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OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL, BY CHAD When you
think of Outlaw Volleyball several images come to mind: the tulips blooming
outside of Amsterdam, the peaceful serenity of a Buddhist temple in Tibet and
a quiet Alaskan snowfall in the middle of January are just a few of the things
that will never find there way into this game. Get those out of your head.
There is a good chance that one of the characters in the game would bitch-slap
you for even mentioning cities they cannot pronounce. Outlaw Volleyball is
intent on entertaining you in as many ways as
humanly possible, and let me tell you, they do it quite successfully.
Outlaw Volleyball includes almost every feature
that you can cram into an Xbox game.
 You
want Xbox Live play? Got it. Downloadable content. You bet What’s that? You
want to customize your soundtrack? Well, pop in that Milli Vinilli CD and
start jammin’ to “Girl You Know It’s True” while spiking the ball down your
best friends throat, because with this game anything is possible. Oh, you
don’t have any friends? That’s okay; Outlaw Volleyball has an extremely deep
single-player mode that will take you quite a while to complete. Maybe you
will find a friend or two by the time you’re done. The game also supports
480p, and features Steve Carell delivering all of the commentary and one
liners throughout the game. The only thing it doesn’t have is system link (and
blow up doll of Summer), but who cares. Outlaw Volleyball is a shining example
of how to unleash the power and features of the Xbox. Outlaw Volleyball is all
about the gameplay at its core, and it shows. There are several different
skills that can be utilized in play; it is not simply bump, set, and spike.
There are plenty of other nuances such as drop shots, power serves and
blocking that can enhance your experience with the game exponentially. Outlaw
Volleyball is a rock-solid volleyball game that is tons of fun. The game play
is sports-oriented, arcade style action that can ensnare you in its addict Liveness.
This truly is a kick-ass sports game with a
crap-load of extras thrown in, and Xbox Live is the cherry on top. Outlaw
Volleyball features 10 courts, including the sticky rooftop of an inner city
apartment building (Tar Beach), a malaria-infested rainforest paradise (Jungle
Fever) and the smelly confines of the underground sewer (Stinky Falls). Each
environment has spectators and hecklers, and several hidden comedy gems to
that can distract you from your game long enough to have a volleyball tattooed
on your chest. In single-player mode you must compete at tournaments at each
of the locations. The farther you advance the more items you can unlock. Items
that can be unlocked include clothing (or lack thereof), skill challenges,
locations and characters. There are 16 characters that are included with the
game (Summer, Chica Chavez, Harvest, Lizzy, Shawnee, Donna Maroni,
Natasha, Harley, Leon, El Suave, Ice Trey, Doe Joe, Country Clem, Killer
Miller, Nikki Steele and Scrummy O’Doole). There will also be more characters
available via download, starting off with Trixie, who should be available
shortly after the game ships. The only characters that are unlocked to start
the game are El Suave, Leon, Shawnee and Lizzy. As you progress through the
single-player, more characters become available. As you will see later, you
can only play with the characters that you have unlocked on Xbox Live, so it
is important to unlock the as many as possible. Each character has their own
set of strengths and weaknesses, and it is important to build a team that
compliments each others styles. If you choose Killer Miller, make sure you
back him up with a quick player who can motor across the court quickly. As
with Outlaw Golf, each player also has a back-story that is worth listening
to. We are treated to an update on the life of Summer, and yes, she’s still
stripping and giving lap dances to earn cash. El Suave is still after the
ladies, and the ladies are treated to several shots of his package while he
talks about his proficiency in the bedroom. Player reactions are also included,
and they are worth watching the first few times you play the game.
The nice thing about all of the introductions
and player reactions is they can be skipped, or simply turned off once you
have viewed them all. The script is funny, and Steve Carell does an excellent
job of delivering the lines, but, like most comedy, it eventually becomes an
afterthought. I enjoyed being able to turn them all off and speed up the game.
Outlaw Volleyball includes several skill challenges that can be used to
bolster a player’s performance and enhance their skills. After completing a
challenge, you can than distribute your reward to your player. You are given a
certain amount of points (7 to start) that can be used to increase speed,
power, offense and defense. The player starts at a certain level in each area,
and each has a max of 100 points. There is plenty of room for improving your
player and increasing your ability to knock the crap out of people. The skill
challenges are entertaining and include such wholesome activities as knocking
out dancing prisoners before they cross the net and do unmentionable things to
your fragile body. Each skill challenge also helps familiarize you with the
game controls. I was able to rapidly increase my ability by complete several
of the tasks. There are several tutorials included with the game that are
worth watching. They have the usual tips and tricks, but also offer plenty of
comedic value. The El Suave video is especially funny, but all offer a good
laugh. Outlaw Volleyball also includes a unique Momentum feature. The better
you play, the more you increase your Momentum. This feature parallels the
Composure feature of Outlaw Golf. Which brings us to the beatings. Players are
awarded beating tokens throughout the game.
 These
tokens can be utilized to challenge other players to an all out brawl. If you
are victories, you steal that opposing players Momentum, and all is right with
the world. Hypnotix has also included some alternate modes of gameplay to make
the game a little more interesting and challenging. These include Hot Potato,
Timer and Casino. In Hot Potato players are only allowed a certain number of
hits. If the meter reaches the max, the ball explodes on the side of the court
that it is currently on, awarding a point to the other team. It’s important to
keep on eye on the meter in this mode because it really sucks to have the ball
blow your ass up. The Timer game is pretty self-explanatory; the game is
timed, and if time expires the team with the most points wins. In Casino mode,
the game is played for cash. The cash pot increases the longer the ball is in
play and is awarded after each point. The team with the most cash wins. XBOX
LIVE Xbox Live is what sets Outlaw Volleyball apart from every other
volleyball game out there. The inclusion of online play makes this game a
must-own for anyone who has Xbox Live. There is no greater joy than having a
game custom-tailored to trash talking. Not only do you have to compete against
you opponent to come up with the most creative slam, but now you have a
professional comedian yakking at you the entire time. I found myself letting
out lots of “ooohhhhs” and “aaaaaahhhhhs”, followed up with “How does that
feel, punk!” Throw in the occasional “Why do you have to suck so bad?” and you
have yourself the ultimate trash-talking game. It also makes it more enjoyable
because you have at least 15 opportunities a game to inflict personal
humiliation on your opponent. The transition to Live is virtually seamless;
online play mirrors multi-player. The game is fluid and I didn’t experience
any major hiccups or problems while playing. My one complaint about the online
game is that it doesn’t include fighting. During the single- and multi-player
games, you can choose to use a beating token to increase your momentum.
Hypnotix was not able to work this out for the online version, so you are left
to peaceful, non-violent events featuring halfnaked competitors. I guess
that’s not so bad. A COUPLE OF KEY POINTS ABOUT PLAYING ON LIVE: 1. You carry
over the players you have unlocked to Xbox Live, so unlock as many as
possible. 2. There are single game, best-of-3, best-of-5 and best-of-7 game
options; stats tracked by game type. 3. After building their abilities in the
drills, you carry over the increased firepower to Live. This game was really
made to play with other people. Once on Live, it becomes apparent that Outlaw
Volleyball is an absolute hit. The game is fast paced, action-oriented,
trash-talking fun. GRAPHICS – 8 The graphics utilize nice texture maps on the
characters (okay, I’m trying to say the girls are hot) and the environments
are adequate for the game. You can tell that Hypnotix spent a lot of time
developing the models and the gameplay. There is some room for improvement on
the courts and I did notice a couple of collision issues on the cut-scenes,
but that is just nit-picking the game. It isn’t Half-Life 2, but everything
works nicely together and the game looks very smooth. SOUND – 9 The custom
soundtrack option is perfect for this game. I am already planning on loading
several of my own tunes for background music. The included soundtrack is a
nice blend of hip-hop and modern punk bands, with Diffuser being the featured
band. Other than the music and commentary, the audio portion of the game
doesn’t consist of much, but it doesn’t have to. GAMEPLAY – 10 This is where
Outlaw Volleyball shines. The game is fun, fun, fun,
 with a capital FU. In an era when
so many companies spend all of their time securing a brand (i.e. Enter the
Matrix) or making the most beautiful game ever seen, the fun-factor gets
overlooked. Grand Theft Auto has proven that you can have a game that looks
like ass and still sell 5 million copies. OVERALL – 9 Simon & Schuster have
done it again with their cast of Outlaws. I would highly recommend this game
to anyone who has Xbox Live. If you don’t, there is still an extremely deep
and fun single player mode that can entertain you until you get your DSL or
Cable modem.
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