Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball
Score: 71% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Infogrames Developer: Carapace Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 4 (MultiTap) Genre: Sports
Graphics & Sound: Nothing beats being out in the sand under the sun, which is what Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball is all about. However, graphics wise, things are just O.K. Player models contain somewhat of a blocky form, but they appear all right. The beach and other backgrounds are pretty good, but nothing stands out at you. I did like that you see sand being kicked up every now and then. Player animations look pretty good too, whether you're bumping, setting or spiking. Interestingly enough, when you watch a play in the Instant Replay, the graphics get better at the angle they show you... weird. One of the first things they teach you in volleyball is to make sure you call for the ball, which is exactly what you will hear on the court. Also, the crowd will occasionally get involved with the action. Listening to the ball bouncing around, I yearned for the sun to come out so I could get out on the courts myself.
Gameplay: Step out on to the court of sun and fun with Gabrielle Reese and her 40 friends from 15 different countries. Play two-on-two beach volleyball day or night, with an accurate portrayal of special moves like digging, spinning, setting, blocking and powerful spiking kills. It couldn't be easier. And you can use those skills on the different modes provided: Practice, Exhibition, and World Tour. With Practice, play against the computer, honing your skills without scoring any points. Once you feel you've mastered the art of the bump, set and spike, go on to the Exhibition mode in a single game match-up. When that gets tiresome, enter the World Tour, where your two-man team will play in eight separate tournaments where each team earns points based on their finish. It's all about how you finish in the end, where the team with the most points at the end of the tour is rewarded with the trophy, and possibly some bonus features. If you're not impressed with the 40 some players in Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball, then go create your own. With Player Editor, you can name your future star, change their appearance, and work on their physical attributes. If you use your created V-ball player in World Tour, extra points will be awarded to them to increase their attributes along the way.
Difficulty: The difficulty in Pro Beach Volleyball is Amateur, Pro and All-Star. By no means is that the end of it. Selecting your two-person team comes into play because their performance skills vary. Plus, if you take on a skilled team, be prepared to work for every point.
Game Mechanics: The controls weren't too difficult for Pro Beach Volleyball. Basically, X does everything, and if you want to add some power, hold down square. Once you get a little practice, work on directing your shots, so you're king or queen of the court. However, loading time is a little bit of a hassle to deal with, because it takes some time. Thankfully, it only takes one memory block to save a tournament and created player. PS2: After switching the settings to Fast speed and Smooth graphics on my PS2, I really didn't find much of a difference. The loading time was a slight bit faster, but nothing very noticeable. The graphics didn't change at all in my opinion, so there really isn't a need to try and change the settings. Since Super Spike V-Ball for old-school Nintendo, I haven't played any good Volleyball games. Well, Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball isn't anything great, but it will find some room in your playing time.
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
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