Outlaw Volleyball
Posted December 12, 2003
Ahhh, Hypnotix . Where would the Xbox be without them? We would never have seen the genius yet oh so titillating Summer, star of Outlaw Golf and one of the sixteen over the top characters in the latest beach volleyball game to grace consoles.
Is Outlaw Volleyball more than just an excuse to see some half-naked women playing beach volleyball? Or maybe it’s a new reason to make jokes about drunk frat-boys and virgins. Either way, it is a fun game and it looks pretty damn nice too.
Gameplay:
Having never played the other “beach volleyball” game for the Xbox, I can’t comment on the differences first hand, but what I can do is tell you what I know about this one. The controls for Outlaw Volleyball are simple enough to pick up and play, yet deep enough that you can get a very nice volley going against your competition. Three of the buttons are mapped to different types of hits, A does a bump off a serve, then a set if it is the second hit, and then bumps the ball over the net on the third hit. To spike you get two options, both of which can be done on either the second or third hit. Press X to perform a strong spike and put some power behind it, while using B will do a high volley which can help you catch your opponents off guard. Holding down the right trigger during gameplay will give your character a burst of speed, however this burst is limited and you may want the energy to perform a super-spike or serve.
Outlaw Volleyball is heavily based around different volleyball events that are focused around the different courts offered: a roof-top beach, a suburban white trash yard, the sewers (complete with knee deep sludge). The events offer a decent variety of game play types, ranging from standard side out rules, to hot-potato mode where you will constantly have to monitor the meter which indicates when the ball will blow up. If it is on your side of the net when it blows, you’re done.
Incorporated into the game is a quite fun way of building your character skills. You have to complete different tasks ranging from blocking a certain number of spikes, knocking down flip-up targets, to a quite addicting “Fan Invaders”, which bears a resemblance to Space Invaders. The downside of the skill area is the limited amount of skills available for you to practice initially. As you progress through the different standard events, you unlock new skill games, a somewhat tedious task to boost your character.
In a move which is sure to enhance the life of the game, Hypnotix has included Xbox Live capabilities into OV. Not only can you kick someone’s ass across state lines, buy you will be able to download new characters and courts, nice touch. A downside is that this is somewhat of a niche title due to the “Outlaw” tag, and you won’t find massive amounts of people playing online. I was lucky to have the option to play in one of four different matches when I played online, mind you this was when the game was first released, so the number of players may have increased or decreased since then.
Besides the either sexy or scary characters carried over from Outlaw Golf, the fighting option is here. However, in this instance it almost seems like an afterthought and really is of no use. Fights are easy to win, and detract from the otherwise enjoyable volleyball experience.
Graphics:
Graphically, this game can hold its own. Dust particles are regularly seen on the courts, and oddly enough, the explosions look quite nice. The character models are the high quality that we expect from the Outlaw series with scantily clad ladies in thongs bouncing along the court. One thing I must point out is that the designers were obviously NOT going for the horny male player for this game, because if they were why include stereotypical male trailer trash and Latin lovers? It’s safe to say that when playing this game, if you are male, you will be using the female characters.
Backgrounds are well designed with action taking place in them almost all the time. Airplanes fly overhead, cars drive by in the streets, water falls from sewage pipes, snow falls, Hypnotix paid nice attention to detail graphically.
Audio:
After the first 10 minutes with the game, you will most definitely be turning off the announcer. While somewhat funny, you can only hear the same jokes about frat boys and virginity being lost so often in a 10 minute span, it’s like being near a drunk who tells you the same story repeatedly. Once the announcer is out of the way the sound effects are decent. You will hear the regular calls of your partner when he/she is getting the ball, and they will also offer advice on where to spike the ball.
The Music in OV was quite nice, with a nice mix of techno and rock to keep things fresh. However, some will either tire of the canned soundtracks, or just prefer to play the game while rocking out to their own music mix and fear not, custom soundtracks are supported.
Conclusion:
Fighting your way through the many events and tournaments will definitely take you some time, as a best of three played to a score of 15 with side out rules will take a while. Once the single player game is completed though, what is there left to take up your time? Well, multiplayer and Xbox Live can make up for that. I for one was left feeling a little dry after playing this consistently for a while. It was a blast the first few days, but soon lost its luster, becoming monotonous. Not even beating people online made me enjoy the game more, I guess I look for more in a sports game than what volleyball has to offer. Be warned, what may seem like a never-ending party upon initial play, can turn into something that isn’t so fun, sort of like collecting all the damn treasure in the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a good volleyball game, no fancy swimsuits to collect, no casino to play in, and no Dennis Rodman. If you are looking for a nice light game to play online which lets you pop in and pop off quickly then this might be a good option for you. However if longevity is what you seek in a game and you aren’t a huge fan of beach volleyball then this might not be the best option for you.
While not a terrible game, I wouldn’t recommend Outlaw Volleyball as a purchase. If you are having a bunch of friends over for a night of beer, gambling and gaming then this would be a great rental.
Is Outlaw Volleyball more than just an excuse to see some half-naked women playing beach volleyball? Or maybe it’s a new reason to make jokes about drunk frat-boys and virgins. Either way, it is a fun game and it looks pretty damn nice too.
Gameplay:
Having never played the other “beach volleyball” game for the Xbox, I can’t comment on the differences first hand, but what I can do is tell you what I know about this one. The controls for Outlaw Volleyball are simple enough to pick up and play, yet deep enough that you can get a very nice volley going against your competition. Three of the buttons are mapped to different types of hits, A does a bump off a serve, then a set if it is the second hit, and then bumps the ball over the net on the third hit. To spike you get two options, both of which can be done on either the second or third hit. Press X to perform a strong spike and put some power behind it, while using B will do a high volley which can help you catch your opponents off guard. Holding down the right trigger during gameplay will give your character a burst of speed, however this burst is limited and you may want the energy to perform a super-spike or serve.
Outlaw Volleyball is heavily based around different volleyball events that are focused around the different courts offered: a roof-top beach, a suburban white trash yard, the sewers (complete with knee deep sludge). The events offer a decent variety of game play types, ranging from standard side out rules, to hot-potato mode where you will constantly have to monitor the meter which indicates when the ball will blow up. If it is on your side of the net when it blows, you’re done.
Incorporated into the game is a quite fun way of building your character skills. You have to complete different tasks ranging from blocking a certain number of spikes, knocking down flip-up targets, to a quite addicting “Fan Invaders”, which bears a resemblance to Space Invaders. The downside of the skill area is the limited amount of skills available for you to practice initially. As you progress through the different standard events, you unlock new skill games, a somewhat tedious task to boost your character.
In a move which is sure to enhance the life of the game, Hypnotix has included Xbox Live capabilities into OV. Not only can you kick someone’s ass across state lines, buy you will be able to download new characters and courts, nice touch. A downside is that this is somewhat of a niche title due to the “Outlaw” tag, and you won’t find massive amounts of people playing online. I was lucky to have the option to play in one of four different matches when I played online, mind you this was when the game was first released, so the number of players may have increased or decreased since then.
Besides the either sexy or scary characters carried over from Outlaw Golf, the fighting option is here. However, in this instance it almost seems like an afterthought and really is of no use. Fights are easy to win, and detract from the otherwise enjoyable volleyball experience.
Graphics:
Graphically, this game can hold its own. Dust particles are regularly seen on the courts, and oddly enough, the explosions look quite nice. The character models are the high quality that we expect from the Outlaw series with scantily clad ladies in thongs bouncing along the court. One thing I must point out is that the designers were obviously NOT going for the horny male player for this game, because if they were why include stereotypical male trailer trash and Latin lovers? It’s safe to say that when playing this game, if you are male, you will be using the female characters.
Backgrounds are well designed with action taking place in them almost all the time. Airplanes fly overhead, cars drive by in the streets, water falls from sewage pipes, snow falls, Hypnotix paid nice attention to detail graphically.
Audio:
After the first 10 minutes with the game, you will most definitely be turning off the announcer. While somewhat funny, you can only hear the same jokes about frat boys and virginity being lost so often in a 10 minute span, it’s like being near a drunk who tells you the same story repeatedly. Once the announcer is out of the way the sound effects are decent. You will hear the regular calls of your partner when he/she is getting the ball, and they will also offer advice on where to spike the ball.
The Music in OV was quite nice, with a nice mix of techno and rock to keep things fresh. However, some will either tire of the canned soundtracks, or just prefer to play the game while rocking out to their own music mix and fear not, custom soundtracks are supported.
Conclusion:
Fighting your way through the many events and tournaments will definitely take you some time, as a best of three played to a score of 15 with side out rules will take a while. Once the single player game is completed though, what is there left to take up your time? Well, multiplayer and Xbox Live can make up for that. I for one was left feeling a little dry after playing this consistently for a while. It was a blast the first few days, but soon lost its luster, becoming monotonous. Not even beating people online made me enjoy the game more, I guess I look for more in a sports game than what volleyball has to offer. Be warned, what may seem like a never-ending party upon initial play, can turn into something that isn’t so fun, sort of like collecting all the damn treasure in the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a good volleyball game, no fancy swimsuits to collect, no casino to play in, and no Dennis Rodman. If you are looking for a nice light game to play online which lets you pop in and pop off quickly then this might be a good option for you. However if longevity is what you seek in a game and you aren’t a huge fan of beach volleyball then this might not be the best option for you.
While not a terrible game, I wouldn’t recommend Outlaw Volleyball as a purchase. If you are having a bunch of friends over for a night of beer, gambling and gaming then this would be a great rental.