Summer Heat Beach Volleyball

Summer Heat Beach Volleyball

Developer(s) Acclaim Studios Cheltenham
Publisher(s) Acclaim
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Release date(s)
  • NA July 1, 2003
  • EU July 4, 2003
Genre(s) Sports
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Distribution DVD-ROM

Summer Heat Beach Volleyball is a beach volleyball video game released by Acclaim in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 gaming console.

Gameplay and Style

Summer Heat follows the basic rules of the sport of beach volleyball. Two teams of two players each face off in a sectioned-off area of sand that serves as the playing area. One player serves the ball, and play begins. The objective is to land the ball on the ground within the play area of the other team's side. Players alternate hitting ("volleying") the ball, up to three volleys per turn, and the ball must travel over the net no later than the third hit. The game supports up to four players, though the use of a multitap accessory is required for three and four player games. Summer Heat is styled similarly to other arcade-style volleyball games of the era, where there is an emphasis on the sex appeal of the bikini-clad female characters as well as having the overall tone and atmosphere of a summer beach party.

Music

Summer Heat's soundtrack features music from Pink, Sum 41, Kylie Minogue, Sprung Monkey, Freshmaka, and Suburban.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings68.09%[1]
Metacritic65/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame[3]
Edge6/10[4]
Electronic Gaming Monthly6.33/10[5]
Eurogamer7/10[6]
Game Informer6.75/10[7]
GamePro[8]
GameSpot7.2/10[9]
GameSpy[10]
GameZone7/10[11]
IGN6.4/10[12]
Official PlayStation Magazine (US)[13]
The Village Voice6/10[14]

The game was released during a period where volleyball video games were experiencing a period of renewed popularity for the first time in many years, although it received considerably less hype and critical praise than its contemporaries Beach Spikers, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and Outlaw Volleyball. It currently has a score of 68.09% on GameRankings[1] and 65 out of 100 on Metacritic.[2]

The game was one of several poor-selling titles that would lead to Acclaim's bankruptcy in 2004.

Future

In 2006, Canadian game publisher Throwback Entertainment acquired the property rights for Summer Heat Beach Volleyball from Acclaim. Throwback had planned on developing another Summer Heat volleyball game for release on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, but there is currently no official word on the status of such a game. Summer Heat Volleyball is expected to keep its identity and will not be dissloved or merged.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  4. ↑ Edge staff (August 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball". Edge (126).
  5. ↑ EGM staff (September 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball". Electronic Gaming Monthly (171): 112. Archived from the original on January 1, 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Martin (July 24, 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  7. ↑ Leeper, Justin (August 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball". Game Informer (124): 91. Archived from the original on November 14, 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  8. ↑ Tokyo Drifter (June 26, 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  9. ↑ Davis, Ryan (July 2, 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball Review". GameSpot. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  10. ↑ Steinberg, Steve (July 14, 2003). "GameSpy: Summer Heat Beach Volleyball". GameSpy. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  11. ↑ Romano, Natalie (July 16, 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (June 30, 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball". IGN. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  13. ↑ Baker, Chris (September 2003). "Summer Heat Beach Volleyball". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 100. Archived from the original on June 27, 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  14. ↑ Catucci, Nick (July 15, 2003). "Come Sail Away". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 25, 2014.

External links