More girls, more swimsuits, more things to see and do. Unfortunately, not all is fresh as the summer breeze when it comes down to Dead or Alive Xtreme 2's gameplay mechanics. In fact, only those who are already hardcore DOA fans will likely be able to look past the shameless airheadedness of it all and to convince themselves that DOAX2 is any kind of a keeper. In fact, it begs the question: Why are the pretty ones always so dumb?

As a sequel to Team Ninja's first DOA spin-off of a genuinely excellent fighting game, Xtreme 2's scenario remains the same: the girls of the DOA are taking some R&R from pummeling each other to enjoy frolicking on the beach in skimpy swimsuits (the same thing they wear when fighting, as often as not, except without the frolicsomeness). The main agenda is to collect bathing suits by developing relationships with the other girls on the island, achievable because, well, all girls love presents. Of course, you need money in order to buy your favorite girl something nice, and you earn money for just such niceties by participating in the activities offered on the island.

The leisure pursuits of Zack Island in this version are more diverse compared with the first outing -- none deeper, just more --, but still share the same requisite feature of panty shots aplenty. Volleyball remains a core activity, along with newly added water sports like jet-skiing. Those two primary activities are the ones that will win you the bulk of your money (though you can also live on the edge and test your luck at the casino).

Too, there's also some new games for geeks-who-drool-over CG girls, the likes of Water-Hopping, Butt-Battle (read it again), Tug-O-War, Flag Race, and an extensive waterslide.

Also new to the series -- most likely via request from many fans --, is the introduction of in-game secrets. If you play Christie's slot machine enough, for example, you just might get to see your girl of choice do a special dance for you. However, aside from volleyball, waterskiing, and making the rounds at the casino, the other activities just don't offer a competitive enough monetary reward for all the frustration you'll invest.

Alas, in an attempt to make volleyball segment of the game more "in-depth," this once-enjoyable game is now tending toward a migraine-induction game -- a ridiculously difficult one, mainly due to the absence of the auto-targeting function. More often than not, your girl will react too late to an incoming ball, or sometime not react at all. The camera angle doesn't make life any easier due to its tendency to provide less than advantageous positioning for actual playing, but at least the legs are long and waxed.

There's now a jet-ski segment, too. However, at most, it's a feeble copycat of other such water-driving games, such as WaveRace. The controls are loose, for one, making turning a huge, lumbering issue, while it's also all too easy to be thrown completely off course due to the effects of rolling and crashing waves.

Of the newly introduced mini-games, none offer anything resembling depth; just simple guessing game schlock against the computer; basically a glorified version of rock-paper-scissors that can't, by nature, ever be considered sexy, try as it might.

The art of gift-giving and obtaining a volleyball partner go hand-in-hand. Gift-giving becomes a simple task of memorizing each girl's likes and dislikes and after just a few days of showering them with their favorite treats, you will notice that their fondness of you hardly ever decreases, even if you decide to stop giving them gifts. If you're no good at giving gifts, you can still enjoy all of the activities on the island, except for volleyball.

The swimsuits are the bread and butter of this game. Half of the suits are all new, and half of them are re-designed, sexier, and more-revealing versions of their predecessors. They are to be admired as a technical achievement of the developers over there at Team Ninja, though you can equally ogle just for the sake of ogling computer babes in swimsuits, even though they're fake, which is a wee bit creepy. Titillating, sure, but a creepy titill...

Still, even with all that to lure the unwashed and dateless, it's a trap; DOAX2 simply doesn't offer enough actual gameplay, no notable improvements to the original to warrant dropping the big bucks on a guilty pleasure.