Customer Reviews

Virtua Tennis 2009

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ok here my review:

I pre-ordered the game as I am a huge tennis-fan and always waiting for better and improved games to come out to the market. The game play is better than the previous Virtua Tennis. You can customize your players better than in the first game. Also this time you can buy equipment not earn it from winning tournaments.

But I have to say I would have expected Sega to work a little more on the graphics. The graphics in this Virtua Tennis is not as detailed as in the previous game, does not look like a game coming out in 2009. Another thing that I disliked about the previous game was that the tournament mode lets you play only 2 games and 1 set. Come on Sega, a tennis game goes up to 6 and has at least two sets, let us at least have the option to choose it... So I hoped that Sega would bring it to this game, but wrong hope... still only 2 games and 1 set :(

What I like better about this Virtua Tennis, is that now you play your way up against unknown players like in the real tennis rankings. In the previous Virtua Tennis you had to play against the top seeds right away which made the game kind off unrealistic. So for that good job. I just wished they would come out with a game that lets you play 6 games and more than 1 set.

But game play is much better than Top Spin 3. So all in all not an AMAZING game, but for tennis-fans like me, still a lot of fun ;)

I have been a fan of the VT Series from the beginning so I was really anxious to get the "sequel" to VT3, however I was a little disappointed. The Graphics didn't seem as polished as VT3 and they brought back the annoying original VT music (noise pollution). The ball is still way too big in the game which makes it feel cartoonish like the Wii tennis. The Drop shot is really hard to pull off.

Going through the Amateur tour is a pain, because even if you win tournament after tournament your ranking goes up very slowly. The mini-games are back with some new additions which are equally lame. But even though the graphics are average and the music bad (thank goodness you can turn it off), the game has some good qualities to it.

For the first time in the VT Series you have an amateur tour just like in real life, you play the junior and challenger series before you officially go pro, so that is a good add on. In addition you get to play wanna-be created characters in the amateur tour instead of playing the pros the whole time through the Tour in VT3.

The environment changes as you see the shadows creep across the court which is a new add on, plus the game gives you a better feel of the crowd being involved in your match. The Crowd is now 3D and before every match the camera pans over the stadium which gives you a feeling that you are really playing on a center court. Also SEGA fixed the annoying "dive" shot where in VT if you barely reach the ball you dive for it. Instead now you stretch for it and try to recover more normal.

Also I feel that in VT2009 the players are quicker and the ball goes through the court a little slower than VT3 which gives you more time to set up for your shots. Also I feel that in a way the ball bounced way too much in VT3 and I feel that VT2009 you hit the ball a little more flat which is good. I also feel that the Lob shot has been improved. In VT3 you would be very lucky to score on a lob, but now the lob feels like it goes deeper into the court.

There are new players in the game, but I'm still confused as to why they would have Davenport who is basically retired, and Juan Carlos Ferrero who is like outside of the top 100. I feel they could have added more updated characters like Juan Martion Del Porto or Gael monlifs, etc. I can tell this was a rushed game, but all in all its not a bad game. A little inferior to VT3 in some aspects, but some of the new features make up for it.

Pros: Amateur Tour, Game play, fast pace, updated players, more options in the create a player, more tennis gear to buy and wear.

Cons: Poor graphics, poor sound, getting your ranking to #1 in the amateur tour.


Over all: 7/10

I bought this game for around 25 bucks because I love Tennis and have never played a Tennis game for the Playstation console. It is worth it for the Career mode alone. You get to start from the bottom and work your way through the ranks playing hundreds of amateur and pro players along the way. Lots of stadiums, shots and players make this game a must for any tennis fan looking for a good game to play. Unless you need 1080p graphics or extremely flawless graphics this game is for you. There are a couple of glitches during game play, but it doesn't affect the game itself, and the graphics aren't "Top of the Line". Overall I am very happy with my purchase.

I have played this game for quite a while now. It can pass time away, but it definitely can get repetitive. I like tennis and I like playing tennis games. This game is a better multiplayer game in my opinion than a single player. The career mode starts off pretty good, but it really gets repetitive. I don't really know what they could do to fix that though. I do like the fact that you can buy your gear and unlock gear to buy by winning sponsership matches. I recommend this game, but I would say wait for the price to drop.

Almost everything you could want in a tennis game. I've been playing them since I got addicted on the TG16 and Sega has just hit the zone with this series. The AI is about as good as it gets in a modern pong. Load times are not great, but they don't detract from the fun too much. Graphic engine needs an update, as it looks a touch dated IMO. The amateur seasons leading to pro lets you build slowly overtime. That's a plus in my eyes. Re-playability is amazing. Quick matches, multiplayer and one of the best single player tour experiences. I've had the game for a couple months and it is still at the top of my play list. That's a great value for $20. I'm not that big on collecting trophies on most games. This one is actually pretty fun, as you slowly earn skills and a few trophies through the tennis academy. Which also teaches you some of the more advanced moves. Nice touch. Still room for improvement, especially on the players facial expresions and a few very minor glitches. So close to being perfect.

Great game. Hard to find at most GameStops nowadays. I'm told that Sega didn't receive many preorders for this game, so they didn't produce a lot of copies. But once word got around how awesome and fun Virtua Tennis 2009 is, the game flew off the shelves. Now, it's only available online or as a used copy. I remember playing this game when the original Sega Dreamcast came out. It was fun then and it's more fun now. Game play is (mostly) realistic, with players taking a second to gather themselves after running down a drop shot or racing across the baseline. Players' strengths are also pretty accurate (Roddick's service game, Nadal's strength and speed, Federer's all-around ... -ness). It's missing the fifth star in my rating for accuracy's sake. When playing in what is meant to be the All England Club at Wimbledon, the players aren't wearing all-white, as is tradition. They should have included that in the game. Other than that, Virtua Tennis 2009 IS AWESOME!!!

Virtua Tennis 2009 is my first tennis video-game. I like it, but it could greatly benefit from more levels of complexity, so that higher levels could be more realistic and dificult.

The game is good and if you're a tennis fan you'll enjoy it. You can be Federer, Nadal, Roddick etc. IF you only play against the computer its not much of a challenge; particularly the world tour mode though that is fun anyway. Arcade mode on hard is almost impossible to beat. My main criticsm of the game is that when you play arcade match you end up playing to much against the Nalbandians, Deavid Ferrers and Juan Carlos Ferrors and not enough against Blake, Roddick, Djokovic, Nadal, Murray etc.

I am a bit loathe to keep buying a game with only slight variation, but I think Virtua Tennis 2009 is worth the update, I just wish it were cheaper.
For me, this is all about the game play. VT 3 was a real mixed bag. The volleying seemed like a waste of time unless you were the computer, which had the volleying skills of a true champ. Lobbing seemed fine against humans but again, against a computer, forget it. Lob might not as well exist. And the constant diving to the floor for shots that are actually within reach. For the first time ever, I just couldn't get past the frustration of playing and basically stopped.

I had read VT 2009 cleaned up some of these problems and I am happy to report they have with a few new problems. Characters no longer dive around the court. They may stumble, but the mechanic seems at least more reasonable and does not have the complete frustration associated with it.
Lobs seem not perfect but more effective. And volleying is actually possible. Thank goodness for that.

Oh - and the sound effects of the crazy static noise of people running around on grass are gone. Thank you!

Some weird things are that I can't manage to do a drop shot anymore, which used to be a fairly simple mechanic. I just never make it happen so I'm not sure what that's about. Also, in a point, once in a while, the game pauses for a split second. Like it needed to process something. It doesn't really get in the way, but I see no reason why it's happening at all. Like... at all, since it's never happened in the other three versions of the game.

With friends, this is a blast. A BLAST! And adding online... while it seems a bit weird (you think you hit it past a character only to have the ball pause, the opponent catch up, and THEN hit it back), it works well enough and I was able to have a fun, intense match with a guy in England.

So overall... worth it.

this is definately a great upgrade from the last title. more minigames, an even bigger world tour, a better create mode, new players like Andy murray, Novak "Nole" Djokovic, David Ferrer, Ana Ivanovic, Kuzy, (the sucky thing is they had to they out Gael Monfils)
i would've given this a five star if it weren't for the lag, whether you're playing online or offline, this lags (lags much worse online) hopefully they create a patch to fix this. the lagging really takes the fun out of this game.