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Summer Heat Beach Volleyball ps2 Game Reviews
Summer Heat Beach Volleyball
Critic Score
Metascore: 65 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.1 out of 10
based on 21 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 18 votes
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Rate this game

Summer Heat Beach Volleyball features: 14 selectable characters, each with player-specific attributes and abilities; 12 sizzling locations, including Venice Beach Stadium, Flamingo Pier, Emerald Marina and Silver Sands Beach; Immersive summer game play experience allows players to unlock hidden secrets as they spike your way to beach volleyball dominance; Proprietary "Super Spike" system, enables gamers to earn special moves, speed-ups and unlock hidden features; First-ever Summer Beach House Party Mode tracks player stats plus unlocks hidden features and players; Game play modes include Arcade, Exhibition, Tournament and Mini-Games; Full character customization, allows players to modify their character's skin color, hairstyle, and accessories; In-game music soundtrack featuring today's top recording artists, including Pink ("Get the Party Started"), Sum 41 ("Summer"), Kylie Minogue ("Love at First Sight"), Sprung Monkey ("Coconut"), Freshmaka ("Hawaiian Shirt") and Suburban ("Ooohwee"); TV-style presentation, including music videos from Pink, Sum 41 and Kylie Minogue, player cut scenes, arena fly-throughs and instant replays. [Acclaim]

PUBLISHER: Acclaim
DEVELOPER: Acclaim Studios Cheltenham
GENRE(S): Sports, Volleyball
PLAYERS: 4
ESRB RATING: T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2003

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83
Gaming Age
This game comes in a very…and I mean a very close second to "Outlaw Volleyball" in terms of great game play and lasting appeal.
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77
GameSpy
It's not the T&A fest that DOA Xtreme Volleyball is, but it isn't afraid to flash some skin (though no "nude code"). Where it's at its strongest, happily, is in the gameplay. The button scheme is in-depth enough to make the action challenging.
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73
Gamers' Temple
Its gameplay is competent, but not challenging enough to hold the interest of sports game players for the long term. Think of it as a day at the beach during the summer - a nice little diversion with some pleasant scenery.
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72
GameSpot
Despite some rough edges, Summer Heat Beach Volleyball gets enough of the fundamentals right to keep things fun.
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71
Game Chronicles
The game could have been so much better with a more balanced AI, or at least a more gradual progression. Hitting that AI “brick wall” about halfway through the tour may have less-dedicated gamers hitting the showers.
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70
GamePro
The sex appeal factor is just okay, so it’s not going to blow you away if you’re mainly in the market for eye candy or compromising situations.
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70
Gamestyle
Credit is due for the canny and accurate use of a line judge, and memorisation of the last picked team for exhibition and arcade games - and for the wonderful replays, enabling you to see all of the action. Part of that action is, naturally, some breast-juggling. We just thought you'd like to know.
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70
PSX Nation
Though the graphics are miles below the photo-realistic polygon bodies in “Beach Spikers” (GameCube), “DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball” and “Outlaw Volleyball” (XBox) the control and gameplay are spot-on.
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70
EuroGamer
The major drawback of Summer Heat is an issue of longevity; there really isn't much to keep you at it for longer than a couple of days, despite the fairly entertaining co-op and versus multiplayer modes.
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70
GameZone
Not as fun or as sexy as it should have been, Summer Heat Beach Volleyball has its moments of addictive diversion but its faults keep the game from being a true volleyball game.
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70
Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
It actually focuses on solid gameplay. What a concept. [Sept 2003, p.100]
68
Game Informer
I still wish this game was sexier. The play is serviceable - the control scheme grows on you - but the character models are quite shoddy. [Aug 2003, p.91]
67
GameNow
What it lacks in curves and naughty bump-mapping, it makes up for in sheer gameplay. [Sept 2003, p.54]
64
IGN
It's one of the deepest games of its kind over the last couple of years for sure, but with an absolutely stupid artificial intelligence, an emphasis on powerful strikers, and an affinity for the jump spike above everything else, it's hard to recommend this one to true fans of the sport.
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63
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Heat's mushy [control] scheme relies too heavily on context, making your beach bunny set when you intended an unstoppable spike, and its overbearing interface banishes guesswork (and psych-out strategy) from the game. Still, the virtual volleyball action is fast-paced fun. [Sept 2003, p.112]
60
G4 TV
Even with its extras -- [it's] still a bit on the ditzy, simplistic side. It's appropriate really, since almost nobody wants an overly simulated volleyball title. As a raw game, it certainly plays better than the admittedly better-looking "DOA Extreme Beach Volleyball."
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60
Village Voice
The power spiking constitutes the only true action, and the preternaturally conspicuous jiggling the only eye candy. The animation sucks, and the game's most promising aspect—complex plays enabled by your teammates—is undermined by poor artificial intelligence.
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50
Cheat Code Central
Although the game has much more depth than DOA, with more moves giving you more control on the court, this is still not the definitive version of a volleyball game.
50
All Game Guide
A passable diversion between more traditional sports games, but nothing more.
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40
GMR Magazine
These ladies are hamstrung by weak animation, dinner-theater accents, and brain-dead A.I., and you can't appreciate their asses - uh, assets thorugh the long-range camera or motion-blurred replays. [Sept 2003, p.69]
30
PSM Magazine
Plagued with underdeveloped AI and repetitive, clunky gameplay, SHBV is one of the least appealing games of 2003. [Sept 2003, p.38]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Fast, beautiful, this rock and I like it !

[Anonymous] gave it a 0:
This game is all about boobs, babes and boobs. it sucks real bad.

Byron L. gave it a 10:
This game is tight because you can use walk mode to climb and walk.

Kevin K. gave it an 8:
Great gameplay not so good AI.

Rusty S. gave it a 0:
No one on this game is sexy!

Cássio V. gave it a 10:
Even with no nudes, an excellent game!

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