Binding: Video Game Brand: Sega Of America, Inc. EAN: 0010086510546 ESRB Age Rating: Teen Label: Sega Of America, Inc. Manufacturer: Sega Of America, Inc. Platform: Sega Dreamcast Publisher: Sega Of America, Inc. Sales Rank: 8007 Studio: Sega Of America, Inc.
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Tennis Evolved
This game is so hard it's not even fair. But the World Circuit mode will knock you down so far that it makes you want to try and beat it. The training mini-games are incredibly addictive and the low ranking you start with gives you something to aim for. This is a great game and is a true winner, even though its insanely difficult to master.
Rating: - Tennis fun?
i was very doubtful when i picked up this game at the thrift store for 3$ mainly becouse im not into tennis.
but boy was i mistaken!!!! this game is great the graphics are excellent and the controls are amazinng, usually i found other tennis games to be hard to control but not this game.
you can unlock different players and partners (for when you play doubles) and other cool stuff; by earning money in tournaments in carrer mode.
there are also tons of great fun minigames that you can play to help you play better (for example bowling with a racket!!)
This is a must have for any DC collector or for any one who just wants some awesome tennis fun!!!!!!!
ps. i think that there are some expansions for the xbox.. not sure though
Rating: - An utterly awful review I wrote 4 years ago
"Very fun but very frustrating"
Virtua Tennis is a simple and fun tennis game that anyone can pick up and play. However, there are two major problems with the game. They are the computer AI and the overly difficult challenges near the end of the game.
Gameplay: 7
Virtua Tennis has three different modes of play in which you can play both singles and doubles matches. In Arcade mode you basically play five tennis games. If you want to move on to the next opponent you must beat the current one. If you lose one match you are eliminated. In the Exhibition mode you just play one game with the players and court of your choosing. In the World Circuit mode you must travel the world and play matches of increasing difficulty. There are also training stages. In these you must do things like knock bowling pins down and smash boxes off of the court.
There are only two buttons in Virtua Tennis. The A button button is a regular shot and the B button is a lob shot. Lobbing hardly ever works. About 90% of the time you try a lob shot your opponent will smash an impossibly hard to hit shot back in your face. You can also dive for the ball. This almost never works. If you are lucky enough to be able to hit the ball when you dive it will usually go out or leave a very easy shot for your opponent.
At first there are eight players to choose from. By playing through the World Circuit you can unlock eight more. Each of them have their own strengths and weaknesses. While some of the players, like Tim Henman and Mark Philippoussis, are fairly well known, none of them are huge superstars. I really don't care about that though.
There are also ten courts to choose from. There are four different court surfaces that play quite differently. This is a very nice feature because your strategy slightly changes depending on what surface you are playing on.
Virtua Tennis can be very addictive. It is easy to sit down and spend many hours with this game. I found it hard to put down the controller after playing.
One flaw in the game is the computer AI. When you are playing the computer it seems like most of the time they have a pattern. Whatever side of the court you hit the ball from the computer usually hits it to the other side. I frequently found myself sprinting to the other side of the court before the computer player would even hit the ball. Your computer partner in doubles is even worse. He simply doesn't do his job. I have felt like throwing the controller through my TV screen many times because my partner would just stand there and let the ball pass him. The computer will also sometimes lunge into your side of the court to hit the ball.
Another thing I don't like about the game is how absurdly hard it is to get some of the special outfits. I have spent about five hours trying to get one of them but I still have not been able to do it. It's so frustrating it has actually given me a headache before.
Graphics: 8
Overall the graphics in Virtua Tennis are good. The courts are incredibly realistic looking and the players are pretty well done even though their reactions repeat frequently. The audience looks very bad when you see them up close. The backgrounds don't look very good either. The court looks so good that you probably won't often notice these things.
Music and Sound: 5
The music in Virtua Tennis is awful. You hear the same terrible rock music constantly while you play. It seems like it is the same music playing over and over again.
The sound is better. The noise the ball makes when it is hit sounds realistic. Each player makes a different sounding grunt. The announcer does nothing but announce the score after every point. Luckily there are no commentators.
Length: 6
The length of the game is fairly short. The World Circuit should probably take a few days to complete and the Arcade mode can be beaten in less than ten minutes.
Replay Value: 9
The game is so fun that it can be played over and over again without getting boring. I have played the World Circuit through twice and enjoyed it both times. It might start to get a little easy after a while though.
Overall: 7
Virtua Tennis is a good game with a few faults. It is definitely worth the price it now has.
Rating: - Best Tennis Game Ever Created for Sega Dreamcast!
This is one of the best tennis games ever created for the Sega Dreamcast.
Graphics: 10/10- Game takes FULL advantage of Sega Dreamcast's Graphics
Gameplay: 10/10- It feels like you really are playing tennis.
Difficulty: VARIES- You can choose the difficulty level that suits you best by going to the options menu.
Overall- 10/10 - If you own a Dreamcast, this is a must-have.
Rating: - doesn't work with Windows XP
I ordered this game, but cannot make any comments about it because I haven't played it yet. Why? Because the damn thing doesn't function with Windows XP!I have tried everything, am an experienced computer user, have played other PC tennis games, but for some reason, it is not compatible with XP. If someone out there can give me some information on how to use this game with XP, I wish you would e-mail me at jrryns@syd.eastlink.ca...on the box it says that it IS compatible with XP, but I'll believe it when I see it ..... I would like to use it with Microsoft Sidewinder plug n play, but I can't even get out of the starting gate. If you are using this game with Windows, please send me as much detailed description of how to get it going as you can.....Jerlaw
- Tennis Evolved
- An utterly awful review I wrote 4 years ago
- doesn't work with Windows XP
