Preview: Virtua Tennis 3 (PS3)
There was a time when Namco’s Smash Court Tennis ruled the court, however its reign was effectively ended when Sega served its ace in Virtua Tennis. That was back in 2001, and since then Sega has really failed to develop the series further, what with its sequel appearing on PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast to critical acclaim but little else. Now Sega hope to catch the early adopters purchasing a PlayStation 3 come launch day with the return of Virtua Tennis.
The third instalment in the series promises to build up on the winning formula without changing it to any drastic degree. At times the driving strength of Virtua Tennis is the pick-up and play aspect, with the simplistic controls containing a surprising amount of depth. Then there are the limitations: with only a small stable of professional players (20 in total) being included and the repetition of having to play them constantly to build up your player statistics. Yes, Gamestyle would certainly struggle to name twenty tennis professionals, but if only more were on show, each with different attributes and playing styles – if would improve the single player mode immensely.
The series has always good looked, but never like this thanks to the arrival of the next-generation machines. Those real life players that have been included in VT3 are impressive and move with all the graceful athleticism that we have seen in tournaments across the world. Now of course with the added benefit of high definition support and the power of PlayStation 3 you can create your own tennis pro. A core strength of the series has been the multi-player which always finds favour with everyone, including the harshest critics here at Gamestyle. This is when the sheer beauty of the controls allows almost everyone to participate and savour success almost instantly without learning special moves, or digesting a hefty manual.
“This is shaping up to be an outstanding title - a genuine next generation sports game,” said Matt Woodley, Creative Director of SEGA. “Instant appeal and all the best of the VT brand is being added to an array of new gameplay features. Virtua Tennis 3 provides a must have in-depth experience - though I'd say the graphics alone are reason to buy and the quality is so sharp and clear you can even see the veins on the players necks!”
Fans of the series will know that outside of the quick fire modes and multi-player, the real effort and satisfaction from Virtua Tennis is in the career mode. Here only hard work, persistence with constant training, will lift your player from high school prodigy to Andy Murray. That means trying your luck at tournaments (often losing badly), working out in the tennis academy and playing those fiendish but enjoyable mini-games. And it is a long and taxing path to the top of the world rankings.
While so much effort has gone into capturing and replicating those few real life professionals, other aspects of the presentation threaten to undermine the good work. See Virtua Tennis is all about the game itself, sometimes Sega take their eye off the ball and lose track of what other reasons fans will buy this game for. That means to experience the real world circuit, the drama of matches or at least some commentary on during rallies. If EA picked up the ball and took on a tennis title, it would certainly be different and more glamorous, but maybe (as we suspect) an also ran after the first serve has been made. We’ll know how this third entry in the series shapes up later this month.
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