Addictive game alert! (Virtua Tennis (DC))

Member Name: pbyron

Product:	Virtua Tennis (DC)
Date:	15/04/01 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic tennis experience, very addictive

Disadvantages: none

It may not seem like the most likely sport for a winning console game, but Tennis games have been around in one form or another since the first days of computing, with Pong. Virtua Tennis takes up the mantle of the latest and the greatest tennis game to arrive on a console so far, it has all the ingredients of a classic game, and then some.

You start the game with an option to play a quick series of matches, go on a full world tour or enter the world circuit contest, with many training sessions and other goodies.

The basic game is very easy to get into and controls are very intuative, having only two buttons but at the same time allowing you lots of freedom for direction and speed of shots. Before long you will be vollying back and forth and grunting like a true tennis champion! There are three difficulty levels, and it's best to start on easy just to get used to the controls. The hard level will have you sweating as you try to keep trac of a lightning fast yellow ball cris-crossing the tennis court, but practice makes perfect and patience pays off here.

The training sessions found in the last option are a fantastic addition to the basic game and are just as much fun, if not more so. Games such as knocking the boxes off the court and a crazy bowling game using your tennis ball are very original and tremendous fun. You will find yourself coming back to these time and time again and they are extremely useful for practicing your technique as well as unlocking new characters and courts.

Shops in the world circuit are opened when certain levels are won and you can use the money you've earned in the matches to unlock all the countries and players, plus buy new kits and even new strings for your racket! This adds yet more longevity to the game and as the training levels get harder and harder you will often find yourself having just one more go to try and win that next player in order to complete the set.


Graphi
cs really shine in this game, famous players like Henman are mapped on to the faces of the games characters and in game graphics move very fluidly. If anything this is an improvement on the arcade machine. Sound too is good, re-creating that court atmosphere including all the grunts and groans from the players as well as the audience reactions.

Tennis has always been fun to play, but never more so than this Dreamcast port of the arcade classic. Much more fun than many other sports games out at the moment and so addictive it needs a warning sticker on the front of the box. A fantastic sports game.

Summary: