Review: Virtua Tennis 3 (360)
It's been a while since the last Virtua Tennis game and Gamestyle would be lying if we said we didn't miss it. One of the highpoints of the Dreamcasts' short lived, yet exceptional career; we've been eagerly anticipated the third entrant in the series for quite a while now - and it's good to know that it doesn't disappoint.
For single player thrills Virtua Tennis 3 doesn't really do anything to expand on the first two games. The world tour has a few bells and whistles fastened to it, but it is virtually untouched. This is probably the only fault that can be levelled at the game, and this isn't to say the single player is lacking. We found plenty of fun rising up the world rankings and training up our custom made character; and the previously mentioned bells and whistles that are added do improve the game. You receive messages from your trainer giving you advice or telling you about some new clothes you've just acquired. The pro stars also make an appearance, either challenging you to a practice match or just popping up to offer you a word of advice or encouragement, which is pretty pointless, as up close the characters no longer look like zombies (like in the first Virtua Tennis) but don't look particularly stunning.
Training your character is done through a bunch of wacky and wonderful mini-games that improve each part of your repertoire. A few new ones have been added to the mix although the concept for each is virtually the same as before, these can range from dodging giant tennis balls and collecting fruit to playing tennis bingo. They are cleverly thought out and the unique nature of them should really tell you that this is a game that, thankfully, doesn't take itself too seriously.
When you get onto the court the real fun begins. With just a standard shot, slice and lob mapped to the controller you needn't worry about mastering the control setup; as soon as you pick the game up you'll be able to play it immediately. Your chosen player has some excellent animations and it's always a delight when long rallys degenerate into diving across the court hoping to get that last big hit. However there is one glaring fault, which can be levelled at the world tour. The difficulty gap between each level is the size of the grand canyon. You'll breeze through the level 1 tournaments and mini-games, then level 2 hits you in the face, and after you finally manage to pass that punishment level 3 comes along and has an even larger difficulty gap. This was a problem with the previous Virtua Tennis games and it is disappointing to see it remains in place.
While it's the same old game in single player the online play really makes VT3 stand out. The usual ranked and player matches are here letting you to take part in single's or double's with either a single match or tournament to compete in. Amazingly lag free, we never lost a point where we felt the blame lied with our opponents connection. What really makes online play stand out from most is the introduction of VT TV. Standing for Virtua Tennis TV, here you can watch other players matches and learn how the pro's play the game. So imagine if you're taking part in a Virtua Tennis tournament on some message board. You can add your next opponent to your friends list, then work your way through the leaderboards, find their name and select the option to view their last match. So with some clever studying of their play style you can find out what their strengths and weaknesses are. Do they like to rush to the net? Or do they like to stand back ad use hard hitting tactics? This feature is something we'd like to see more of in future, competitive online games.
Virtua Tennis 3 is a welcome addition to the series. While the world tour is only an updated version from previous games and a better roster of players would've been nice (Scottish fans will be disappointed by the absence of hero Andy Murray); there is still plenty to enjoy. The players no longer look like white faced zombies and the online mode is one of the best we've experienced so far. So if you want an arcade alternative to the only other 360 tennis game - Top Spin 2 - then VT3 may satisfy your needs.
Rating: 8 / 10
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