Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 review

Monday 11 December 2006
Two weeks on an island in the sun, surrounded by beautiful women in barely-there bikinis - sounds like heaven, right? Normally, it would be. Unfortunately, in the case of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, it's just a dull and embarrassing romp around the tropics. We love beating the living hell out of people with the DOA ladies in the series' fighting games for sure, but dressing them up and exchanging presents? Count us out.

The game's focus, naturally, is boobs. From the opening cutscenes to the closing credits, breasts are the star of the show. Whether playing volleyball, snapping photos, hopping around a pool, or tearing down a water slide, it's apparent that the folks at Team Ninja have spent a lot of time researching the physics of mammary glands (we, um, respectfully volunteer to participate in that next time). This time round, the bouncing and jiggling is "enhanced" so that each breast has its own individual behavior - not all that realistic at times, but amusing as hell.

Above: Did we mention it's light on actual gameplay? But you can move the camera in these bits

At its core, Xtreme 2 is a cobbled-together collection of activities, with a heavy emphasis on skin. After picking your character, you show up on New Zack Island with a load of cash (where, exactly, is that kept?) and a built-in volleyball partner. Like our idea of a truly good vacation, there are no real goals or tasks to accomplish, other than spending gobs of hours collecting all manner of knick-knacks and swimsuits, you can pick and choose to do anything or nothing. Feel like watching your gal get a tan? Playing some volleyball? Going for a swim? Staying in bed? Go right ahead - all for your voyeuristic pleasure.