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Written by Ian Johnston
Byline: Violence, nudity, and volleyball - what more could you ask for?
Simon & Schuster Interactive isn't exactly regarded as a giant in the gaming industry. Some of their more notable console games in recent years include BMX Trick Racer for the Gameboy Advance, Seablade for the Xbox, and of course, Outlaw Golf for the Xbox and GameCube. Outlaw Golf has been their biggest success thusfar, so it makes perfect sense for them to attempt to establish a franchise based on the parameters of the game. Take a sport, mix liberally with violence, nudity, and sexual innuendo, and voila, you've got something you can call "extreme" and "alternative".
Fortunately for S&S Interactive and developer Hypnotix, their newest entry in the Outlaw series - Outlaw Volleyball - is an excellent game in its own right. Even if the scantily clad players, bizarre stage locales, and hand to hand combat were taken away, what would remain is a really entertaining volleyball game. As it stands, the cast of oddball characters, cool stages, different modes of play, and interesting blend of gameplay elements make Outlaw Volleyball one of the best volleyball games to come along in quite some time.
Visuals:
Although the game looks really nice, the graphics aren't mind blowing by any stretch of the imagination. The character models look fantastic, especially up close, and they move very naturally and fluidly. The assortment of stages also feature some cool effects, like the rippling water on the Stinky Falls sewer stage and the falling snow on the Ice Box stage. Unfortunately, as nice as some of the stages look, they all have fairly stagnant backgrounds. There are usually some spectators sitting or standing in some bleachers, but that's about it. It's not a huge issue, but some more lively backgrounds would have been a nice touch.
Audio:
Alternative sports games and alternative music go hand in hand most of the time, and Outlaw Volleyball does nothing to buck this trend. Depending on your tastes in music, that can be a good or a bad thing. The game features tracks by Junk, Dj Ashba, Hot Rod Circuit, Diffuser, Steve Carrell (yes, that Steve Carrell, of The Daily Show fame), Off By One, Avoid One Thing, Waterdown, Warrior, The Carnies Deluxe, Cathy-Ann, Madcap, Snow Dogs, The Exit, Bumblefoot, and D.S.U. All of the tracks sound decent enough, if somewhat forgettable. However, a feature buried in the options menu makes the audio quite appealing. Provided you have some music ripped to your Xbox's hard drive, you can have that playing rather than the game's regular soundtrack. Being able to listen to your own music as you play is quite cool.
In addition to providing a few songs for the soundtrack, Steve Carrell handles the announcing duties, just as he did in Outlaw Golf. He's got a unique voice that has a real jovial quality to it, which suits the game perfectly. His cache of one-liners are somewhat funny, if a bit cheesy, such as "unlike myself in high school, he just scored!" and "there's a lost point, and just like your virginity, you won't be getting it back!". The sound effects are also more than adequate, but nothing you'll really notice or marvel at.
Gameplay:
When it comes right down to it, gameplay is far and away the most important aspect of any game. If the gameplay's lacking then the snazziest graphics and best music don't really have much significance. That's not really an issue for Outlaw Volleyball as it has the gameplay base well covered. There are four modes of play; Tour, Exhibition, Drills, and Xbox Live multiplayer. The Tour mode is what you play to unlock new stages, outfits for your characters, additional characters, and new drills, and new stages among other things.
Each stage in Tour mode has five different events you must compete in and win. The rules and assorted nuances of each event vary, which helps keep the game fresh as you progress through it. Some matches will be fairly normal, resembling a regular game of volleyball, while others will feature exploding balls (called Hot Potato matches in the game) and dynamite on the court. The matches are typically a best of three or best of five affair, though there is the occasional single game. Some of the matches will be played to twenty-one, while others will only require you to score fifteen or seven points.
At first it's somewhat difficult digging out spikes and figuring out how to score against the computer, but once you get the hang of it the control is very intuitive. The downside to having such intuitive control is that matches can take an inordinate amount of time to complete, especially against a human opponent. Imagine, if you will, hitting the ball back and forth for ten of fifteen minutes just for one point. It's so easy to get to virtually every spot on the court that scoring can become quite the tedious and time consuming endeavor. Seeing as how Xbox Live compatibility is one of the game's big features, the difficulty scoring against human opposition is a big drawback.
The aforementioned Drill mode provides excercises that help you hone the myriad skills you need to win consistently. It's very reminiscent of some of the mini-games found in Sega's Virtua Tennis. Completing the drills nets you attribute points that you can use to upgrade your character's skills. Finishing a single drill will give you twelve points and you can distrubute them however you want.
Other factors affect the flow of the game as well, such as the Momentum Meter. This is a small bar that appears under each player's name. By making shots the game deems to be good, your Momentum Meter will fill up while your opponent's meter will be depleted. Great shots also earn you Fight Tokens. If your Momentum Meter is low you can use a Fight Token and challenge one of your opponents to a brawl. The fights are pretty lame considering you can only do basic kicks and punches, but they don't take long, so ultimately it's not a major issue.
Funfactor:
With sixteen characters, ten stages, and great gameplay, Outlaw Volleyball is a lot of fun to play. The constantly changing match parameters cut down on the repetitive nature of volleyball, and the ability to play against people via Xbox Live is a big plus. Conversely, the aforementioned ability to get to just about every ball that's hit your way makes for some really long, drawn out matches. Hitting the ball back and forth for ten, fifteen, or even twenty minutes on just one point can get really old really fast. Nevertheless, the game maintains a great balance between glitz and substance that really makes it appealing. If you don't have Xbox Live or any friends around to play the game with though, then the game's replay value isn't as high.
Overview:
All in all, Outlaw Volleyball is a very polished game that's a lot of fun to play. It's easy to play, yet also has some depth, and the variety of characters and stages gives the game a flair all its own. Being able to play over Xbox Live and have your own custom soundtrack is just icing on the cake. While Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball is currently the preeminent volleyball game for Xbox, Outlaw Volleyball is the better of the two games. If you're looking for a sports game that's a bit different than the normal fare, look no further than Outlaw Volleyball. It's got some minor flaws, but it's a blast to play.
| Visuals: | 4.0 |
| Audio: | 4.0 |
| Gameplay: | 4.0 |
| Funfactor: | 4.5 |
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| Overall | 4.125 |
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