Virtua Tennis

by Sega Of America, Inc.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004SR5M
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: April 26, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,139 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Editorial Review

Even if you're not fond of sports titles in general, the simple pick-up-and-play feel and speedy on-court action in Virtua Tennis make it a worthy addition to any game library. Sega did an excellent job making sure even those unfamiliar with the rules and strategy of tennis will be able to jump right into the game. With a little practice you can pop lobs, perform an overhead smash, or even return the ball with a through-the-legs trick shot.

Starting the game presents three game modes. Arcade mode is a direct translation of the coin-operated arcade game in which you must defeat five challengers in order to win a championship. Exhibition mode allows you to choose a player and then challenge any of the other available tennis players in singles or doubles matches. World Circuit mode casts the player as a tennis superstar, touring the world and competing for heaps of cash and worldwide rank.

If you're looking to play as one of the top tennis aces in the world, you're going to be disappointed. No Sampras, Agassi, or any other tennis giants are to be found. Rather, you're stuck with 16 smaller names including Jim Courier, Carlos Moyà, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite the recent boom in popularity, the women's tennis circuit is unfortunately completely absent.

Sega's presentation and graphics are very well done and could almost be mistaken for a real televised match. Details such as the crowds, line judges, and instant replays look stunning. It's a shame that Virtua Tennis doesn't feature the famous venues and tournaments of real tennis, but the game's imitation stadiums in England, New York, and France look close enough to be recognizable. The player graphics are fantastic. Each player displays plenty of detail in everything from facial expressions to sneaker logos. Both the TV-style overhead view and the behind-the-shoulder viewpoints feature animation that's almost always ultrasmooth and is guaranteed to keep your eyes glued to the screen. --Mark Brooks

Pros:

• Amazing graphics
• Easy to play yet hard to master

Cons:

• You can play as real tennis players, but not as tennis superstars
• Strictly arcade--not particularly deep gameplay

Content advisory: No objectionable content

Product Description

Directly translated from the popular arcade stand-up, Virtua Tennis offers a light-year jump from the Pong-style tennis of yesteryear. Sporting rich 3-D graphics, crisp animation, and realistic sound effects, you'll swear you're courtside at a grand slam. But, thanks to the game's simple controls, you won't have to spend years at a tennis camp just learning a backhand. The game features hard-top, grass, and clay surfaces, all with distinct ball-bounce and sound responses. Choose one of eight internationally ranked tennis pros and play against advanced computer opponents, or plug an extra controller in and play a friend head to head. Just as in real championships, ball boys, chair umps, and even spectators react to your game.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Unexpected Surprise, August 6, 2000

By 

"noashtray" - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Virtua Tennis (Video Game)

Not many tennis games keep me interested for long, but this isn't the case with the addictive play in VIRTUA TENNIS. The graphics are stunning as players look lifelike and the courts truly look as though you're playing at Wimbeldon or the French Open. The gameplay is simple, but also presents a challenge to master, especially in heated two-player matches. The two-player singles matches seem to always be competitive with several games coming to deuces. The world circuit mode isn't as difficult as some here have said, but it has kept me busy with the many levels and training modes that must be completed. I'm not sure why Sega chose not to include women, but it surely was a mistake. Actually, I think more people recognize Davenport, Hingis, Seles, and the Williams sisters than they do the men, besides of course Sampras and Aggasi who are absent in this game. A deeper world circuit mode, more options, and obviously more players would have helped make this game better, but overall there's not a better tennis game available. This game puts WORLD SERIES BASEBALL 2K1, which was released around the same time with more hype, to shame. I can't wait for the sequel to VIRTUA TENNIS

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Game, Despite It's Many "Faults.", July 13, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Virtua Tennis (Video Game)

Since being an avid tennis fan (and player) for over 11 years, I have always looked forward to a new tennis release regardless of which console it was for. When I first heard about Virtua Tennis coming to the Dreamcast, I could hardly wait to get my hands on it. When I did get it, my first impressions were nothing short of awe. The stadium renderings, player animations, and sound effects were mind blowing (similar to the effect that NFL 2K had on me).

The menu setups were easy to navigate and I was able to get started within 30 seconds. Load times are extremely fast with virtually no waiting time. The game menu is set up with exhibition matches (for 1-4 players) and a World-Circuit (1P) which features a training mode and tennis shop. Training matches help you to learn ball movement, shot power, shot selection, and other skills required to compete with top circuit pros. These training matches are conducted using simple yet inventive drills that you must complete within a certain time frame before moving on.

I was highly impressed with player movement where a player could not stop on a dime, turn and run the opposite way of their forward momentum, and still hit a good return. I also liked the way a player would lunge forward to hit a short ball which would cause him to stagger a bit before a complete recovery. I noticed that players tend to dive for just out of reach shots a bit too often, including on a hard court surface. Ouch!

Many little details can be found in this game which are great. For example: when on clay, temporary footprints are left and dust clouds are visible with each step. During instant replays, a player will fix his sleeve, chat with his doubles partner, grit his teeth, or pump his fist. While the player animations are cool, instant replays aren't all that spectacular due to the brevity of the cut scenes

The actual game play is very simple. While the simplicity is good for those who are casual tennis fans and is very easy to pick up (learning curve about 10-20 minutes), it can be somewhat annoying for those who want more simulation type game play. For instance, there is no distinction between a topspin offensive lob and a defensive lob. Two very different shots which you have no choice of selecting. There is no slice/chip shot (as a defensive recovery shot or a chip and charge) selection either. The A button hits the ball, the X button lobs the ball. That's it! There is no drop shot or drop volley as well.

The movement of the ball is easy - hold the stick or D-Pad to the left to hit it to the left, move the stick or D-Pad to the right for it to go to the right. A problem develops when you want to control the depth of your groundstroke. To do this, you must move the pad or stick "up" for greater depth into your opponent's court or "back" for a shallow shot. When you press up for a deep shot, your player tends to move forward as well - and if you hit several consecutive deep shots, you will find your player in "no man's land" right around the service line. So, you constantly have to adjust your player by bringing back to the baseline after every deep shot you hit (or, back up to the baseline if you were hitting short balls). As far as judging the ball from the recipient's standpoint, gauging the ball's trajectory is fairly simple.

Another problem I have is the serve. While it is easy to perform a serve, there is virtually no distinction between a Mark Phillopoussis service and say, a Jim Courier serve. Everyone looks to have the same speed serve depending on how high your service power meter is. You will never beat a player on a speedy serve (because they are all the same). Utilizing angles is the only way that you can ace an opponent.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Virtua Tennis is the lack of players to choose from. I can't comprehend how Sega can put in every MLB and NFL player in their respective Sega Sports titles but only include 8 real life male tennis pros (with a few non selectable fakes). And these guys aren't exactly players that have a huge fan base: Jim Courier (now retired), Mark Phillopoussis, Tim Henmen, Cedric Pioline, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, are probably the most popular of the 8. You can't tell me that Agassi is still under contract with Tekmagic or whoever made that horrendous Genesis title back in 1991(?). Where is Patrick Rafter? Pete Sampras? Jan-Michael Gambill, and the others? The option of creating a player would have been a great idea. That way, I could perhaps "create" an Agassi or Rafter. Sega has never been shy on spending cashola for a top name for their sports titles. What happened here?

Conclusion: The speed is just right and the player movements and sounds are pretty sharp. Despite it's drawbacks, it is a very fun and fast paced game to play. It does offer alot of replay value with the two-player mode but I fear the AI on CPU opponents will cause the single player mode to grow stale after a month or two (they aren't very bright). If you like tennis and are searching for a simple and realistic looking tennis title, then look no further. However, if you are searching for a tennis sim - like I was, you may want to rent Virtua Tennis first. But if you DO buy this game without having played it first, I am pretty confident you will still enjoy it quite a bit. It's a pretty good game despite its "faults." I guess I just had my expectations too high. I would give this game 3.75 stars.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW, TENNIS ANYONE?, July 14, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Virtua Tennis (Video Game)

VIRTUA TENNIS is the first game for this sport on the DREAMCAST, and i can easily say this is the best sports game so far. In less than a year the dreamcast has totally blown away the competition(my sony playstation & nintendo 64 live peacefully in my attic,R.I.P.)and in that time the beauty of it`s game`s has been amazing(see SOUL CALIBUR,NFL2K & NBA2K,ETC.),but this game takes the cake! The game allows up to 4 players to play against eachother,the graphics are truely amazing,the game takes only about 1 minute to get the hang of, the computer A.I.(artificial intelligence) is great and last,but not least, this game is the most addictive and fun time that you can have standing on two feet! Now what else could you possibly ask for? GO BUY IT,IT`S AMAZING!