Virtua Tennis
Score: 85% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: Sports (Tennis)/ Arcade
Graphics & Sound: Once again, Sega has brought an arcade game right into your very own home in Virtua Tennis. The graphics completely speak for themselves with the incredible detail in each tennis player, court, and audience member. The graphics are completely unbelievable with the camera angles that are provided also. The facial expressions and fist pumping action are all detailed to perfection. The sounds and music in this are good as well. The music fits in, and isn't too annoying, even after a while. Then you have all the other sounds you would hear such as the slams, grunts, and the applause.
Gameplay: Obviously, the game is tennis. You start out with eight different guys to play with, each being from a different country. You also have the ability to unlock eight more players, along with different stadiums and clothes to wear. There are three different ways to play Virtua Tennis. First, you have the Arcade Mode. This is just basically "win and move on," kind of like any fighting game, only with tennis rackets. You play the computer, and each time you beat someone, the next competitor gets a little harder. Second, there is the Exhibition Mode, where you can either play a singles or doubles match. With that, you are able to play with up to four people, or with the computer. Third, there is the World Circuit Mode. This is your chance to prove to the world that you are the best tennis player around. You first start out ranked extremely low, and the only way to move up is to win some matches, obviously. There are plenty of different matches against plenty of different people, and they can take place on grass, a regular court, or clay. Believe me, the difference in the courts will affect your shots. You also have to complete some training courses, where you will be allowed to compete in more matches once they have been completed. The training courses will help your game, while being fun and challenging. Plus, the World Circuit isn't just a singles match all the time. You have to sign a player to a contract to be your doubles partner, just so you can compete in even more matches.
Difficulty: Another thing that I liked about Virtua Tennis is the difficulty. You can change the level of competition accordingly, just like any other regular sports game. But the great thing I found out is that the challenge lies within the player you select. Some guys have great power or accuracy, but can't run the court at all, and vice versa. That is the real difficulty, and that is why I like this game. No one player is like another.
Game Mechanics: The time it takes you to read this sentence is the amount of time it takes to load Virtua Tennis. Plus, your VMU won't be full, because Virtua Tennis only needs a few blocks of memory to save everything. On the topic of controls, it is pretty simple. Run, hit, slam, dive, all can be done with the greatest of ease and with the press of a button. If you like tennis, then you will definitely like Virtua Tennis because with the combination of the graphics, competition, and realism, it's as easy as game, set, and match.
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
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