Now that Outlaw Volleyball has arrived, I can say that it has without a doubt renewed my faith in the sand-friendly sport. Not since last fall have I found myself so engrossed in a sports title, and not since the days of Super Spike V’Ball on the NES have I enjoyed a volleyball title this much.

Where DOAX involved simple single-button gameplay, Outlaw Volleyball reintroduces virtual volleyballers to good old-fashioned variety. The gameplay is traditional two-on-two, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for you to "spread the court" by leading your opponents into precarious positions and spiking the ball where they’re most vulnerable. Where DOAX would find the opening for you, though, Outlaw Volleyball gives you complete control over where you direct your hit, as well as how hard you hit it.

For starters, there’s a power meter along the lefthand side that builds up the longer you hold down your "hit" button. In essence, it’s similar to the power meters in most other sports games. This is important when serving, of course, but it’s also crucial in the middle of a volley, where any extra power or sudden reduction in strength can send your opponent scrambling. You can also determine the "power" of your hit, though, by choosing the type of shot you want to take. Spike it down your opponents’ throat, dink it over the net or lob it gently toward the back. Although the latter option will generally get you nowhere, the variety at least spices up the gameplay, and it requires you to plan your next shot well in advance.

Actually directing your shots is easy to achieve but not necessarily easy to master. Outlaw Volleyball, therefore, includes a series of tutorials and drills to get you started. These teach you the basics of the game, from serving to volleying to spiking, but they do so with traditional "outlaw" flair. A spiking drill, for example, will have you aiming for targets to rack up a certain number of points in a given time. The targets that pop up are either armed robbers or ladies with babies. Naturally, only one gives you points (robbers), while the other takes points away. Another exercise has you aiming for moving targets, only this time, they’ll gradually move toward the net in a Space Invaders-esque drill.

Completing these drills does more than just teach you the controls. It also gives you points that you can assign to various categories (speed, power, offense and defense), thereby building up your characters statistics. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s as deep as a role-playing game, but it definitely allows for some customization and evening of the playing field between characters.

It should go without saying that the Outlaw franchise features some outlandish adult humor and themes, and this game’s 16 characters fit into that mold with ease. A stripper, a drunk redneck, a punk chick who flashes the crowd and a biker who’s wanted by the cops are just a few of the players in the game. Some are faster, some are more powerful, and some are better defenders. As a result, you can in theory team up with different characters for a well-rounded twosome. Yet by working through the drills, you can boost a slow person’s speed or a weak person’s power, meaning that the varying characteristics make little difference in the end.

Where statistics are concerned, though, I do have one major gripe: the computer’s ability to move at superhuman speeds and slow down time. The AI in Outlaw Volleyball is generally quite good, both for your teammate as well as your opponents. Teammates will set you up or spike as you’d expect a "thinking" person would do, and the computer will consistently try to find your weak spot. In games of "hot potato," the computer AI will even realize when it’s in a precarious position and unload the ball accordingly. But the opponent AI has a frustrating tendency to hit seemingly unreachable balls with relative ease, and it’s often due to a speed-related "fix."

I can recall multiple instances where a hit looked to be in the sand, but the computer dove from literally half-court and got in a successful dig. These amazing bursts of speed, though, weren’t due to temporary turbo boosts (which the game includes), but some Matrix-like hiccup. Conversely, I’ve also been the victim on many occasions of the computer spiking the ball down my throat while my player stood there motionless until the point had already been scored. Ironically, even initiating a momentum-stealing fight, which are done in real-time like a cheap (but enjoyable) Street Fighter knockoff, have little effect on these bursts. Needless to say, this can get a bit frustrating, particularly in close matches, and it’s nothing that any amount of statistic-building can overcome.

Outlaw Volleyball adds to the traditional 15- and 7-point volleyball matches some over-the-top modes to go with its outlandish characters and settings. These modes include a "hot potato" exploding-ball mode and a unique timed mode where the team that’s held the ball the least amount of time when the clock runs out is deemed the winner. The most enjoyable "mode" for the game, though, is online play via Xbox Live. For those of you without Xbox Live, Outlaw Volleyball also supports four player games on a single console, meaning everyone can partake of the trash-talking, four-player goodness. And talking trash is where it’s at.

Where talking trash is concerned, though, it’s a good thing Hypnotix allows gamers to turn off the in-game announcer. When it comes to talking trash, the announcer does it more than anyone sitting on the sofa next to you, but his sayings, as funny as they may be, get stale after only 10 to 15 points. And it’s not like you can hit the guy to shut him up. (DailyGame does not condone real-life violence of any sort. Unless you deserve it.) Outlaw Golf fans will recognize the Daily Show announcer’s voice, but where the commentary seldom got old (for this reviewer) in Outlaw Golf, even I turned his audio off in Outlaw Volleyball after just two matches. The game’s other sounds, from ambient crowd noise to characters calling their shots to an outstanding soundtrack, are all well done, so it’s a shame that the announcer spoils the show.

"Fortunately," the gameplay and graphics keep Outlaw Volleyball more than playable, even when completely muted. And yes, I speak from experience. The character models are as gorgeously rendered as they are risqué, and each is refreshingly unique. Character animations in a heated volley look especially good, and the fighting sequences don’t show a single blemish. Between shots, though, the animations are as limited as those in NFL Fever between tackles, so like the commentator, you’ll probably end up turning off the "player reaction" option in the menu after a match or two.

The levels in Outlaw Volleyball are also well-rendered, from traditional sand courts to a women’s prison to a flooded sewer. Ironically, during the few instances I noticed a framerate slowdown I was volleying in the sand, not wading through ankle-deep water. I would have expected the opposite, given that the water ripples wherever your character steps, but apparently sand kicking up sand taxes the engine a bit more.

With four-player support and Xbox Live play, not to mention a pretty steep learning curve in later levels, you’re bound to play Outlaw Volleyball well into fall and winter, when the sun on Tar Beach will bring back your own fond memories of summer. There are also a bevy of unlockables, including characters and costumes, and more than a dozen tutorials, so if working your way through the single-player tournaments doesn’t keep you playing, the extra features will.

If you’re looking for a solid sports title to get you through the summer, Outlaw Volleyball is a worthwhile purchase. People who bought DOAX hoping for some actual gameplay to go with their gratuitous camera angles will be pleased to know Outlaw Volleyball has enough to keep people hitting the virtual beach well into winter, when most "hardcore" sports titles have already been released. On the other hand, if you’re initially put off by the thong-wearing, motorcycle-riding, sex-joke-cracking characters, you should at least give this game a week-long rental. You just might be surprised how addictive Outlaw Volleyball can be on gameplay alone.