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DOA : XVB - It's Here! (1 Viewer)

Chris Flynn

Second Unit
Joined
May 28, 1999
Messages
473
My copy came this morning via FedEx, and I've been playing it for about an hour.

First impressions:

Graphics are really spectacular. But I expected no less than that from Team Ninja. The animations, the posing, the way their bodies react during play, are all really top notch. The deformable terrain, like the snow scene in DOA3, is also very nice,

Sound is also well done. The voices are all in Japanese, but they're subtitled. All except for Zack, who is voiced by Dennis Rodman. Music is all catchy pop tunes, which I think perfectly fit the game. I find myself singing along with that Christina Aguilera song when I'm playing. :)

Volleyball gameplay is simple, but addictive so far. Two buttons control passing and returning the ball. Depending on how hard you tap the button and which direction you hit the analog stick, you can perform different moves. It's very simple, but surprisingly deep IMO. I really like the way the girls react when they're hit with the ball at vary speeds and in different areas.

Your partner also determines how well you do, in that if she doesn't like you very much, you won't do very well. One partner already ditched me so far. This is where gift giving comes into play, but I haven't really figured out the nuances of that yet. There are a ton of items that vary each day to buy, including swimsuits and other accessories (hair stuff, body stuff, etc.). The really good swimsuits are very expensive, although there are nice one to be had for lower amounts of money.

The casino is a very nice addition as well, and only open at night. They have a pretty deep game of poker and blackjack, and a few different slots with different payouts. I don't know anything about roulette, so I don't know how that is in the game. I haven't won any oustanding amounts of cash yet, although I did hit 3000 on the slots my first try.

Each night Zack drops off a present to your room. O far I've gotten a hat, a swimsuit and 2 videos. The videos were promo stuff for DOA1, and the "She kicks high." commercial for DOA3. Fun stuff.

All in all I'm really enjoying it. The volleyball aspect plays a smaller role than I thought, but for what it's worth, the volleyball part of it is great. I'm very impressed with it so far.

If there's anything you guys want to know, just ask, and I'll see if I can answer it.
 

Chad Seymour

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Feb 28, 2000
Messages
108
Concerning the DOA Volleyball deal at Software Etc. (Trade in 2 games, get DOA XBV for $9.99):

If you do try to go with this deal, I reccommend trying to find the person there that likes his job least. When I went in this morning, the only one there was a manager. I had Resident Evil for the gamecube, and was planning on picking up another title for $10 or so to trade in on the deal. That guy really didn't want me doing any such thing! He said that the RE game was valid, but all the other ones on his used shelf under $20 weren't. I told him that was a crock, but he went on and on trying to snowball me. I finally turned around and found another copy of RE for $20 and said hey how about this? He tried to get out of it but finally let me have it. In the end I had planned to pay $20 for the game and had to pay $30, so still not a bad deal. Just try to find somebody that wants to deal, not someone who doesn't.

Chad
 

Daren Welsh

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
660
These graphics are even better than I would have imagined from Team Ninja. I just played a match on the third {I think) beach. The way the reflection off the water hits the rock wall is amazing. Of course it's hard to focus that far from the court when the character models are so friggin .... mmmmmm :D

I had about $20 and played some blackjack on the first night (was gonna say BJ, but thought better). I got all the way up to $80k and like an idiot, lost it right back to the house :b

One question ... I got my second nightly gift from Zack. One of the options was to make it into a gift. I was planning on "re-gifting" and trying to get my partner all happy. When I did it, I think it just disappeared. *shrug*

I don't care what anyone says ... beyond the fanfare this game is really well done. It's not even comparable to that nekkid BMX game.
 

Chris Flynn

Second Unit
Joined
May 28, 1999
Messages
473
Ok, well, I just finished up my first 14 days on the island with Hitomi. She's my favorite character from DOA3, so I thought it would be cool to use her first. I ended up having Lei Fang as my partner. She loved yellow things, so I got her a nice yellow top with opened denim shorts. We matched so it was cool. :D

Lei Fang had amazing skill at the net. She'd rush the net, and block, and spike as good as anyone else I'd seen. Her back court skills were average at best though.

I tried to woo my other favorite girl, Tina, but she threw all my presents out. She'd paid for it though when I spiked the ball right in her chest later that day.

You can play 2-3 matches per "day" on the island. After the first (morning) match, it progresses through the day - afternoon, evening, night. At night the only thing open is the casino. Also in the hotel you can look through the items you're carrying and send presents (only one at a time to a single person).

My skills at the volleyball portion have gotten better, in that I now know how to spike correctly, although I still cannot time blocking shots. I also learned that you can change your computer partners playing style using the right analog stick. I can definitely see the computer opponents playing with different styles, aggressive and more passive styles of play.

*EDIT*
I also took the liberty of copying a few songs from CD that I thought "fit" the game. Here's my list so far: If anyone has anymore, post 'em up here!

Skid Row - Sweet Little Sister
Warrant - Cherry Pie
Warrant - So Damn Pretty
 

Daren Welsh

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
660
Man ... I'm broke-ass poor and my partner (Lisa) left me. So now I'm (Kasumi) left with $450. So I bought a $100 flower as a last resort and gave it to Lisa to try to get her back. After goofing around for the rest of the day, I get back to the hotel and find that Lisa re-gifted the flower I gave her and gave it to me! That bitch!

I think this game is going to help me understand the social structure between women. Err, maybe not. But I still feel like bitch-slapping Lisa after that trick.
 

Dan B

Screenwriter
Joined
Sep 17, 1999
Messages
1,389
I'm broke-ass poor and my partner (Lisa) left me. So now I'm (Kasumi) left with $450. So I bought a $100 flower as a last resort and gave it to Lisa to try to get her back. After goofing around for the rest of the day, I get back to the hotel and find that Lisa re-gifted the flower I gave her and gave it to me!
LOL This game sounds brilliant!
 

Daren Welsh

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
660
Phew! Helena finally found favor on my poor ass after I bought her a lame white flower to put in her long hair. Now that I have the controls somewhat down, we're kicking ass. Now I can afford to buy her the swimsuits that will make her more "comfortable". :D

On a side note ... the blackjack table reminds me of the scene in Swingers: "You always double down on 11!!"
 

Jason Harbaugh

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2001
Messages
2,968
I completely rolled my eyes at this game when it was announced and thought it would be another BMX XXX but this games sounds awesome. I may have to reconsider now. It sounds like Beach Volleyball of the Ya-Ya Sister Hood. :D
 

Chris Flynn

Second Unit
Joined
May 28, 1999
Messages
473
Dan, yes you move your character around, but you are given a little leeway (via a series of great "ball-hitting" animations) when you play a game.

Plus your position does affect how the ball is hit, especially when passing to your partner.

Oh, and as an update... I started again with Christie, and noone, I repeat NOONE, wants to be my partner.
 

Rob Lutter

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2000
Messages
4,523
Thanks for that ad. I needed something for one of my classes to write a 3-page paper about [seriously :) ]

Oh baby, I could go on for hours about Christie ;)
 

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