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After a somewhat dubious run on the Xbox and Xbox 360, the Dead or Alive Xtreme has made its way to the PSP platform under the title of Dead or Alive: Paradise.  While the previous releases have been looked at as juvenile and crass, Tecmo has embraced this distinction, using it for marketing purposes.  Dead or Alive: Paradise promises “Paradise…in the palm of your hand” and it does succeed at that to  some degree, but tedious, repetitive gameplay will turn you away from this title rather than your stance on the objectification of women in the Dead or Alive series.

For the uninitiated, Dead or Alive: Paradise takes you to New Zach Island, which has been raised from its destruction in the prior Dead or Alive Xtreme Volleyball 2 title.  You choose one of the lovely ladies from the Dead or Alive cast and crew and guide them through a series of mini-games, gift giving and a new pictorial mode (at least, I do not remember it from DOAX2).  And what mini-games might you be playing?  Well, the staple volleyball game is back, along with the pool hopping title.  After three or four plays, I had not found any other games in the series, but I had to assume that the butt bumping game had to be there, as it was a perverse staple of the franchise.  But if it is in there, I have yet to find it.  You also have the nightly visits to the casino, but it is hardly worth talking about, because the game AI is idiotic, bidding 10000 credits while holding nothing but a face card high.  Really, you think that is a good idea?

While the pool hopping game is an exercise in frustration if you cannot get the patterns right, I did enjoy the volleyball simulation.  Well, it is a simulation in the loosest sense of the word as you only use two buttons, and your characters is sometimes, assisted to the location of where the ball will be going.  That said the game is focused on the timing of your hits and sets.  The buttons need to be pressed at precise moments in order to get the best result.  Yes, it is not complex, but I found myself driven to play again and again, to sharpen my skills.  The camera angle used in the game hurts your perspective a bit, and in the beginning, you will have a hard time lining up your shots.  Partner AI is competent, and you never have to worry about whether she will hit the ball or not.

As you stay on the island, you also have to work on relationships with the other girls, primarily so you have a partner for volleyball, but also so they can buy you cool gifts.  Building relationships and keeping those relationships in tact is a trying proposition.  Some of the things that will help you curry favor with the girls are given in a little in game hint guide, but beyond that it becomes a trail of trial and error.  In my first two plays with two different characters, I gave out a number of gifts only to have those gifts sent back to me in new wrapping paper.  I never successfully managed a relationship through the course of an island visit.  Maybe it just means I have issues reading women, or the mechanic needs a little work.  I mean, I had fun trying to figure out what the women wanted from me, but after awhile, I ended up going after Rio continuously, because her standards for joining you were ridiculously low.  Just beat her in blackjack.  Yep, that’s it.  No spoilers here, because it tells you just that five minutes into the game.

Strangely enough, or not depending on what you think of my gaming habits, the photography section of the game became the biggest highlight to Dead or Alive: Paradise.  Yes, there has been a lot of talk about how creepy it is to take photos of digital women in revealing outfits, but I found it entertaining, and not for the reasons you think.  For me, it started off as a joke, but as I put more time into the photography section, I found myself looking at camera angles, zoom, framing shots and so much more.  Call me sadistic, but I found myself thinking of shots from the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues and trying to create classy shots like that in Dead or Alive Paradise.  Even better was the fact that all of the shots you take can be used as wallpaper on your PSP.  Yes, some of the situations you are asked to photograph are overly phallic, like two girls licking an ice cream cone, but others are really tasteful, like walking on beach, while the setting rays of the sun create a colorful palette for a photo shoot.

So after spending a week with the Zach’s island and the rest of the Dead or Alive girls, I have walked away from this title with mixed reactions.  The volleyball was fun, and the photography stuff was a blast.  There are tons of collectibles, making this a nightmare scenario for a completionist, but the variation keeps the game a bit fresh.  But beyond these items, everything falls flat.  The casino stuff is horrible, and the relationship stuff seems like a mess.  There is a lot to do in Dead or Alive Paradise, but most of it takes far more time than I want to dedicate to it.  Sure, Dead or Alive Paradise delivers on the three “B’s” – boobs, butts and bikinis, but it plays out more as a curiosity.  You might rent it first to see what you mileage will be, but at is stands, Dead or Alive: Paradise gets an average 2.5 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.
Check out Dead or Alive: Paradise and other PSP reviews at Test Freaks.