Why is this game so addictive?
I got DOAX2 based on the following logic: I enjoy softcore pornography and I enjoy video games. Therefore, a video game that is more or less about softcore porn should be alright in my book. But after spending a few hours with the game, it has become apparent that the mad geniuses at Tecmo and Team Ninja have crafted something far more appealing than your average "skin" game (like Rumble Roses XX, for example.)
DOAX2 features jetskiing, volleyball, and a number of minigames such as butt battle, tug-o-war, and pool hopping, to name a few. These games may be what initially draws some people to the title (other than the aforementioned softcore porn,) but it soon became clear that the very core of the title is the shopping system, in which you can buy items for yourself or as gifts for other girls on the island. Gifts are split up into five different categories: Love, Like, Neutral, Dislike, and Hate, and each girl has different turn ons and turn offs that you must be mindful of when purchasing items. For example, if you buy Hitomi a Cloth Bag item, she will love it, but if you buy the Cloth Bag for Leifang, she will dislike it. Figuring out and then exploiting the love/hate relationship of characters to items is the most rewarding and addictive part of the title.
But of course, in order to buy girls presents, you must have money. This is where the games come in. You may jetski race against other characters at any time, on any day, but in order to participate in volleyball you will need a doubles partner. Perform poorly on the court (err...beach) and your doubles partner will leave you hanging. Unfortuantely, performing poorly seems to be kind of a given in many volleyball matches because the camera angle tends to really get in the way of the action and there is no convenient way to adjust it on the fly. Also, I have found that my AI partner has cost me a few points in the game by missing easy shots, so it doesn't really seem fair that my partner left me when it was just as much her fault as mine. Overall, the volleyball is kind of fun but is not fit to be played very often.
I get most of my money from jetski races, which are much more fun. The watercraft respond quite realistically to the waves, and the controls are fun and easy to pick up. It plays a lot like Wave Race: Blue Storm for the Gamecube, but while that game was extremely hard, you never feel as if the races are too challenging in DOAX2.
Other games provide good distractions, but none of them are really spectacular enough to mention, in particular. I do find all of them to be at least marginally enjoyable, though.
So after you have saved up enough money, you can buy lots of things from the shop. I touched upon the gift giving features a bit earlier, but there are plenty of things that you can buy for yourself in the shop, too. Take, for example, the robust inventory of swimsuits. Some are quite sexy, and others are...well...granny panties. But if you want the rewards that come with collecting them all, you must buy them all, ugly or not. There are also accessories such as flowers that you can put in your hair, ribbons, hats, etc.
The graphics in DOAX2 are sort of a mixed bag. They run off of the DOA 4 engine, which seemed like it performed pretty well on the 360. The water effects in the game, while not living up to recent realeases such as Bioshock, are nonetheless stunning in motion. All of the bright environments are rendered admirably enough, with colorful schools of fish swimming by in underwater scenes and the sun reflecting off the water. The beach volleyball scenes don't look quite as good as the water based activities, but they still look decent. Also, it is important to note that a lot of work clearly went into designing and rendering the swimsuits, as almost all of them look like the real deal when examined up close. The only exceptions are the schoolgirl outfits, which will clip through pretty much everything while still managing to somehow turn me on.
Wait, what's that you say? You don't care about fancy graphical effects? Just describe the girls already? Well, I'm not going to lie. These girls are pixelized perfection. The DOA girls carry the torch as the hottest girls in gaming. Before long after starting the game up, you will be drooling over these character models. But then something happens. Many of the characters in this game have long, flowing hair that clips through their bodies. This would be excusable if it only occured every so often, but it happens a lot and can be quite the buzzkill (if you play the game for a buzz, that is.) In addition to this, something about the girls just looks lifeless. Their voices are full of warmth and charm, but sometimes their animations look a little robotic, which can be jarring in a game that draws many of its fans in with the attractive women. The worst part is that, with time, Tecmo probably could have fixed these issues to an extent. Oh, and then there's the breast physics.
O "soft" physics, how you amuse me. These girls breasts will bounce and jiggle with the slightest motion. And if you're girl really starts moving...oh boy! It looks like someone strapped a sack of rabbid rodents to her chest. I swear that I once saw Helen's breasts SWAYING IN THE WIND. Oddly enough, I have actually managed to get used to this kind of thing after playing the game for around five hours. Some people may find this harder to adjust to than others.
One last thing about the graphics that bears mention is the tanning system. You can now buy your girl or another girl tanning lotion which will cause your girl to develop tan lines. This game has been criticized for implementing that feature, but it really strikes me as kind of impressive. I really like the feature. You can even make a game out of it if you know somebody else who owns the game: compete to see whose tan lines are skimpier!
Despite all of the flesh on display in DOAX2, I can't help but feel that this is a little more toned down in the mature content area than I would have liked. The girls may do a few naughty things for you if you put in the work to see them, but they never actually take anything off, giving me the feeling that this game was created mostly for young teens who haven't yet discovered the internet.
The sound in DOAX2 is supposedly all about relaxing the players, and it does a decent job. I can only relax so much whilst listening to girly pop music, though, so it's a lucky thing that the game lets you build your own radio station out of playlists that you have saved on your 360. The jetskiing and volleyball sound like...well, jetskiing and volleyball, and the girls' voiceovers are appropriately cute.
In conclusion, don't expect a mind blowing experience when going into DOAX2 and you will be pleseantly surprised. The games are fun enough to push you forward as you get to the real meat of the game: collecting swimsuits. It may sound lame, and sometimes I do feel lame for dumping so much time into it, but it really can be addictive. Since much of the gameplay comes in short bursts, it will leave you with a sense of "oh, I'll just play until I get that next swimsuit," followed by "I suppose I'll keep playing for just a little longer so that I can buy Kasumi a new present," which will once again be followed by "well now I need to go to the casino" in hopes of recovering lost money. I cannot properly describe how deep the gift giving and friend making systems can feel at times, even though when examined you are really just buying these girls' friendship.
So, when looking back to my original expectations of the game, was I dissapointed? Most definately not. The game is more fun than I had thought it would be. Collection addicts and porn addicts should enjoy the game, but if you're addicted to both (lol) you should find this game to be truly enjoyable.