DoAXB2

[SMuJ77]

Anyone got this yet? I've read some harsh reviews but I am a Dead or Alive fanboy and loved the original. I didn't know if the critics were just being snobby. My girl loved the last and was one of the few games she would ever play, but I heard the new one has no offline multi-player. Just looking for some actual player opinions.

[soul embrace]

morda has it.

[SMuJ77]

Cool, thanks. You getting Wii tomorrow?

[soul embrace]

[quote user="SMuJ77"]Cool, thanks. You getting Wii tomorrow?[/QUOTE]



yep getting it at midnight

[Morda]

ok, I really hate doing reviews and I really hate recommending anything to anyone because everyone likes different things but I can try for fans of the original. But we have played this game for almost 20 hours already so if that means anything....


to answer your first questions

True, there is no offline multiplayer. This kind of sucks. My girlfriend also likes this game and liked the original but we rarely really played against each other. We prefer to both play in vacation mode and alternate matches against the computer. Personally I didn't get anything out of offline versus because it didn't really help accomplish anything in the game (as far as collections).



Otherwise....

Yes, this is pretty much the exact same game as the original with some added stuff. It's the same exact setup, 14 day vacations, 3 activity slots per day, casino at night, pretty much the exact same environments, the almost exact same soundtrack.

However, If you loved the original, you will probably enjoy the new activities and the improvements over existing ones. On the other hand, you will also probably be disappointed that most things haven't changed much, and its more of an upgrade over the original than something new. Personally, it took me about 10 hours to get over this drawback

I'll go over first the things that are familiar from the first version

The graphics:

the girls look simply amazing. The only flaw is some clumpy hair graphics on some of the girls (Kokoro specifically), but everything else is an upgrade graphically to the original as expected. The animations are great, the volleyball locales have all been upgraded and "Pictorial" scenes all look amazing. If you are a fan of the DOA girls, then this is by far the best you have seen them.

The gameplay: Volleyball

The gameplay has changed slightly. It's definitely more challenging and you really need to get to the ball and time your button mashes more accurately than the first game. The 360 controllers do not have analog sensitivity so that changes things. Personally, I like it because honestly, the original really killed my thumb. When you think hitting the button harder makes the ball get hit harder, you hit the button as hard as you can. Now, analog sensitivity has been replaced by button timing. Holding the button longer vs shorter for similar effect


Also new is a "quick spike" type of move. Basically you can set up a quick spike for either you or your partner. It's hard to explain without the game in front of me, but it's definitely a useful shot and almost automatically a point.

Serving is exactly the same. Blocking is the same, although I don't really ever block.

It's a little harder to judge where the ball is coming from what I remember from the first game, and like I said before the timing is a lot more important. You can't just stand in the middle of the court and expect to get the ball.

Gifting and Relationships:



Gifting is pretty much the same. The menus are crisper and things are organized better. For example, all the suntan lotions and nail polish have their own screen instead of getting mixed in with the flowers and hats and glasses. The accessories are mostly the same, hair ribbons, sneakers, hats, etc... with a few new items. A lot of the Zack items are different so knowledge of the stuff you might remember the girls like from the first one has limited usefulness. One new feature is that you can wrap gifts in different color wrapping paper which is good for keeping track of what you have to give each girl. Also, one of the best new features is the ability to rewrap gifts. this especially comes in play when you are trying to gift that expensive suit. It only costs half of the items cost to re-wrap it. Gifting in general seems to be easier. When the girl really likes you, they will open the gifts in front of