Big breasts and small bikinis: two of the best things in life.
The first DOAX was a decent hit on the Xbox, but not a lot has improved since then. The Gamespot review says that there isn’t a game inside DOAX2. I think the reviewer missed the point: the girls are the game. Not to be rude, but if you aren’t playing DOAX2 with a hard-on, or at least a smile on your face, then you’re one of the ones that “doesn’t get it.”
GAMEPLAY
Like I said before, the girls are the whole point of this game. The volleyball, and other mini-games are an after-thought. The object of this game is to just look at the sexy women, and enjoy the wonders of gravity and motion working together.
In DOAX2 you can play as one of the 9 girls from DOA4 vacationing on the New Zack Island. You have 14 days on the island before the game ends, and within that time there are many opportunities to check out the…ummmm…views. You are partnered with Lisa at the start of the game, and the two of you can partake in several mini-games, or just lay around in the most revealing swimwear you can find.
Back is the beach volleyball, but it plays almost exactly as the first DOAX game. The pool-hopping game is also back, but this time you race against another girl. New in this installment are tug-of-war, waterslide, butt-battle, a beach flag race, and marina racing. The mini-games are just a way to make money to buy more swimsuits. The real attraction here is watching the girls in provocative poses. In fact, if you just select an empty area of the island, you’ll be treated to a short cut scene of your girl.
The one thing I felt was missing was the ability to just walk around the island, or create your own pictorial scenes. A lot of the animations are used from one scene to the next, so they do get a little old. In order to keep your volleyball partner happy you need to win games, and give her gifts. But the gift giving is a little abstract because you need to look in the manual to find out what she likes, and even then she might not keep the gift. This also makes it hard to have her wear a swimsuit you give her. It’s not a bad idea, but it just could have been fleshed out better.
GRAPHICS
This is the selling point for DOAX2. The visuals are outstanding, especially on an HD display. The girls look even better than in DOA4. One of the “features” of DOAX is that the girls’ breasts now bounce independently of each other. Sure, it’s over exaggerated, but isn’t that the whole point?
The backgrounds also look amazing, and even more life-like than DOA4. You’re constantly noticing different things in the background. My only minor complaint about the graphics is that you wont see any of the other girls, or any other people for that matter, in the background. But again, that’s a minor flaw considering how great everything looks.
SOUND
This is one area where DOAX2 hasn’t improved a whole lot from the first game. You’ll hear a lot of the same music, but at least you can add your own custom soundtrack. You also wont hear much in the way of sound effects. It would have been nice to hear the girls spike the ball, or just hear the waves crashing on the shore. But the best feature about the sound is that finally all the girls have English voices! That’s one thing that always made me mad about the DOA games: everyone spoke Japanese. Now the girls are that much more attractive, and have deeper personalities.
VALUE
The lasting value in DOAX2 is highly dependent on how much you like looking at digital half naked babes. If that sort of thing seems strange or perverted to you, then you aren’t the target audience for this game. But if you like that, then you need to check this game out. It also helps if you’re a collector, and can’t get enough of hidden features and items.
Among the hidden things you’ll find is a pictorial mode, and even a pole dance with your favorite girl. You can even take pictures of your favorite girls in sexy poses. Finding these will require many hours, and further adds to the lasting value. The achievements are a little vague, though. Some of them say, “make 2 friends” for the title, but the description says “find as many swimsuits as you can.” There’s also an online mode where you can play other people in the various mini games, but it’s not that well designed. It would have been better if there were actual 2 on 2 volleyball matches, or mini-games designed just for online play.
Overall, DOAX2 improves slightly on the first game, but it feels like more of an expansion pack than a new game. Because of this, it likely won’t attract many new fans. But DOAX2 has always appealed to a small target audience. If you like to watch digital vixens prancing around almost completely naked, this game is for you. Just don’t expect a whole lot of new features.