Wii Sports Tennis was praised and
criticized for the same reasons. Some people loved that it was simple and
semi-inaccurate since it allowed everybody to play the game and at least feel
like they were swinging a racket – even if it was all in their minds. Others
hated it, arguing that we should have had 100% control over our racket’s
movement.
Many players appreciated the lack of
control over each Mii; by not having to worry about moving them around the
court, they could focus on the fun of swinging the Wii remote. At the same time,
other players wondered why we couldn’t control our Miis, believing that the Wii
should have only moved us forward in game control, even at the expense of
simplicity.
The Wii Sports Tennis arguments will
likely continue for as long as the console is on store shelves. Meanwhile, Sega
has a game it hopes will satisfy both groups: Virtua Tennis 2009. Designed to be
simplistic and somewhat complex, VT 2009 combines two familiar control schemes:
swinging the Wii remote in time with the ball’s arrival (like Wii Sports Tennis)
and moving your tennis player around the court (like the previous Virtua Tennis
games).
Assist Me, Oh Wise Controller
In Wii Sports Tennis, players swung,
flung and flicked their remotes to make their Miis execute a handful of swings.
If that wasn’t simple enough, VT 2009 offers an assist feature that throws a
swing meter onto the screen. When the little white line scrolls across the
middle, swing the Wii remote to serve or return the ball. If you’re a total
beginner (someone with zero tennis game experience), this feature is helpful.
Otherwise you’re going to want to turn it off – skilled players will no doubt be
distracted by the meter and likely miss a shot they could have lined up without
its presence.
Other than that, the controls are
fairly standard. When playing with just the Wii remote and Nunchuk, the swing
mechanics are not much more sensitive than Wii Sports Tennis. However, VT 2009
is compatible with the long-awaited Wii remote upgrade (Wii MotionPlus), giving
players a greater degree of swing maneuverability. The results aren’t
game-changing – Virtua Tennis is still Virtua Tennis. But it’s good to see a Wii
game with options.
Mini-games. Big Fun.
Virtua Tennis has never been a
series with the most game modes. VT 2009 is no different, offering only a
handful of options: World Tour (participate in several competitions and take a
player from the status of unknown athlete to a world-renowned superstar), VT
Coach (tutorial), multiplayer, quick game, and a mode for viewing medals and
other records.
Whether you like or loathe these
selections, almost everyone has enjoyed a Virtua Tennis mini-game. That legacy
lives on in the Wii version of VT 2009 with mini competitions like Meat
Defender, Pin Crusher, Pirate Wars, Block Buster, Avalanche and Alien Attack.
As before, the court is adapted to
meet the needs of each mini-game. In Pot Shot, it looks like you’re playing in a
giant pool table. Serving the cue ball, players must pot the pool balls by
swinging in their direction.
Avalanche is even more outrageous,
dropping large balls onto the court (your job is to avoid them and catch the
fruit instead). In Block Buster, you’ll instantly kill time by bouncing the ball
back and forth between a large block cluster resting in the middle of the court.
Pin Crusher, inspired by the world of bowling, is yet another great way to lose
yourself in the game; the accurate pin physics aren’t forgiving, ensuring that
your skills will be tested.
Visually, VT 2009 is certainly more
attractive than Wii Sports Tennis. But that game was barely a step up from stick
figures; to say that a game looked “better” is far from a huge compliment. That
said, the animations are fluid and the mini-game exaggerations (such as
over-sized tennis balls) are amusing. But if you’ve played or merely witnessed
the series before, even on Dreamcast (which came out in September ’99, for those
of you who lost track), the effects seem much less impressive. As any Virtua
Tennis fan can attest, the game has always looked good. This year, it’s starting
to look old.
Compared to other sports, tennis
hasn’t been given much attention on Wii. Aside from Wii Sports Tennis, there do
not appear to be any other success stories on the platform. It’s that lack of
exposure – and the fact that many people have yet to experience the Virtua
Tennis franchise – that guarantee it’ll have a welcome place in the homes of
many gamers. But if you’ve played the previous Virtua Tennis offerings, this
sequel might seem a little too generic (and if you prefer the motion-free
controls of other console, a little too awkward) to enjoy.
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Gameplay: 7.0
Virtua Tennis 2009’s motion controls don’t produce the game-redefining
effect you may have expected. But it’s a fun (albeit less surprising) sequel
that should appeal to those who haven’t played the series to death.
Graphics: 6.0
There’s no way this series would ever look as good on Wii as it does on PS3
and Xbox 360. But it doesn’t look like a game that really took advantage of the
hardware at hand. Rather, it looks like a game you could’ve played 10 years ago
(a statement I find myself making about a lot of Wii games these days).
Sound: 6.0
Nothing too bad or extraordinary; just, well, ordinary.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Virtua Tennis 2009 doesn’t seem like a game with too much bite, but once it
gets going, this can be quite the challenging game.
Concept: 5.0
Motion controls and other minor addition/enhancements aren’t enough to
refresh this classic series.
Multiplayer: 7.3
The best way to play Virtua Tennis 2009 is with other real players.
Overall: 7.0
If you’re a Wii-only player without other options, Virtua Tennis 2009 is
worth a few swings; otherwise, you might want to rent it and leave it at that.
