0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Beach Volleyball

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Beach Volleyball also known as Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball in North America, is as you have probably guessed by the game name a Beach Volleyball sports game. Developed by Carapace and published by Infogrames, this licensed sports game released in October of 2000 in Europe and a month later in North America. The game also released on Windows and the Game Boy Color

Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball is fully licensed by the official governing body of professional  beach volleyball, the Federation of International Volleyball, which allows the game to have 40 professional players to choose from, with the option to create your own players as well.

The game also features 14 courts from around the world, with places like Sydney Australia, Rio De Janeiro Brazil represented, the game also features day and night match choice when competing in an exhibition match, when first starting the game only 8 locations are available in this mode with the remaining seven unlockable courts.

In addition to the exhibition mode which can be played with up to 4 human players if you have a multi-tap, in addition there is the practice mode for you to hone your volleyball skills, and the world tour mode which is the main game mode.

Control wise you control your player using either the D-Pad or left analogue stick, If you are playing alongside an AI controlled team mate you can command them using the circle button, this button is also used for defensive hits.

The X button is used for Set, which is an overhead pass which is used to change the direction of the dig and put the ball in a good position for the spiker, this is usually the teams second contact with the ball, the setter must be good enough to keep the opposing teams blocker from dominating the net.

The second use is Bump this is where the player closes their hands one on top of the other and using their forearms to better control the ball. To use a power move the square button is used while blocking an opponents shot the triangle button is used. In addition the player can control the teams tactical approach using the L1 shoulder button, this is pretty basic with either attack or defend your tactical choices.

With the exception of one above average score for Beach Volleyball, the remainder were with in the average or below average range, with a couple falling into the poor score range. As usual we will start with the best which comes from IGN.

The review finding even with its shabby looking exteriors , there is a good game concept here, but a bare bones concept at best. The reviewer found the game to have no extras and no real reason to get you to come back to it once you have beaten the world tour a couple of times.

The reviewer continued by saying you have to really love volleyball a hell of a lot to want to play this. They continued by saying. Whats more, you won’t impress any of your friends with the graphics. The reviewer concluded by saying. It’s a pretty good game to player on your own, but even better when played with a second person, but again you will have to forgive the game to enjoy it.

Dutch publication Power Unlimited were the second highest scoring review for the game, with a significant drop to a 51. The review was critical of the poor controls and coarse graphics, which make Beach Volleyball and jerky first class.

Adrenaline Vault were close behind along with PSM Magazine with both publications scoring the game at an average as you can get 50. But we will start with Adrenaline Vault, who called the game basically inoffensive and lacking both polish and depth, which the review felt relegated the game to a novelty title at best.

The review continued by saying the situation is largely the result of the extremely narrow window of playability. The reviewer found in the early going that the controls were hesitant and the AI was defensively weak resulting in a learning curve that is unnecessarily steep for a system that lacks any real finesse in its gameplay.

The review found the more they played of the game the more they found repetitiveness had set with matches, venues, characters, sound effects and music all contributing to the sensation of boredom. The review found the only saving grace for the game was the four party multiplayer, which eliminated the AI issues with team mates, as well as breathe new life into the exhibition and tournament modes

Concluding though the review had the following to say on the game. Unfortunately, even the introduction of additional players won’t resolve every problem with this simulation.

PSM commented on the smaller following that Volleyball received over other larger sports, continuing by saying when these sports are made into a video game they much entice the game with solid gameplay, rather than with realism.

The review continued by concluding with. Although Power Spike is not a simulation, it offers little incentive to play, other than the real pro volleyball players, and how many of us really know or care about Pro Beach Volleyball.

GameSpot’s review is the first to drop into the below average range with a 46 rated score. The review commenting on how Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball makes a good attempt, however is let down by the inconsistencies and shoddy controls, which detract from the overall experience. Concluding they said, It has the benefit of being instantly playable, but on the flip side, the game is also instantly forgettable.

The Video Game Critic rated the game at a below average 42, calling the sound effects in the game abysmal, with uneven and disjointed crowd noises, as well as players yelling unintelligible phrases like "Nobody!" for no reason.

The reviewer found the controls to be a mixed bag, with the reviewer finding players moving nervously, but they did find the control scheme makes targeting the ball easy. The review also liked the way you can aim your shots. Concluding the review says, if you can look past the poor graphics and sound, Power Spike does provide some decent one or two player volleyball action.

The next review which comes from NowGamer sees another drop in score down to a poor 35. The review straight to the point by calling the game a pitiful interpretation of the game. The review continued by saying the game will disgust fans of the sport and volleyball virgins alike.

Lastly we head over to Germany and the publication Video Games who scored the game at a dismal 26. the review was full of hope for the game, even after receiving warnings from colleagues at the Video Games offices.

The review just hoped that the game had something even if not graphically but gameplay wise. This is of course not what he found when playing the game. With the reviewer finding the gameplay elements that were there completely useless thanks to the seriously lacking AI, coupled with the unusable camera angles, bad animations and the far too slow and imprecise control of the players.

This is the part of 0 to Z where is visit four online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com, eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to, I’ve heard they have a huge stock of older games, Ebay has now been dropped unless the game is unavailable at other retailers.

So lets get down to business with Gamedude, who have the game listed under Power Spike Volleyball, if you are looking to trade in your copy of the game to Gamedude you will be looking at $1 for your copy. If on the other hand you are in the market to buy a copy of the game from Gamedude, you will be looking at a $5 outlay.

Moving over to Retrogames.co.uk we find neither title variation to be stocked or even listed, so we will quickly move on to eStarland.com who have both the Playstation version and Game Boy Color version listed both listed as Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball.

The Game Boy Color version has one used copy of the game available, this is a cartridge only copy of the game and is priced up at $8.42. A trade in for the GBC version of the game is also on offer with up to $5.50 being paid for a complete copy of the game.

Moving on to the Playstation version of the game we find two copies on offer, the first is a complete used copy of the game which can be picked up for just $4.50. The second copy on offer is a new copy of the game, this will set you back $14.95 from eStarland. Also on offer is a trade in for the game with up to $1.50 paid for a complete copy of the game.

 

Lastly we have Amazon.com where we find only three copies of the game on offer, one of which can be completely discounted, this being an acceptable condition disc only copy for $82.10. The remaining two copies on offer a disc only copy in acceptable condition will set you back $14.99. The final copy on offer is a new copy of the game which is priced at $15.99.

I thought this was strange it turns out Amazon have the game listed with a spelling mistake in the title with no space present between Power and Spike. As it turns out the game has a healthy supply of copies on offer, Like many older games it suffers from disc only syndrome, but we do find a complete copy in very good condition for $8.64.

A couple of like new copies of the game can also be picked up for a similar price with the first priced up at $9.81, with the second like new copy available for just 1 cent more at $9.82. A third like new copy is also available for a very reasonable $9.95.

We also find a handful more new copies of the game available with the cheapest coming in at $17.44, there is also a shipped by Amazon copy for $17.49 but the free shipping only applies to Prime users and those spending over $25, same goes for the next copy at $17.91. New copy prices remain pretty reasonable hitting a current high price of $26.73.

  

  

Written by

P J Gibbon