Reviews
You’ve got to hand it to Sega, no longer in the hardware market they’ve gone back to concentrating on what they do best, creating quality arcade titles. Indeed these days though the progress has been slow we are about to see the old Sega we know and (should) love with titles such as Sega Rally Revo and the legendary Virtua Fighter 5 finally going online and cross platform. On the PS2 and Xbox, Sega have had some sterling efforts and recently have created some amazing games for the portable game market as well, most notably Sumo Digital’s creation of Virtua Tennis: World Tour for the PSP. It was a no brainer then that Sumo also was picked to convert Virtua Tennis 3 to both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms. Even though this is the first Virtua Tennis game to grace the Xbox 360 tennis fans have already sampled the delights of Top Spin 2, a game which more than pays a little homage to this long standing series which really put tennis on the map back in the arcades. Unlike Top Spin 2 though, Virtua Tennis 3 remains faithful to its arcade routes, keeping the game as devilishly simple as possible whilst being hard to master.
To those new to the series Virtua Tennis is all about finding the right mix of pure arcade thrills combined with aesthetic realism. Playing like a spruced up version of Pong at times but all the while looking like the real deal. Its controls are pure and simple using only three buttons for the entire shot arsenal required. The left analogue stick or D-pad allows movement of the player around the court whilst the face buttons are used for the basic forehand, slice, lob whilst holding down at the point of contact performs a drop shot. The direction and spin of the ball can then be applied as required. Simple and intuitive to the point of being perfect, the control scheme instantly becomes second nature to anyone who has just picked up the game to the point they can start playing immediately.
It is only with repeated play that the more complex nuances appear. Positioning is everything in Virtua Tennis. Distance from the ball when returning dictates the speed and angle you can achieve in your shot. If you’re in perfect position and lined up way ahead of time you can hold and direct your shot with so much power you’ll wrong foot your opponent. Get to a shot late and chances are you’ll either be sliding or diving for the ball to stay in contention, offering up a lame return as a last ditch effort. This positioning is far more forgiving in Virtua Tennis 3 over its previous installment, something which may take a while to get used to for the seasoned player. It seems in an effort to give the game more flow you can now reach an incoming shot from much further away, its not a huge change but one which requires re-training if you’re previously been used to the stricter regime.
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