In Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, players are able to play as any of the nine women present in the series at the time of the game's release.

Each woman in the game has certain items and hobbies which she likes or dislikes, and these preferences influence her reaction upon receiving a gift.

While there are still only two buttons necessary for gameplay (pass/block and bump/spike), greater manual control is required as, unlike the original, the women will not automatically maneuver themselves into the best formation.

[3] Aside from the main beach volleyball mode, this is the only mini-game which supports multiplayer play via Xbox Live, making all others single-player only: Shopping is an essential part of the game, buying accessories, swimsuits or food and drinks.

Developed exclusively for the Xbox 360, the title runs on a heavily modified version of the engine used in Dead or Alive 4,[4] allowing for new inclusions such as self-shadowing and new cloth simulation techniques.

Starting with an initial pool of 42 different mini-game ideas, only a total of seven games (counting beach volleyball) actually made the final cut.

[2] During the development process, creator Tomonobu Itagaki stated that he would not be adding activities like trampoline games and wet T-shirt contests to the series.

[8] TeamXbox's Dale Nardozzi stressed that while Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 has impressive graphics, multiple activities and nice artistry, the game is simply not fun to play.

A review by Hilary Goldstein of IGN shared similar opinions, suggesting that the added mini-games, including the Butt Battle and Tug-of-War are based highly on luck, relying on an arbitrary button press to counteract what one thinks one's opponent is going to do next.

Lastly, certain reviews criticized the new breast physics, causing them to bounce independently when running or moving and continue to jiggle or swing even when the character is still, resulting in awkward sequences.