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Outlaw Volleyball for Xbox Videos >>
Rating Reviewed By HowserReview Date 09/04/2003 Overall Rating  5 of 5 Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5, 1 votes Rate this review? Summary I was hesitant when it came to buying this game initially. The other volleyball games really weren't all they were cracked up to be. I was told that this was a pretty decent game and saw some reviews that said it was fun also so i decided to give it a shot. I was sure glad I decided to buy this game because it is a lot of fun. Sure there are all the things that the other volleyball games have, like lots of half naked girls with many different swimsuits available and many sexual references, etc. Don't get me wrong they are very good things to have in a game, but take all that away and you still have a really good and fun game to play.Sound The sound is also pretty good in this game. The soundtrack isn't too bad for a video game but I do suggest you cut your own tracks into this game, which is also another benefit of this game because you can listen to your own music while playing. The same goofy announcer from outlaw golf is here yet again, but he's a lot funnier than in that game though he does get a bit repetitive and say some really goofy things.Gameplay The gameplay is very realistic in this game, and it's not very hard to learn either. Just play a few games and you should have the hang of it in no time. Yes there are fights in this game too just like in outlaw golf, but this time you actually get to fight against someone else rather than just pushing a button a couple of times and watching your character smack the crap out of you defenseless caddy. There are also many different things to keep you playing this game for a while too, like special drills to complete to make your characters better players.Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member. Rating Reviewed By Jose PapasFrom United States Review Date 08/04/2003 Overall Rating  4 of 5 Rate this review? Summary Three previous attempts at volleyball on the current batch of consoles have all left a sour taste in terms of gameplay. Sure some of the pixilated babes looked great but that can only hold up for so long when simply batting a ball back and forth and back and forth over a net. Hypnotix and Simon and Shuster Interactive have teamed up to offer the fourth entry, an Xbox exclusive, as the second release of the pleasantly surprising ‘Outlaw’ series. Toss together 16 characters, SSX-style unlocking system, Live play, taunting/fighting, and a slightly better than average game engine and this bad boy leaves those other three buried in the sand.Live To date, Live games supporting 1 Xbox allowing 2 players to play simultaneously have been far outnumbered by one player experiences. MechAssault was the only solid example until now. Because beach volleyball is a 2 on 2 game, this lends itself perfectly to a match between a pair of friends in two rooms clear across the country from one another. The frame rate holds up steady on Live and honestly feels no different than playing against the CPU. The fighting, taunting and other crazy nuances are perfect when combined with the headset. The only knock against Live harkens back to the gameplay. Because of the limited physics, points can drag on for an eternity making short games unheard of unless one of the players truly stinks. I guess if the person on the other end is a good conversationalist that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Modes are as expected with the ability to craft and host a game or jump into a public game. A leader-board is available and downloadable content should arrive sometime in the near future. Suggestions Let’s improve those physics. I want to see balls flying out of bounds and 10 minutes volleys a thing of the past. The fighting could be a little more complex and the tokens feel like they need more use, just like in Outlaw Golf. Finally throw in more detail in the sand and the courts and I’ll be a happy camper. Conclusion It may not be perfect but Outlaw Volleyball raises the bar above all previous volleyball games in terms of gameplay and replay value. With the Live component thrown in, it outperforms Outlaw Golf and sets the standard for both Outlaw and volleyball games going forward. I recommend Live players and SSX fans add this one to their collection but don’t expect Summer’s top to come flying off during a brawl. Sound Obviously there isn’t much use for 5.1 surround in a volleyball game yet Hypnotix has managed to work in a few not-so-subtle effects. A couple times a police car siren went off through the rears that had me looking out the window. Yep, I felt pretty stupid. Other than that the rears are fairly quiet throughout.It should come as no surprise that the announcer is funny at first but gets repetitive and annoying fast. He did have a great Halo line that made me crack up so I can’t totally bash how much he ate at my nerves. Lastly, this game is plastered with the music and endorsement of Diffuser however it also includes the option to create custom soundtracks using the Xbox hard drive. Every, and I mean every game should have this feature. Gameplay Let’s be honest; volleyball isn’t the most complicated sport on the planet. As such, its incarnation in video game form should remain fairly simplistic yet offer enough diversity in the physics to leave the game fresh after hundreds of games.Outlaw Volleyball pretty much nails the control scheme. Dig, set, spike, jump, speed burst, change players, and instigate a fight all have their own buttons/triggers which are easily learned after mere minutes of play. A power meter effectively allows the strength of shots to be accurately gauged while a momentum meter can be gambled during a fight for a little extra oomph from the players. The problem is, once the controls are mastered it becomes obvious the physics are anything but diverse. I tried as hard as I could to hit a ball directly out-of-bounds and was unable to. Unless a shot is hit into the net, it will land in play and most likely be dug out because a player doesn’t need to be positioned exactly where the ball is headed to make the play. Add all this up and some painfully long volleys ensue between even novice players, much less well-seasoned veterans. Turning the 'where the ball lands' cursor off help a little but not much. The real key to winning games isn’t necessarily aiming for the empty spot on the court. Of course that’s important, but player attributes are the real key. Each player is assigned a ranking in speed, power, offense, and defense. Some players have maximums in speed, others defense and so on. Learning the strengths and weaknesses of these attributes and exploiting them will lend any player the edge over the competition. Player attributes start on the low end of the scale but are increased by completing series of drills. In similar fashion as SSX, each player must be taken through each drill to gain points which can be distributed amongst the attributes. Trying to max out each player can be very addictive and time consuming, especially with 16 characters to work through. A good laugh comes with nailing onlookers who are dancing to Macarena and occasionally taunting by shaking their butts. When first booted up, only 4 of the 16 players are available. To unlock new ones, set games in the tour mode must be beaten. This is also where new outfits, venues and drills are unlocked. Game modes vary greatly here between different scoring rules, hot potato: where the ball explodes after roughly 30 seconds, and casino: where money is earned on each volley. Like picking through the drills, the tour becomes addictive just to unlock the 12 additional players and courts. Doing so will take many hours of gameplay and once completed, there’s only one other place to put up or shut up. Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member. Summary The best Volleyball action since NES Kings of the Beach. I play many many games and this one is one of few that has hooked me in the year 2003.Sound No complaints here, I am still hooked on the game so they must be doing something right.Gameplay Unique, Different from traditional button pressing volleyball. Actual power control as well as spot spiking. Once you master these its easy to spank the pc drones and run through the game. Awesome rewards for you work, aka - open new characters, clothing, and venues. Very smooth control and worth every penny.Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member. Summary I'm going to make this short and sweet: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME FOR THE SINGLE PLAYER. If you intend to use it on LIVE or for a lot of multiplayer action at home, then it can be a very fun game. However, the single player experience is truly dreadful, which is a darn shame, really. The single player experience in OVB lives up to the tradition of sports games: it's the weakest part of it by far. I expected arcadey-style volleyball action, especially given the Outlaw style, but it's too much so. Way too much. The rallies last FOREVER. Even the so-called super spikes get returned with ease (do they even do anything except look different? Not that I can tell) and I've had rallies back and forth last several MINUTES, which is beyond lame. The sheer number of times where I've spiked into the rear corner only to see the CPU player dive, pop it up, then the other CPU player run the length of the court to pop it up again, and then the original player get up and smack it PERFECTLY into the far corner of my court staggers me. It shouldn't happen more than once every ten games. Instead, it happens ten times every game, sometimes several times on the same rally. The charm of Outlaw Golf was that despite its "extreme" trappings, it was a good golf sim. Outlaw Volleyball cannot make this claim; this is solely arcade action and there is zero strategy involved. Being in the right position and hitting hard to the corners rarely pays off as the computer will know where the ball is going before it's hit and make "miraculous" dig after miraculous dig. Yawn. Would it have killed them to put a *little* realism into this game? Apparently so. To me, this is a shame. This game is only worth having if you intend to play a lot of multiplayer or have no idea or care about what volleyball should be like. The controls are generally nice and intuitive, but the ridiculous extremes they went to to ensure that rallies last forever is just stupid. Maybe OVB 2 won't be as weak in the game design. Basically, you NEED to play in multiplayer, as humans will actually make mistakes and not get to every spike. [Note: I'm speaking only of Tour mode. On pick up and play games, the AI is so incompetent, they rarely manage to get the ball over the net consistently, so that's worthless to play as well]Sound Well, you either like the hijinks and jokes or you don't. I don't. I turned them off and I give points to the game for realizing that many people will get tired of them and want to turn them off. Kudos there. Some people will find this level of humor great, so I can see how they would enjoy this, at least until it became repetitive. They have a decent in-game soundtrack and the ability to rip your own, always a plus.Gameplay The controls are solid and easy to pick up and maintain. There is virtually no strategy involved; this is pure arcade action. If you are looking for something that resembles real volleyball, you WILL be disappointed. However, it's Outlaw Volleyball, so you shouldn't be expecting that, now should you? The CPU AI is ridiculous. Expect that they will get to every possible spike you ever deliver, period. It's ridiculous and the rallies last frigging forever. I've had several go twenty or twenty-five times back and forth across the net with people making dig after dig of spikes that in anything resembling reality would have been easy kills. Forget it; it's a waste of your time. The mini games/drills were by far the best part of the game and you have to play the weak Tour mode to unlock, so pass!Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member. Summary Overall, an enjoyable (fun) volleyball game. I know some people will say that they enjoyed DOAXV, but this is a better title when it comes down to actually playing volleyball. The characters are crazy, off-the-wall and even funny. Three different play modes and additional training drills similar to Virtua Tennis.Sound The characters have a few lines that gives them a bit more personality. The announcer is funny at times but for the most part he can get repetitive and annoying. The use of custom soundtracks is a big plus for this title and adds to the already fun atmosphere. However, you may want to remove some of the annoying songs found on the default soundtrack.Gameplay Easy to pick and even involves some strategy. I found this game to be a lot of fun against the computer, but it is even better with some friends. The use of different serves, spikes, dives and turbo moves (and a little fighting on the side) add some fun to this crazy title.Would you like to Comment? Join VideoGameReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
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4.22 of 5
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