Virtua Tennis 3 (PS3)

...and being produced by Sega, Virtua Tennis 3 was always going to sell well and get crave reviews, but has the game itself evolved enough to stay up there with the overhaul of new games already destined for the PS3? Plainly the answer lies whether or not you are a tennis fan or not as we shall see below.

Its predecessors before it, Virtua Tennis 2 (PS2) and Virtua Tennis World Tour (PSP) have always been considered as dominating the ...
...in the majority of areas, Virtua Tennis 3 lives up to that hype. Highly detailed face mapping has been used to ensure the up-most reality of the players themselves. Face lines and muscle outlines give players realistic features such as cheek bones and simple animation such as blinking really amplifies the illusion. Graphics themselves are quite grainy which actually works well meaning that skin reflection is of highest detail and the lighting itself ... more

Being used as one of the launch titles for the PS3 and being produced by Sega, Virtua Tennis 3 was always going to sell well and get crave reviews, but has the game itself evolved enough to stay up there with the overhaul of new games already destined for the PS3? Plainly the answer lies whether or not you are a tennis fan or not as we shall see below.

Its predecessors before it, Virtua Tennis 2 (PS2) and Virtua Tennis World Tour (PSP) have always been considered as dominating the 'tennis market' for gamers on Sony's machine, so it was no wonder that this game itself has been hyped up. Graphically in the majority of areas, Virtua Tennis 3 lives up to that hype. Highly detailed face mapping has been used to ensure the up-most reality of the players themselves. Face lines and muscle outlines give players realistic features such as cheek bones and simple animation such as blinking really amplifies the illusion. Graphics themselves are quite grainy which actually works well meaning that skin reflection is of highest detail and the lighting itself shadows parts of the face. The eyes on all characters are impressive as they really give away emotion when winning a point or losing it. Outfits are true style to the players also, so seeing Venus Williams in her trademark pink and black outfit will please some whereas Nadal's orange top and bandana will please others.

Stadiums are all constructed well allowing shadows to be grafted in certain areas to give the impression you really are playing on a court. Spectators are not just cardboard cut-outs anymore and actually move about in anticipation to the match (not that you'll notice anyhow) but it is nonetheless a nice touch. As to be expected, sponsor names and brands are plastered all over the stadium with true life features. Adidas, Reebok and Evian take over billboards and stadium walls to promote their 'gear'. Courts themselves look good too. Grass courts vary in style so some may be worn down more than others and the effects show. Clay courts vary in colour also adding to the content. However no official license is in the game meaning official tournaments and courts have merely been copied and changed a little. It is really easy though to see which court is meant to represent the real life counterpart.

Animation is great also seeing a slight increase in realism and fluidity. Players move around with precise action and placement of your character is essential to performing a shot correctly or not. Hitting the ball sees an increased attention to detail also. It really is fantastic to see how your character lunges into the ball to hit a powerful shot, but then see the fine detail and flick of the wrist and racket to see a drop shot be executed. Characters also greet you sometimes especially if they either like you or dislike you (World Tour Mode) and the animation seen is great. Characters look either happy or sad, ecstatic or miserable as they approach you.

All is not great however. When you create your own unique player in World Tour, you can't help feel that your character looks second best to the rest of the players to choose from. The facial effects are there but you can tell easily that it is a made up character. The 'grainy' effect is gone and you end up not wanting to look at your character. Also my female character had long hair in a pony tail. As she bent down waiting to receive a serve, the hair popped through her neck dangling about and it really put me off.

Also on the back of the cover it says :

'Watch your winning shots in an amazing TV-style replay'

In a sense this is true. As many will agree watching a reply on TV sometimes is like watching a bodged up attempt at showing you what has happened. The problem is the ball moves too quickly and the camera can never keep up with it meaning you don't actually see what your suppose to see. This is exactly the same in the game. Even sometimes your player takes up the entire screen meaning you don't actually see the shot either. Poor effort and poor execution I'm afraid.

One of the main reasons why the Virtua Tennis series has become so popular is the simple pick up and go technique that the game uses. Number 3 is no different. Certain buttons on the controller dictate what type of shot your player uses. For instance one does lob, another slice and another topspin. This is easy for beginners to learn from whilst advanced players will still be able to mix up shots to defeat tough opponents. Serving is very similar pressing one button starts off the meter whilst pressing it again stops it and the higher the meter the more powerful the serve.

However all of us tennis gamers out there no it's never that simple. Using the directional buttons gives you the power to direct perfectly created angles or using the entire width of the court either by using a long shot or short one. Utilising a mixture of groundstrokes and volleys, both fast and slow means you can wrap your match up quickly and get those trophy's.

However by excluding an online feature, Virtua Tennis 3 introduces a new feature very similar to the Wii. By using the motion sensors on the controller you can swing the controller from side to side to perform different shot types and move your character. By tilting your controller forwards your character moves forward whilst moving it backwards moves your character backwards … simple? Well not exactly. By sweeping the controller in a semi circular direction to the left causes a topspin shot to used and right causes a slice etc. In theory it sounds fun, executes easily and adds originality into a somewhat repetitive genre. In theory yes, but in reality it's a shambles. You soon forget which movement does what shot and in more difficult tournaments you get into a frenzy in what direction you need to tilt, twist or move. The action also needs to be perfect as well otherwise the sensor becomes confused and does the opposite of what you want. I'm sure that with practice this can be mastered but truthfully it's more of a hinder that a step forward.

As with most tennis games a few options are available to choose from. Exhibition - a one off match that's totally customizable from stadium to player. Tournament - a set number of matches each progressing in difficulty where you can play in singles or doubles. Mini-Games - a few 'fun' party games that add a variety into the tennis game. World Tour - perhaps the in depth mode of all games.

Virtua Tennis 3 has all of the above and executes them in the same way. The Party Games are meant to be fun but fail in every way. Trying to beat your opponent at a game of serve skittles gets you nowhere and trying to feed crocodiles by using volleys is just lame.

World Tour actually doesn't differ much from Number 2 or World Tour on PSP. You create your character and then enter a world map screen and move around simply playing tournaments of different levels then training your character by playing these mini games. Tournaments do range quite nicely actually with over 25 available - all requiring a certain ranking to enter them. The higher the ranking needed the more difficult the tournament. However I found that the tournaments are either 3 matches long descending, so either 3, 2 or 1 match. No sets here either just a number of games required like 2 or 3. This plays out well in an arcade style and fits in well with the pick up and go style of play, but to be honest it gets tiresome easily.

The Male tour perhaps is more interesting simply because there are more male players in the game:

Roger Federer
Andy Roddick
Rafael Nadal
David Nalbandian
Tim Henman
Tommy Haas
James Blake
Lleyton Hewitt
Mario Ancic
Taylor Dent
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Sebastien Grosjean
Gael Monfils.

The choice above is quite justified apart from Tim Henman, who actually falls rank by rank every week now and Sebastien Grosjean who truthfully has played downhill. The nice range of differing styles of play are great so if you fancy playing as someone who is fast and strong then Nadal is a great choice, whilst Gael Monfils is an all rounder.

In game, Male matches are fast, fuelled and at times exciting. It's easy to see a difference whilst playing as male players as their animations are different when shots are hit. However an annoying element is how they leap on to the floor every time a ball is a little too wide. This disrupts the fluidity of the match and quickly gets annoying.

The Female tour is extremely frustrating as there are only seven players to be against:

Maria Sharapova
Lindsay Davenport
Venus Williams
Amelie Mauresmo
Daniela Hantuchova
Nicole Vaidisova
Martina Hingis

The choice here is appalling, as much as a fan of Davenport I am, she no longer plays and Venus Williams is now lowly ranked compared to host of others. I also get the feeling that some people will see this as discrimination. The WTA Tour has increased not only in more prestigious players but also in popularity amongst the fans, possibly recognised by all major tournaments now who give equal prize money to female players and male players. This game does not do justice to a whole range of players on the tour. The range of style of play available is also disappointing. Sharapova, Williams and Vaidisova all play similarly as does Hingis and Mauresmo.

In game, Female matches are on the whole slower than male matches and the animation for shots are different as more 'lady-like' stances are seen as well as stretching when the ball is wide. This 'stretching' actually works more comfortably than the leap men do and it really splits the games apart.

Whilst playing as your created player in World Tour mode, you'll soon be approached by the real players offering practice matches, advice and friendly messages. You'll actually get a rival, but of course it's a friendly one at that. When you start the mode you start off at rank 300 and work your way up. Other games include players as the other ranks for example 222nd or 56th, but VT3 doesn't just the choice of players above, so it's likely you'll play the same opponents together in a short space of time. This is extremely frustrating.

As already mentioned the mini games offer the chance to train up and increase your stats in particular areas. As with other tennis games, it's entirely up to you in what style of play you make your custom player. So if you fancy creating a serve and volley then certain mini games are more important to you than others. To be honest there is a wide range of different games to train up on all advancing in level becoming harder and harder. There are probably 2 different types of games for each style of play, for instance groundstrokes, footwork, volley etc. These two differing games works up your stats for that particular style in different ways, for example the avalanche footwork training game boosts your turning abilities and net work more, whilst the Arrow Balloon increases the lateral movement.

Training up is essential but there is a let down to the game. As to expected the first early tournaments you can enter are quite easy giving you the feel of the game more than anything else, but as you enter tougher tournaments for the first time they seem uncontrollably difficult. The AI changes for each level and makes it impossible for you to win straight away. After the third time you enter a tournament perhaps the AI drops a level and makes it considerably easy for you to advance. This offers no fun what so ever and takes away the challenge of the game. It becomes repetitive, monotonous and simple. I was disappointed entirely by the attempt and you just get the feeling that you have trained up for no reason and your entire play is eventless.

They try and a variety of differing modes into the world tour for instance some tournaments are doubles or mixed doubles giving you the chance to play alongside some of the best, but to be honest your team member is just too good for the opponents and out classes them all the time, meaning you never loose. The AI simple is annoying, one minute it can be tough, but challenging, another it may be well easy or the next it could be impossible where they reach the ball no matter what. Each of the 'real' players has a style of play but to be honest all them can play well with any style. In my Lindsay Davenport review I noted that she had a weakness for court coverage and speed, and in the game perhaps not as fast as some, she certainly can run fast. Each player has no individual weakness which means that it is a complete waste of time crafting a certain style to your own game. To be honest Top Spin 2 on the X-Box 360 achieves this by using a much more tactical approach to play rather than arcade.

You also feel that Sega have chucked in a few obvious features that would look bad if they didn't, for instance unlocking new rackets, sportswear etc - but to be honest many unlockable outfits are dire looking and rackets hardly make a difference in play.

Sound wise, VT3 offers the usual grunts and groans to be expected from tennis players as well as call outs and score readings. A nice feature is that the accent and language changes depending on where you're playing. For instance in Italy the Umpire will speak Italian, in Germany German and in England a typical old fashioned view of English. Background music ranges from fast paced guitar music to slower beats. But no even is needed for music to change is just simply rolls on in a cycle.

Overall, Virtua Tennis 3 is a playable game, offering gamers the chance at a more arcade style of play to tennis, but there are many things that make this game simple, bland and unoriginal. This is the Playstation 3 for Christ sake. I was expecting crystal clear graphics yes but I was also expecting a something more than your average Tennis game. For instance I was expecting more choice of players and also a more evolved World Tour Mode. I mean If Smash Court Tennis 2 on the PS2 can have over 250 characters in its World Tour why cant VT3? Also what about commentary? No attempt has been made to offer a real life tennis experience and even the most basic of things such as how many winners you have got or aces etc etc cannot be seen. If your looking for a moderate Tennis sim with an arguable up to date roster and excellent graphics then VT3 is for you, if like me you are looking for something that takes the genre forward I would stick with cheaper games that deliver the same thing by using your backwards compatibility on the PS3 with titles such as Smash Court Tennis 2, Virtua Tennis 2 and Top Spin.

** Information **

Players 1 - 4
2734 KB minimum memory needed
No Online Play
SixAxis Motion Sensative (standard) controller needed

** Price **
(as of 11/04/07)

Woolworths: £49.99
Tescos: £44.74
Play.com: £39.99
Amazon.co.uk: £39.99

** URL **

www.virtuatennis.net
www.sega.co.uk  

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