Order on the Court- Virtua Tennis 2009 Reviewed
Virtua Tennis 2009 for the 360/PS3. Developer: Sumo Digital, Publisher: Sega. ESRB: E
If the Virtua Tennis series were a serve, it would contain a reliable windup, followed by a safe toss, culminating in a potent strike that would confidently clear the net. There would be neither an ostentatious display of skill nor any breathtaking display of speed, but rather an assured and reliable delivery. While the game showed a fantastic capacity as a sports title upon its release on the Dreamcast in 2000, the series has evolved little, comfortably growing in smaller increments with each subsequent season.
That’s not to say that Sega’s latest release of the franchise is a bad game. With its incorporation of wacky mini-games, Virtua Tennis 2009 might be the best all-around tennis game on the market. The title’s prudent trajectory has resulted in a game that is enjoyable, although not markedly different enough from its predecessor to make the game a compulsory purchase for clay-court fans.
The game’s activities, mechanics, and multiplayer options closely follow Virtua Tennis 3, Sega’s 2007 entry into the tennis sim realm. Sure, they are a handful of advantageous tweaks. Trying to hit a ball on the fringes outskirts of the player’s racquet range meant the virtual athlete was locked into a perilous dive animation. Now, your avatar merely stumbles, lessening the disadvantage. The functionality of drop shots, lobs, and slices has increased remarkably, especially when playing against human competition.
Since 2002, the series has included a slew of consummate mini-games that complements the on-court action capably. While these diversions serve to reduce the monotony of continuous matches, they also serve as a way for players to power-up their character in one of three disciplines. Favorites included Pot Shot, a game of pool on steroids, and Block-Buster, which has players eliminating giant color-coded bricks. Sadly, extended load times sap a bit of the activities whimsical charm. Since most of these endeavors feature a minimal amount of assets, the waiting time is nearly inexplicable.
Although the game’s often predictable A.I. opponents offer a modicum of challenge, VT 2009 comes alive when facing either local or online adversaries. Player can take their characters online for either a tournament or a ranked match, typical facing a swarm of bizarrely attired challengers, experiencing a match nearly liberated of lag. Since minigames are playable online or send information to online leaderboards, having a console connected to the internet is a prerequisite to fully enjoy Virtua Tennis.
Graphically, VT 2009 offers moments of high-definition sheen spoiled by occasional moments that imply the title’s Dreamcast heritage. Court venues may lack real-world licensing, but they are sufficiently detailed, realistically lit, and once the player climbs in ranking, tournaments are densely populated. While players can look peculiar in character portraits, on-court they are effectively animated. The series has always had expertly motion-captured athletes, and the dynamic movement in VT 2009 sustains this legacy. It’s a shame a few visual shortcuts undermine the game’s sharp visual richness; background trees are clearly single texture maps, while linesmen move in an unrealistic, synchronous manner.
For aficionados of the sport that don’t have a copy of VT3 in their library, Virtua Tennis 2009 is an agreeable pastime. It’s selection of mini-games offer variation from the main pursuit, while the title’s multiplayer competitions are the wholly enjoyable. Like a contestant eliminated from the final rounds at Wimbledon, we hope next year’s iteration of the game returns with a commitment to supremacy.
Virtua Tennis 2009 was reviewed on retail Xbox 360 code.
If the Virtua Tennis series were a serve, it would contain a reliable windup, followed by a safe toss, culminating in a potent strike that would confidently clear the net. There would be neither an ostentatious display of skill nor any breathtaking display of speed, but rather an assured and reliable delivery. While the game showed a fantastic capacity as a sports title upon its release on the Dreamcast in 2000, the series has evolved little, comfortably growing in smaller increments with each subsequent season.
That’s not to say that Sega’s latest release of the franchise is a bad game. With its incorporation of wacky mini-games, Virtua Tennis 2009 might be the best all-around tennis game on the market. The title’s prudent trajectory has resulted in a game that is enjoyable, although not markedly different enough from its predecessor to make the game a compulsory purchase for clay-court fans.
The game’s activities, mechanics, and multiplayer options closely follow Virtua Tennis 3, Sega’s 2007 entry into the tennis sim realm. Sure, they are a handful of advantageous tweaks. Trying to hit a ball on the fringes outskirts of the player’s racquet range meant the virtual athlete was locked into a perilous dive animation. Now, your avatar merely stumbles, lessening the disadvantage. The functionality of drop shots, lobs, and slices has increased remarkably, especially when playing against human competition.
Since 2002, the series has included a slew of consummate mini-games that complements the on-court action capably. While these diversions serve to reduce the monotony of continuous matches, they also serve as a way for players to power-up their character in one of three disciplines. Favorites included Pot Shot, a game of pool on steroids, and Block-Buster, which has players eliminating giant color-coded bricks. Sadly, extended load times sap a bit of the activities whimsical charm. Since most of these endeavors feature a minimal amount of assets, the waiting time is nearly inexplicable.
Although the game’s often predictable A.I. opponents offer a modicum of challenge, VT 2009 comes alive when facing either local or online adversaries. Player can take their characters online for either a tournament or a ranked match, typical facing a swarm of bizarrely attired challengers, experiencing a match nearly liberated of lag. Since minigames are playable online or send information to online leaderboards, having a console connected to the internet is a prerequisite to fully enjoy Virtua Tennis.
Graphically, VT 2009 offers moments of high-definition sheen spoiled by occasional moments that imply the title’s Dreamcast heritage. Court venues may lack real-world licensing, but they are sufficiently detailed, realistically lit, and once the player climbs in ranking, tournaments are densely populated. While players can look peculiar in character portraits, on-court they are effectively animated. The series has always had expertly motion-captured athletes, and the dynamic movement in VT 2009 sustains this legacy. It’s a shame a few visual shortcuts undermine the game’s sharp visual richness; background trees are clearly single texture maps, while linesmen move in an unrealistic, synchronous manner.
For aficionados of the sport that don’t have a copy of VT3 in their library, Virtua Tennis 2009 is an agreeable pastime. It’s selection of mini-games offer variation from the main pursuit, while the title’s multiplayer competitions are the wholly enjoyable. Like a contestant eliminated from the final rounds at Wimbledon, we hope next year’s iteration of the game returns with a commitment to supremacy.
Virtua Tennis 2009 was reviewed on retail Xbox 360 code.
Whats up with the vampire girl in the first picture? Uncanny valley dweller for sure.
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Mouths are all weird, its like you can see their teeth through their jaw sometimes.
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Is it better than the Sonic Tennis game they put out last year?
I cant believe there was SLOWDOWN in a tennis game. There were five things moving onscreen (doubles match)
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Sega Superstar Tennis? I noticed the slowdown only on doubles. Otherwise I liked the game.
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Seems like most sites are saying the multiplayer is where its at, but there's no rhyme or reason to ranked matches.
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I'm really glad they fixed the dive from the last game. That got to be how you beat people, and it was unrealistic.
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It's the year 2009 and people are still playing (a very fancy game of) PONG?!?!
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Tennis-Tetris looks f'ing amazing. I could probably play that for hours.
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I just wanted to let people know that you can reduce the 360 load times by installing to your HD. Pres the yellow button while on the big icon on NXE.
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People should have to install there games. The review should discuss the game as played, not via a workaround.
Plus on my 20 Gb, I have no room for a install.
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I'm still down for a little tennis once in a while. Is this good enough to make be quit Mario Tennis for the GC?
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Did Sumo make the Outrun remake. I thought Hitmaker was responsible for the VT series.
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Yep, Sumo (not the chair maker) took over for Hitmaker (who make the Crazy Taxi games)
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My buddy got it, played for four hours. I asked him how it was. He replied "meh" and told me he was going to try to return it for store credit.
The guy is usually happy with most anything. He even beat X-Blades!
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Wow, I give that guy credit. Or maybe he should seek professional help.
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I remember everyone was selling VT3 for about 15 bucks for a while. I can wait on this one.
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A 72 on Metacritic, so this seems fair
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/virtuatennis2009?q=virtua%20tennis
Some crazy Spanish site gave in an 85.
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The 85 is the top score it seems.
Why the hell does Metacritic include so many weird little sites? It links to all these non-English reviews. WTF?
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Is anyone going a comparison with the EA game? The one that looks all cartoony?
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The series has always been strange. They try to be all realstic and get the pro, then they have pool or bowling with ginormous pins.
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OMFG, a Sega game that didn't get an A+++?
It's a miracle.
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Thanks for the review. I've been following this one.
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I heard the single player game is a complete cake walk for the first 10 hours. True?
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Yes. The game breaks out an amateur tour and pro tour. You start ranked 100 in the amateur and 150 in the pro tour. With each tournament you move up about 2 to 6 spots depending on if you played both singles and doubles. It takes a LONG time to get to the Pro Tour where at least the first few matches I played there was also easy though the doubles started getting a bit more difficult (until I moved my partner up for net play and bothered to start hitting short angles).
I got my first character to the Pro Tour and started doing some of the Tennis Academy challenges to level him up. When I did this, it caused my ranking to go down, then inexplicably his ranking went up to 146 and got stuck there. This is apparently a known bug in the game, and from reading forums there are a lot of bugs to look out for. I've since started my 2nd character, but I haven't had time to take him to the Pro Tour yet.
The online play is great though a bit laggy at times. You can take your character online for a ranked match or use one of the real characters for a quick match. So far getting into a match has been pretty easy.
I'd suggest anyone thinking of picking this up, only buy this if you want it for the online play. Otherwise stick with VT3, which you can find for $15-$20 online.
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I never really got into the series. I guess you have to be a tennis/sports fan.
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Any Sega cameos? Dr. Robotnik or Billy Hatcher? How about Teri Hatcher?
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LOL. That would be scary. Teri, that is.
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There's a wii version too, are you guys going to review that?
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Yeah, I'd like to know how the WM+ works with this on the Wii.
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Despite the good, but not great reviews, I'm enjoying this one.
What you said about the load times is totally true, though.
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The players look like zombies up close.
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Sounds like a good game of Tennis, but why hasn't anyone made a GREAT game yet?
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A $20 pickup for sure. Did this come out at $60?!?!
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Hey, those are LEGO blocks in the pick. DO I smell a Lego Virtua Tennis Crossover?!?!
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Seems like the amount of hater-aide on the site has grown. I guess that's what happens with popularity
I miss the comments that weren't so mean-spirited.
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great review. I got it at launch and feel the same way. Good but not excellent.
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What's everyone favorite console tennis game. Mines Top Spin.
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Mario Tennis by a mile.
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top spin.
Good review!
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I'm not a huge tennis fan, but this game sounds like it could be fun.
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Top Spin 3 is a disk full of awesome. If this improves on that game, then I'll have to check it out.
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Yep, I'd also like to know how the wii version turned out.
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No real interest in a tennis game. I think it would get boring real quick.
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There hasn't been a good tennis game since "Super Tennis" for SNES ^_^
Anyways though in all honesty seems that tennis games even moreso than other sports games are repeats year after year with only slightly updated graphics. To me this game looks to fit into that mold. But that could just be a problem with tennis in general, just bouncing a ball back and forth.
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From what I've heard, the Wii version with MotionPlus is where it's at.
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