Virtua Tennis

So who remembers Virtua Tennis for the Dreamcast? If you remember that game then you’ll feel right at home with Virtua Tennis: World Tour for the PSP. Everything found in the Dreamcast version can be found on this version and that isn’t a bad thing. Get ready to serve it up with your favorite tennis players. The game features both modern day professional men and women in the game. All the way from Andy Roddick to Maria Sharapova are all available to play with.

Now if you had any time to play previous versions of Virtua Tennis you will be used to the controls immediately. You can use either the analog stick or the D-pad for moving your player on screen. I myself found the analog stick to be the most precise for moving my player on the court. The analog also works better when you getting ready to serve or to hit the ball. When you are preparing to strike the ball the direction of the analog or d-pad is facing is the direction in which the ball will be hit. The X, square, and circle button all represent different type of swings. The standard topspin shot is executed with the X button. The lob shot with the square button and the slice shot with the circle button. When you first start the game off the standard topspin shot will do you fine but get ready to use the other shots in the game as you progress.

The game offers you several different play modes to partake in. There is exhibition, tournament mode, multiplayer, and World Tour mode. Exhibition mode allows you to pick your player and then the computer will randomly select an opponent for you to play against. This mode is a good warm up for new players or players who just want to get in a quick set during a break. After you go and warm up in exhibition mode its time for a little more of a challenge. That’s where tournament mode comes into play. You’ll start off with a pretty simple opponent and then suddenly get smacked by higher skilled computer players. Multiplayer is tons of fun and will keep you entertained for hours. The multiplayer mode is pretty much exhibition but instead of the computer playing against you it is your friend sitting across the room. All three of those modes are still nothing compared to what the game is really all about and that is the World Tour mode.

In World Tour mode you get the chance to create a male and female player. You can choose skin color, hair, whether or not you wear a hat, placement of sweatbands, color of clothes, and weight and height. After creating these two players it’s time to get ready to bring them to the top of the tennis world. You’ll start off as pathetic players. No matter how many times you beat tournament mode or destroyed all your friends in multiplayer you won’t be the king of this tennis world that easily. Now to improve your player you must take part in several mini-games that are all over the world. Each game represents a certain skill you must improve. Before you start each mini-game you will have a set goal to reach. This has a small amount of role playing elements. You gain a little experience even if you fail the goal opposed to a great amount of experience you would receive for completing it. Luckily the mini-games are very fun and addicting to play. The min-games range from crushing cans with your feet as you volley all the way to serving the ball and trying to knock over bowling pins.

After you have all the fun you can with the mini-games it is time to take on the world. After each match your world ranking will increase or decrease depending on the results of the match. With each win you will receive prize money which can be used to buy a wide aria of tennis gear.

The graphics are definitely sharp and crisp. The courts are bright and colorful and will even smudge when you make a sudden stop as you are running. The courts definitely resemble the surfaces they do in real life. The character models are detailed and do resemble their real-life counterparts fairly well.

The sound of the game is decent. Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of music though. Music isn’t a big part of the game. The in-game sound effects are well done. The players will make a realistic grunt or moan as they smack the ball. You will also hear the ball bounce on the court and the racket spring as the ball is launched off the strings.