Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (XBV) is one of those games that's hard to classify.  Sure, it has the word Volleyball in the title and volleyball does figure prominently in the game, but there's also gambling, a relationship sim, and collectibles.  And then there's the women.  Let's not kid ourselves here, the real point of XBV, the reason for its very existence, is an excuse to watch bathing beauties frolic in tropical locales.  It's kind of like the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition - it's not about sport no matter how they try to spin it.

One of the ladies in a quiet moment.

XBV comes with two modes of play: Exhibition and Zack Island.  Exhibition mode lets you play a game of volleyball against another player or the computer.  Although the matches are always two on two, no more than two can play at a time with the computer controlling the players' teammates.

However, the heart of the game is the Zack Island mode.  It turns out that Zack won the Dead or Alive tournament and then took the prize money to a casino and hit it big.  He then bought his own tropical island and hatched a sneaky scheme to invite all the women of the DOA tournament to his island to compete in a new tournament.  He never had any intention of putting on a tournament, and when the women arrived he gave them a two week tropical vacation instead.  The cad. 

That's about it for the story.  There are rather silly opening and ending video sequences starring Zack, but those are the only onscreen appearances he'll make in the game.  Dennis Rodman provides the voice for Zack, but you can count his total spoken lines on your fingers.  And no matter how well you do in the game, you get the same ending video.  The opening and ending cutscenes also provide the only English lines you'll hear in the game.  There's plenty of giggling in the game but not a lot of dialog, so it's strange that it is all spoken in Japanese.  It would have been nice if the developers took the time to add English voiceovers, but they didn't so you'll just have to get used to watching a couple of American girls converse in giddy Japanese.

Your visit to Zack Island begins with the selection of one of the eight women available in the game - you'll take on the role of this woman throughout her two week stay on the island.  The basic goal of your stay is to accumulate the game's collectible items: swimsuits and accessories to outfit your gal, and a menagerie of odd items like microwaves, steering wheels, and recipes.  These items can be purchased in the island's three stores with money gained by playing volleyball, a strange pool-hopping mini game, or by gambling at the island's casino.

Your most consistent source of income will be the volleyball games, but the island only allows two on two games.  You'll need to woo a partner and keep her happy or else she'll leave you for another woman.  To do so you must buy items in the stores and have them gift wrapped.  You can then give these gifts to the other ladies to improve your relationships.  The catch is that you must give them something that they like, or else you'll do more harm than good.  Also, some of the ladies have a natural affinity for each other, like the two Americans, or a strong distaste for each other like the two Japanese, so you'll need to concentrate your efforts on the lady that presents the best chance of success.  If things go well you can ask one of the women to be your partner and if you're lucky she'll accept.

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