22, live in North Wales. I've done quite a few reviews that aren't on Ciao here: http://www.gamesboo...
22, live in North Wales. I've done quite a few reviews that aren't on Ciao here: http://www.gamesbooksfilms.com :)
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Over the years Sega have built something of a reputation when it comes to producing quality arcade games – Streets Of Rage, SEGA Rally and Virtua Racing (perhaps distantly related to Virtua Tennis?) to name just a few. All these titles received home-console adaptations; proudly showcased as ‘exclusives’, and naturally released only on Sega’s own machines.
Virtua Tennis 2, first released into the arcades back in 1999, was no different – Sega hoped it would help spearhead the challenge of their new next-generation console, the Dreamcast. However, times change and arcade games seem to have gone out of vogue somewhat in the 21st century, and by 2002, Sega’s dreams of a Dreamcast-lead industry had evaporated following the machines failure to sell. Sega decided to finish with the tiresome business of console-making and instead focused on releasing games on a variety of platforms. Soon, Sonic was appearing on Nintendo’s consoles (something I never thought I’d see), and in 2002, the one-time exclusive Virtua Tennis 2 made a belated showing on the PlayStation2.
There’s been many a murmur suggesting that Virtua Tennis 2 (VT2) is the best tennis game money can buy – though there’s relatively little in the way of serious competition; the one exception being 1999’s excellent (if rather lengthily-titled) Anna Kournikova’s Smash Court Tennis, which despite being a PSOne title, remains the game to beat and the benchmark from which VT2 will be judged.
As it says on the case, its tennis, and as such VT2 features all the modes that you would expect from a game of this ilk; Exhibition and Multiplayer are the
more obvious choices on offer, whilst the World Tour is where the majority of the games lifespan is to be found. Rather cleverly, it allows you to create a male and female tennis player, train them both up, enter them into a plethora of singles and doubles events on the world circuit, before teaming them up in mixed doubles contests.
Win matches and trophies in the World Tour set-up and you will be rewarded with a cash prize and an increase in your world ranking position. The money you earn can be spent on new courts, clothing, shoes and racquets for your two players – a nice idea, and although the Create-A-Player designs are woefully underdeveloped (you only have a choice of 4 faces for each player!), the variety of extra accessories is quite excellent.
The training sections are the most successful innovations on offer here. Much like in a role-playing game, your players have a range of statistics that include forehand, backhand, volley, movement and serve characteristics, and like in an RPG, completing various training campaigns will ‘level-up’ your character, helping them become stronger in various areas and ultimately, better competitors.
Virtua Tennis 2 is excellent in some areas, yet strikingly mediocre in others. At times, it feels like it can’t decide whether it is trying to be an accessible arcade-game or a more-realistic, simulation-based representation of the sport, and sometimes falls uncomfortably between the two. Whilst it boasts real (if slightly outdated) players in its roster, there are nowhere near enough of them – only eight male and eight female stars are represented, and this means you’ll find yourself playing against the same opposition with alarming frequency. On the flipside of this, there are lots of tournaments to enter and yet they all seem a bit half-baked; comprising of between 1 and 3 matches, many of which last as little as two games, meaning entire events can be polished off in just a matter of minutes.
Importantly though, it scores highly in the gameplay department. The controls are nippy and not too difficult to pick up, and the players movements and mannerisms are pleasingly realistic – if the ball is coming at you from a wide-angle, your player may stretch or even dive to try to reach it, whilst quick changes of direction can lead to the loss of footing or a slide. Matches can be very exciting and closely-fought, although as they are gauged in games rather than sets, the fun is often short-lived. On the downside, hitting outright winners can be an unnecessarily tricky business, as the computer opponent often resorts to just planting themselves against the billboards at the back of the court if you are getting the upper hand on a point, meaning even wide-angled shots are unlikely to beat them, and it becomes particularly frustrating when they decide to play a lob shot; something that rarely ever pays off when attempted by a human player, but is executed with near-perfect accuracy every time by the A.I. opposition.
Considering it’s a port of an ageing Dreamcast game, Virtua Tennis 2 actually looks quite nice. The courts are awash with colour and nicely designed, and though they lack the kind of imagination that made Namco’s Smash Court Tennis series such a joy to behold, they are nevertheless, at times, rather lovely-looking. It’s perfectly solid and extremely smooth, and allows for the often-frenetic action to take place unimpeded; the only real criticisms in this department being that the ball is occasionally difficult to pick up against the colour of the court surface, and the crowd react like robots after each point and look very strange. Presentation-wise it fares well – menus are glossy and easy to navigate, so it’s unlikely that even the most inexperienced of novices will become lost in anything too technical.
Sound is also of a high-quality – the music may not be all that memorable, but cheers from the crowd, squeaking of trainers, grunts of effort from the players, umpire calls and the pounding of ball-on-racquet help to create the atmosphere of televised tennis match, so credit to Sega here.
Where VT2 loses out most is in its lack of serious longevity. Anna Kournikova’s Smash Court Tennis delivered around three times as many players in its roster (including a host of unlockable guest stars, which isn’t the case here), as well as significantly more depth to the one-player experience. VT2’s World Tour mode is great, and highly-addictive, though it can be polished off in just a few days, leaving only the multiplayer mode to really offer up any lasting play. However, the aforementioned Smash Court Tennis beats it easily even in the multiplayer setups, meaning that the only attributes VT2 has over Namco’s ageing classic is a small selection of real players, some nice training features and snazzier visuals.
It is of course suitable for all ages, and given the progressive nature of the World Tour mode, beginners should be able to work their way into things as effectively as gaming veterans. It seems more accessible than most tennis games (or maybe I’m just getting used to playing them!), and provided you’ve got at least one other person to play it with, there should some genuine fun to be found.
Virtua Tennis 2 is a playable, well-crafted tennis game. It’s main problems lie in the fact that it was quite a few years old when ported to the PlayStation2 – this means many of the players featured are retired or no longer at the top of the game, and whilst the visuals have survived the test of time fairly admirably, the lack of long-term play damages the package considerably, and means its probably wiser to rent than to buy. Perhaps Virtua Tennis 3 (if there is to be such a game) should have a greater selection of players, the option to play longer matches and a more-developed World Tour mode. If you are after a tennis game that is just as much fun but has far greater substance, look to Anna Kournikova’s Smash Court Tennis on eBay for just a couple of quid, as much like Andre Agassi, it’s proved that age doesn’t necessarily stop it from being a superior competitor.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Virtua Tennis 2on PS2 adds nearly every element fans of the Dreamcast's excellentVirtua ... more
Tennislonged for. The game features eight female players, including the Williams sisters and Monica Seles, along with eight male players, including Patrick Rafter a...
Postage & Packaging: £1.94 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Great realism of players and play styles, just great fun! Disadvantages: Gets slightly repetitive after 2 world tour modes, no online, lack of players.
Apr 1st, 2005
very helpful by (98%):
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