Beach Spikers will inevitably be compared to Sega's Virtua Tennis series, although the development teams of said games are entirely different. Sega AM2, most recently known for Virtua Fighter 4, Ferrari F355 and Shenmue (among many, many others), have crafted a thoroughly fine playing and gorgeous looking arcade-style beach volleyball title for the GameCube.

Despite being more simple in the gameplay department, I actually found Beach Spikers to be more enjoyable than Tennis 2K2. Serving, digging, bumping, setting and spiking can all be accomplished with only two buttons, and there is enough variety to keep your opponent guessing. At first glance it isn't apparent that ball placement plays an important role in gameplay, but like Virtua Tennis it does, especially when up against more difficult competitors. Beach Spikers is a fast moving game, and a split second delay can mean defeat. The only real gameplay issue, is the camera shifting. The speedy rotation sometimes makes it difficult to pick out where the ball is going until it is too late. The little court map is invaluable in these situations, but not a perfect solution.

Visually, Beach Spikers may be the most impressive console game I've played in a long time. The bikini-clad characters are excellently rendered, with seamless joints, amazing lighting and shading, and super smooth, realistic-looking animation. The various beach volleyball stages are similarly impressive, with fully deformable sand, a 100% polygonal crowd (finally!), and a ton of interesting animated courtside objects. The GameCube can render some incredible CG-looking visuals, and Beach Spikers is one such stunning example. As usual, a rock solid 60fps framerate doesn't hurt.

The modes in Beach Spikers are a bit sparse, but besides the VS. mode and the few mini-games, most people will probably spend time primarily with the Arcade and World Tour Mode. World Tour mode tosses you into a simple tournament, with a custom created character and partner. While the character bodies cannot be altered in any way, nearly every other feature can be edited. There are numerous colors and styles of hair, faces, skin, accessories and outfits, with plenty of hidden versions to be unlocked as well. Unlike the arcade mode, in World Tour you are only responsible for controlling one character, and your partner is full CPU controlled. To perform better as a team, you have the opportunity to upgrade the stats of your partner after each portion of the tournament, and even 'praise','encourage', or 'reprimand' her, while relaxing between court changes. Choosing the correct action, will raise your teamwork percentage which should result in better communication, and less dropped balls. If you reprimand your partner for no good reason, she can become angry and the teamwork will suffer as a result. This aspect is really a cool addition, and the reactions of your partner as a result of what you say are really amusing. The goal is to place 1st in the overall standings, though if you don't, you and your upgraded partner can start the tourny over once again.

Speaking of reactions, Beach Spikers is chock full of women hugging/celebrating in various and sometimes 'interesting' ways. Most gamers, whether they be male or female, should get a kick out of it. As tantalizing as this action in Beach Spikers may be, we expect both DOA Xtreme Volleyball and Outlaw Volleyball (both for the Xbox) to put these thoroughly innocent reactions to shame.

The sounds are typical arcade AM2, with plenty of loud and repetitive voice samples and a nice selection of somewhat forgettable background tunes. The audio, overall, is more than competent however, and works well within the game.

Beach Spikers is a fun game for up to 4 players, but the single player modes, although fun, don't last all that long. With great visuals and gameplay, enjoyable multi-player modes, and the always fun to watch player reactions, Beach Spikers is worth at least a rental for any GameCube owner.