So back in 2007 (seems like yesterday) I was playing SEGA's Virtua Tennis 3 day and night. I wasn't particularly good at it now that you mention it, I was just compelled to play since it was such an exciting, fun game.
I was particularly fascinated by the way you could create your own character, evolve your custom created character, get better and better, until you could overtake even the best tennis players in the world - most of them licensed and present in-game.
But enough talk about the past. Virtua Tennis 2009 seems to be more of a remake of the 2007 version. Or, rather a refresh to today. It adds a few more tennis world champions, more mini games to upgrade your stats, and a few online options to play with your friends long hot matches while you comfortably sit at your desk or favorite couch.
I am mostly disappointed that nothing really changed though. My first impression of the game was that indeed it used 2007 graphics, even if every visual detail was maxed out.
Furthermore, up close, player models, faces, gear, and even some animations look bad. Music is probably uninspired, arcade-like, and sounds aren't awesome.
But despite all of my negative criticism, I forgot how fun the gameplay element was. VT literally sucks you in and you could end up playing for hours straight, without even knowing. It's a good thing I've limited my World Tour experience this time and focused more on "free run" matches - either exhibition or tournaments, picking some of the best players out there and see how a simulated version of them plays out.
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With a tough competition and heat coming from behind especially from all sports game company EA, SEGA still has the lead in this field, but will have to invest some more time into its next Virtua Tennis project for sure. Or should I say Sumo Digital instead, the actual developers, but I somehow think they go hand in hand.
The career mode, titled World Tour, will keep you busy for weeks as I mentioned before. The learning curve is strange, and at the beginning you will feel the game is way too easy. But sometimes along the way, a few hours and tournaments later, you will encounter some tough opponents that can really match and counter your play style.
Fear not, a defeat is after all, not the end of the world, be it virtual or not. Except if you play Russian roulette that is. So train more, boost your stats more and make a comeback in style.
Speaking of stats boosting - so many minigames, even if varied, can get to you, and having to perform them over and over again in order to boost a specific stat instead of playing tennis can be really annoying. But this is a matter of taste of course, some will love it, some will hate it. And I guess it's also specific for arcade consoles.
The real fun of this game comes from multiplayer, even if the AI does a fairly decent job in playing with you. It's the unpredictable nature of humans and chaos that comes with it that add the salt and pepper to climax game moments.
So play all the training you want, feel free to customize your character in every detail, even if you won't see it on the low res player models, but eventually please bring a buddy or start an online game, or you'll miss big time.
I won't be bickering and writing pages long reviews for Virtua Tennis 2009, because other than what I've said and what you can easily find in our previous Virtua Tennis 3 article, there's nothing left to mention.
Perhaps the two most common annoyances that weren't really fixed with this release: sometimes the player not hitting the ball when you push the return button early - you'll know when you'll start doing it; and the strange widescreen thing - disabling it still results in most announcement banners and texts to appear stretched. But other than that, there aren't many bugs to complain about, gameplay wise.
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Conclusion
Virtua Tennis 2009 is just a refresh of its two year older brother, Virtua Tennis 3. It doesn't bring any surprising new additions, and graphics, sounds and music are outdated. However, just as VT 3, 2009 still has that excellent gameplay element that will keep you playing it for hours and hours, and that great multiplayer experience enhanced now by some online modes.
Gameplay: 82
Pretty much the only part that shines right now in this game. Say what you want, but you can't say it's not fun.
Graphics: 66
Years old graphics that can only be seen on Wii consoles discourage any pretentious gamer to take a closer look at VT 2009. And if you don't have a widescreen, you feel somewhat at a disadvantage again, as most of the interface was made for this mode.
Multiplayer: 85
Great multiplayer and your experience can't be complete until you've tried playing with friends at least once - though you probably won't stop there.
Sound: 62
Sounds and music are uninspired - to say the least - and maybe more appropriate for arcade consoles. To be honest, you'd be better turning music off at all - it sort of gives a more lifelike feel to the game.
Hardware: 72
Even if the game isn't top notch, there are slight frame drops on special effects like motion blur or transitions. Other than that, the game runs decent on pretty much anything out there, so that would be a plus I guess...