- Dead or Alive Paradise
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Dead or Alive: Paradise 
Official North American Cover ArtDeveloper(s) Team Ninja Publisher(s) Tecmo Koei Designer(s) Yoshinori Ueda (director) Series Dead or Alive Platform(s) PlayStation Portable Release date(s) Genre(s) Sport, minigames Mode(s) Single player Rating(s) Media/distribution Universal Media Disc, digital Dead or Alive: Paradise (デッドオアアライブパラダイス Deddo oa Araibu Paradaisu) is a 2010 video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo Koei for the PlayStation Portable as part of the Dead or Alive series. The game is a port and a remake of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 for the Xbox 360,[1] and the title expands upon the activities available in the original which consisted of mainly beach-related mini-games. The game was released in all regions during March and April, 2010.[1]
Contents
Plot
Players start the game at the getaway resort, New Zack Island, as part of a two week vacation. The island is inhabited mostly by the swimsuit-clad girls from the Dead or Alive series.[2]
Characters
Hitomi playing the "Pool Hopping" mini-game
The game features mostly playable characters from the Dead or Alive series,
- Ayane
- Christie
- Helena
- Hitomi
- Kasumi
- Kokoro
- Leifang
- Lisa
- Tina
- Rio - A character who appears from a series of pachislot titles by Tecmo, which has also been adapted into an anime series named Rio: Rainbow Gate!.[3]
Gameplay
Taking pictures using a camera in the gameThe game has several gameplay aspects, featured most prominently is the minigame similar to Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. The mini-games include beach volleyball, pool hopping, and casino games like poker, blackjack and slots.[4] The second aspect of the game would be interacting with the girls by mingling with them, giving them presents including swimwear.[3] The third aspect is to purchase a camera from the Island Shop and take photographs of the girls which can then be assembled into an album.[3] Once the relationship with the girls is on an intimate level, the girls would then present the player with "venus clips" which can be viewed and edited by the player.[2]
Development
The previous team leader of Team Ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki had previously expressed interest in bringing the Dead or Alive Xtreme series to handhelds such as the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable in 2004. The game was first revealed in Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu in December 2009.[3] A North American release was announced a month later in January 2010.[2]
Game Demo
On 11 March 2010, a DRM-free demo was released on the Japanese Playstation Store, and then distributed by Japanese site 4Gamer and other web sites. Accordingly to IGN, the demo features a sample of the game's Gravure Mode, where the player chooses a character, a swimsuit and a situation to take photos. On the demo, Hitomi is the only available character, with two bikinis and three situations. Unlike in the full version, the pictures cannot be saved in the demo.[5] The demo can currently be downloaded on PSP demo specialized web sites, as well as in the game's official Japanese site.[6]
ESRB Controversy
The ESRB, on a polemic post about Dead or Alive Paradise, classified the game as "creepy voyeurism" and "bizarre, misguided notions of what women really want", saying also that "Paradise cannot mean straddling felled tree trunks in dental-floss thongs".[7] Later, the post was changed into something more neutral, and ESRB apologized saying the first post was posted "in error", considering it "improperly" and filled with "subjective language".[7]
Director Yoshinori Ueda said to Eurogamer that the game isn't supposed to be softcore pornography, neither degrading towards women. In his own words:
"That's certainly not something we're intentionally going for", "From our perspective, we're trying to make beautiful women, that has been the focus - we want our characters to be beautiful. The DOA characters are strong and that they look the way they do is based on trying to bring out the beauty of women", "We're certainly not trying to degrade women. They have beautiful bodies. We're trying to show off the beauty of their bodies but we're not trying to be degrading about it - we're trying to show that they are beautiful characters.", and "It's not that we were trying to make softcore porn. That's definitely not the goal".[8]
Ueda also said to VideoGamer.com:
"We feel that the original text that went up was a subjective opinion. Of course everyone will have their own take on what the game is and what it means for them as they play it. For us the game is about providing a vacation, a resort, a place to have fun, and providing that experience to players. Part of that is taking pictures and having beautiful women in a beautiful locale. That's part of the fun in what we're trying to do with the title.
"We understand everybody will have their own opinions about it, but we would like people to take a look at the title, play it, and judge for themselves. We tried hard to make it a real paradise. We hope people will get that from the game."[9]
The art director Yasushi Nakanura also said to VideoGamer.com that if fans did masturbate to the series, Team Ninja "could consider that a success". He also said that Paradise was an effort to restart making the Dead or Alive series, as well as to broaden its appeal. On his words:
"Dead or Alive has a bit of a history," "It's been around for a while and the fans have grown with the series. With this title, Dead or Alive Paradise, we're looking at resetting that. We're trying to get new fans, people who aren't familiar with the series, and cast the net wide for people who might be looking for something different."[9]
Special Bundles
In Japan, Dead or Alive Paradise had on its release, other than the stand-alone game, two different bundles: one costing ¥7,329 and the other costing ¥15,729. The first comes with a secret photo album, a soundtrack CD, an original Kasumi box cover and the game. The second one is bundled with all that plus a Kasumi figurine, which wears two different swimsuits.[10]
CD Tracklisting
The bundled CD includes the following soundtrack:[11]
No. Title Length 1. "Paradise!!" (by U-SKE) 3:31 2. "Sensational Fantasy" (by Gen Taneichi) 3:20 3. "Beach Bomb" (by Yoon Suwon) 3:07 4. "Coconut Groove" (by Toshiaki Yamada) 3:01 5. "Nitro Funk" (by U-SKE) 3:16 6. "Violet Eyed Beauty" (by Gen Taneichi) 3:15 7. "Rewind!" (by U-SKE) 3:18 8. "Curiosity" (by U-SKE) 2:26 9. "Boogie Circuit" (by Gen Taneichi) 1:39 Total length:26:53 Reception
The game has received mixed to negative reviews, most of them varying around 3 and 5, resulting on a Metacritic score of score around 52/100. Many famous site giving a low score but special gaming sites dedicated to the DOA alive series a reasonable score.
Scott Jones and Victor Lucas from Reviews on the Run, though, both gave the game a 0.0/10 rating saying the best word to describe the game is "pathetic", while GamesRadar web site game it a 7/10 saying on its veredict that it is "Overall fun and deceptively deep". The website Gamepro give the game 3,5 stars out of 5, an average score from 7/10 [12] GamingUnion gave the game a score of 6/10 [13]. The ComputerAndVideoGames.com gave the game a score of 6.9/10 close to other scores which where given positive. [14].
Reception Aggregate scores Aggregator Score Metacritic 52/100[15] Review scores Publication Score Eurogamer 3/10[16] Game Informer 4/10[17] GamePro 7/10[16] GamesRadar 7/10[18] IGN 5/10[19] References
- ^ a b c Anoop Gantayat. "Tecmo Koei Delays Major Titles in Japan". IGN. http://psp.ign.com/articles/106/1065902p1.html. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c Tecmo Koei (January 25, 2010). "Dead or Alive Paradise Gives You Paradise in the Palm of Your Hand". IGN. http://psp.ign.com/articles/106/1063199p1.html. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c d John Tanaka (December 16, 2009). "Dead or Alive Set for PSP". IGN. http://psp.ign.com/articles/105/1055709p1.html. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ "Dead or Alive: Paradise announced". Gaming Target. 2010-01-23. http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=10825.
- ^ "Sample Dead or Alive Paradise in advance". IGN. 2011-03-28. http://psp.ign.com/articles/107/1076706p1.html.
- ^ "Dead or Alive Paradise Demo [PSP with Download Links"]. YouTube. 2011-04-02. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDWm4ja0kg.
- ^ a b "ESRB regrets DOA: Paradise outburst". Eurogamer. 2011-03-28. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/esrb-regrets-doa-paradise-outburst.
- ^ "DOA Paradise goal was not soft porn". Eurogamer. 2011-03-28. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/doa-paradise-goal-was-not-soft-porn.
- ^ a b "Team Ninja: If fans masturbate to DoA, that's a success". VideoGamer.com. 2011-08-31. http://www.videogamer.com/psp/doa_paradise/news/team_ninja_if_fans_masturbate_to_doa_thats_a_success.html.
- ^ "Dead or Alive PSP Game Bundled With Sexy Kasumi Statue". Kotaku. 2011-06-06. http://kotaku.com/5429415/dead-or-alive-psp-game-bundled-with-sexy-kasumi-statue.
- ^ "Soundtracks for Dead or Alive Paradise". IMDb. 2011-06-06. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1633976/soundtrack.
- ^ http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/215005/dead-or-alive-paradise
- ^ http://www.gamingunion.net/reviews/dead-or-alive-paradise--206.html
- ^ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/242000/reviewsdead-or-alive-paradise-review/
- ^ "Dead or Alive Paradise for PSP Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 2010-03-30. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/psp/deadoraliveparadise. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
- ^ a b Ellie Gibson. "Dead or Alive: Paradise PSP Review - Page 1". Eurogamer.net. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dead-or-alive-paradise-review. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
- ^ "Creepiness Abounds In Gaming Equivalent Of Softcore Porn - Dead or Alive Paradise - PSP". www.GameInformer.com. 2010-03-30. http://gameinformer.com/games/dead_or_alive_paradise/b/psp/archive/2010/03/30/review.aspx. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
- ^ Dead or Alive Paradise Review - Gamesradar.com GamesRadar,
- ^ var authorId = "85589875" by Nate Ahearn (2010-03-29). "Dead or Alive Paradise Review - PlayStation Portable Review at IGN". Psp.ign.com. http://psp.ign.com/articles/108/1080433p1.html. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
External links
Dead or Alive series Main series Xtreme series Other games Characters Related media Categories:- 2010 video games
- Beach volleyball video games
- Dead or Alive
- PlayStation Portable games
- PlayStation Portable-only games
- Photography simulation games
- Video games with custom soundtrack support
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