User Reviews (1 - 11 of 25)

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Babes on the Beach!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 21
Date: June 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The only good thing about this game is the characters, who are teams of babes in bikini. Sounds good huh? NOT!!! This game is about volleyball, problably the worst sport in the world. The graphics look great, but it doesn't bring much attention to me. If you want a horrible but babe game buy it!

This is the best beach volleyball game in the history!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: June 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I'd played this game at E3 show L.A. This game is amazing!! easy to control, and get fun!! Even thought these are not many volleyball games in video game history, but this one is the best!!...

DECENT

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 15
Date: July 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is game is alright. I played a sample of it. Graphics are not that good, and the gameplay is alright. If you like volleyball i guess i would recommend it for you, but it really isnt that good. Even thought they are two different kinds of games but if you are looking for a excellent game for Gamecube, i would say the best game is Enternal Darkness. It has everything.

Impressive so far.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: July 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Beach Spikers really does look like a lot of fun. Nintendo Power's review suggests that it plays like Mario Tennis. That's definitely a good thing. The graphics are great, the controls I've heard to be simple, and you can praise or cast out your team mate. What's more, it has three cool minigames and an awesome four player feature. Even the stadiums you play in are specially themed. What's more, the players are women in bikinis! What more can you ask for in a volleyball game?

Allow me to be perfectly frank.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: August 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

That said, anyone who thinks this game is about the babes is an idiot. Beach Spikers is an excellent, addictive, and startlingly simple volleyball game developed by Sega's talented AM2 design team -- make no mistake, it's all about the gameplay. Beach Spikers is to volleyball what Virtua Tennis and Mario Golf were to their respective sports. It's easy to pick up and play, but very tough to master, with deceptively deep gameplay mechanics. Above all, however, Beach Spikers is exceedingly fun.

Beach Spikers features numerous modes of play, including standard arcade play, up to four player simultaneous multiplayer (including several minigames in addition to the core volleyball action), and an impressive World Tour mode in which you create your own character, and her intelligent CPU-controller partner, from over one hundred hairstyles, suits, faces, and an enormous range of hair and skin tones. The most impressive part of World Tour is that your computer-controlled partner actually learns -- you assign her different attribute points at the outset, and her skills grow as your team plays through the different tournaments. With the right coaching, her skills may even surpass your own!

The game features a stunning array of unlockable goodies in true AM2 fashion, including bonus swimsuits, faces, and hairstyles from numerous Sega titles. Remember pink-haired Ulala from Space Channel 5? She's in there. The variety is amazing. Beach Spikers is an amazing game, with incredible graphics, extremely enjoyable gameplay, and enough depth and variety to keep any player interested for a very long time.

Fun game, but has it's flaws

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: August 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've only had the game a day, but, I think I've played it enough to share my opinion.

Positives:
Overall, this is a fun game to play. It's very challenging yet the controls are simple. The graphics are good, in my opinion. The beach is well done as well as the surroundings. The player motions look real as if the live game was studied pretty closely. Because it's challenging and fun to look at, it's something I won't be bored with in a week.

Negatives:
Lack of options are disappointing. Especially in World Tour mode. There's no way to change the difficuly level so right off the bat your getting spanked 15-2. I think the moving camera makes it really difficult, too. I think they should have different options for the camera angle. I also don't like the way that the CPU controls your teammate on custom teams. In the beginning, she really stinks. The single worst problem with the game is the audio. The music is pretty canned and the announcer is pathetic and almost annoying.

Bottom Line:
It's fun and challenging and a refreshing diversion from other games out there.

Nintendo Sets! Sega Spikes! VICTORY!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: August 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Ever since Sega abandoned console manufacturing, they became one of the most hotly pursued game developers. When Nintendo unveiled its Gamecube console, everyone could tell these two would be a match made in heaven. Sega often adopts the same brightly colored, highly playable titles as Nintendo, so it was only a matter of time before Sega masterpieces showed up on the Gamecube. First came Super Monkey Ball, then Soccer Slam. And the latest is Beach Spikers, which is hands-down the best vollyball game ever released on consoles.

The first thing that grabs you are the graphics. The female players are rendered beautifully, with amazingly lifelike animation, smooth joints, and facial expressions. No emphasis on sexiness here - just toned atheletes hungry for victory. The game runs at a perfectly smooth framerate, never slowing down even in multiplayer. The stadiums are awesome to behold: crowds are fully animated, and each stadium features a certain sponsor, ranging from Pringles to Holiday Inn. There's even a court with a gigantic inflatable Sonic the Hedgehog in the background. The sand is wonderfully crafted, being displaced and formed by the players as the match progresses. It's one of the most realistic, stunning sports titles ever made.

Anyone familiar with Sega's Dreamcast Virtua Tennis titles will quickly adopt to Beach Spikers' gameplay. Use the analog stick to move your player and aim your shots, A sets/spikes, B low sets/feints (a "baby" shot designed to go over blockers at the net), and A+B (or X or Y) unleashes a power smash. The same buttons are used for varying serves. It's simple to pick up, but takes a while to master completely - just like Virtua Tennis. Beach Spikers has the same kind of pick-up-&-play charm as Virtua Tennis, Soccer Slam, and Hot Shots Golf: even non-fans will become scoring threats the moment they pick up the controller. To be frank, if you're a fan of these games, Beach Spikers is a MUST.

There are several different modes as well. Arcade is, obviously, a perfect conversion of the arcade game. Choose a team of two girls from various countries and compete in a four-stage tournament. You're allowed to continue should you lose. Each game runs till 15 points (you must win by two), but starts with each team at 10 to allow for quicker games. However, this feature is adjustable in the Options menu, so you can start at zero and play till 30 if you choose. Vs. Mode allows up to four players at once to play a single match, or one of three interesting mini-games: an odd race to catch flags on the far side of the court, a tense game where the ball is a bomb and a timer counts down (you don't wanna be caught with the bomb when the time hits zero!!), or a scoring competition, much like Free Kick in soccer. The mini-games are nice, but the normal head-to-head four-player match is where it's at. Beach Spiker with four players is one of the best multiplayer parties you can have.

There is also a World Tour mode, which fans of Virtua Tennis will be familiar with, but there are some fantastic differences. You choose a player and a partner, using literally hundreds of hair/facial/costume/sunglasses styles. You are in control of your player constantly, but the computer controls your partner. Your partner starts off...well, let's just say she doesn't really know what's going on. During World Tour matches (there are seven multi-stage tournaments in all), you are given the opportunity to grade your partner's performance. You can choose to Praise, Encourage, Chastise, or Do Nothing. If you make the correct choice based on how your partner plays (you'll be using Chastise A LOT in the early going). These exchanges, which happen at courtside, are great fun to watch. Your player will jump up and yell at the partner, or give her a hand, and the partner will respond accordingly. Make the right choice, and your Teamwork meter will rise. Make the wrong choice (i.e. Chastise when your partner is doing well) and your partner will actually yell BACK. It's similar to the AI mode of Virtua Fighter 4 (developed by the same division of Sega, AM2), and creates a wonderful connection between you and your players. After World Tour matches, win or lose, you are awarded points which you can then use to upgrade your partner, RPG style. It's a fantastic mode that is even better than Tennis 2K2's because there's no repetitious Training to be had. Just hit the courts and train that partner!

Beach Spikers is a gorgeous, easy to play, hard to master creation that excels in almost all capacities. The only blemishes on this otherwise perfect game are the slightly annoying and repetitious announcer (you'll get sick of hearing FANTAAASTIC very quickly...and there's no way to turn him off), the sometimes hyperactive camera, and the unmemorable soundtrack. Still, these are small, easily ignorable details that do not at all detract from one of the top single- and multi-player gaming experiences the Gamecube has to offer. Nintendo and Sega are a match made in heaven. You want to ogle artificial females, wait for DOA Xtreme. You want a brilliantly executed game that will stay high on your replay list for months to come, Beach Spikers is where it's at.

Remember Super Spike V-Ball?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: August 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Alas, the gaming world has left this sport reasonably unexplored, but... this is the realization of the sport. From very simple controls, to a challenging game with many teams to choose from, and by the way, an extensive create a player mode, much like the Sega Sports Tennis Series. Participate in numerous tournaments around the world with real sponsors, and have a good time.

I'll be honest, I don't like to lose, and I lost the first 4 games I played. It's not as easy as anyone thinks. It's certainly worth the money though. If you buy this game for the girls, then well, that's what adult stores are for. If you want volleyball, the way the original Superspike V Ball wasy for Nintendo, then I would go out and get this one quick.

Initial Thoughts

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

My first impression is that Sega has again put out a very solid sports title. The art on the characters and environments are excellent. Terrain Deformation on the sand is nice, but can look weird from certain camera angles... Menus are boring, but fairly simple. Gameplay is a lot of fun - esp. in multiplayer, and 2 of the 3 minigames are kinda cool. The game is similar to virtua tennis, where it's critical to get into position quickly and try to anticipate the computer's move. Downsides are the tutorial (ridiculously hard on the first try), the camera (can be tough to line up blocks until it's almost too late), and the audio (music is bad but can be turned off - announcer is worse and can't be turned off). I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a different and fun sports or multiplayer title. If you have any reservations, then rent it first!

This game is going to be the death of me!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: August 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Oh my I can't believe how this game cheats, Im not kidding either,your computer partner will never set you up so you can spike the other team and get a point all she does is stand there i feel like im going to blow a gasket. It's basiclly you playing your hardest while your computer partner loses the game for you everytime,it's one of those games that has you sceaming why did i just blow $$ on this awful game because i am not having any fun screaming at my computer partner standing there watching the ball hit to her feet and doing nothing about it.
The only thing this game has going for it is the graphics and the beautiful ladies other than that this game is nothing but a headache(i have been playing the game on easy too).What really gets me is the computer opponents will let you get about two points right at first and then they just blow you away everytime,i am so sick of spending $$ on a game and the game is so hard that you can never advance in it.Bottom line if you have all the time in the world and especially all the patience in the world and don't get angry when you "know" your getting cheated, buy this game it would be perfect for you.

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