Cute DOA girls, mini-games, and an island. When you first see this game, you think, what could go wrong? .
Basically, to sum it up, earning Zack points through a series of mini-games (some of which requires the spending of Zack points to even play them, like the "booty battle")
Then using that oddly overused form of DOA currency to purchase gifts for the other girls on the island.
Should the gift adhere to their personality or favorite food, and be wrapped in gift wrapping paper that suits their favorite color, they will accept the gift.
If not, they'll send it back.
I dunno how the programmers understand human interaction, but if someone sends me an limited-edition blue DOA XBox, I'm not gonna care if it's not my color gift-wrapping.
The DOA girls, apparently, are so self-centered, that if you give them something they don't like, they'll just send it back.
I mean, at least donate it to the Zack Foundation for Greater Programmer Education or something.
The mini-games themselves, range from things like Jet Ski racing and Volleyball, both also available online-that is, if you can actually find someone else who likes volleyball/watersports and texture-mapped women that much.
Even though most rental stores list the game under the genre "Fighting", you'll be hard pressed to find even the slightest hint of violence- if the game didn't have the option to photograph half-naked women while they lie around (or pose) outdoors (alone, or with the girl you befriended) the game probably wouldn't see anything close to an M+ rating.
The flag-capture style mini-game involves two girls running for a pole (don't say it!) sticking out from the ground, and involves mostly button-mashing and timing the eventual jump to grab it.
Some games require that you purchase a card to play them-the starting money you have is enough to get a ticket for the Tug-of-War, Water Slide, Pole Grab (*chuckles*) and Booty Battle (actually, not as fun as you would think)
When you befriend a girl, you will play whatever game you choose primarily with her, though you can also play some mini-games, like water-hopping (press or hold the appropriate button to the color of the next platform, depending on jump distance) or the waterslide, by yourself. Depending on the game mode, the time of day will pass from playing it, and you will earn Zack points.
Zack's store offers new merchandise everyday- don't waste your money on nostalgiac items like the XBox Prototype, XBox 360, or the various musical accessories, unless you want the other island girls to completely ignore you.
The soundtrack contains some rather annoying songs (though it's more about taste, "Loving you" really grows old after a while, especially if you saw the South Park episode that featured it enough times)
Should you visit the DJ booth, you can replace the songs that play with your own custom ones, and set them to the time of day, or location, that the songs play.
You are given a choice in the beginning of the game between three hotels, and room service will delivers gifts at the end of the day a lot of the time.
The items are fun to experiment with to see what they do, and there is a nice assortment of them, but it's not enough to save what becomes after a while a rather dull game, that ends rather abruptly with a mediocre ending.
Not to mention that the Achievements are nearly impossible to obtain due to the unclear nature of the path to earn them.
After you've tried all the hotels, befriended and plyed as a few of the girls, tried the various Casino games, and seen most of the items, you'll probably decide to play something more interesting instead (heck, if you rented it for the reason most ppl did you'd be better off with Playboy: The Mansion, or just HBO for that matter. And if you like the Casino you'd be better off playing World Series of Poker, or Texas Hold 'Em)
As boring as this game can get, it was still worth the couple of days of fun I had with it, but I can't see it being worthy of a purchase, only a rental.
Blessed Be