game to be a very good purchase.

OVERALL-7/10
Definitely rent this one first; it's not going to appeal to everyone, and it's even going to offend some. There's definitely room for improvement in almost every area of the game, and I for one would love to see DOAX3 in a few years.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/27/06