Virtua Tennis 2009 - (Xbox 360)
THIS game is so realistic the only thing missing is strawberries and cream...
The Virtua Tennis series has gradually improved of late culminating in last year's superb game, and there isn't a radical amount of difference in this year's offering but there is a definite improvement.
Fluency and realism are the two key components that make this game a smash hit (sorry), the actual mechanics of the player movements and the responsive nature of the control system make for a superb simulation of the real game.
To look at the screen you would think that you were watching an actual game of tennis, from a distance the movement and speeds in the game look fantastic.
The gameplay is very much as it was with just some minor tweaking and slicker racket work.
Career mode on the game is the obvious place to start and a lot of care and attention has gone into this mode right from the player creation to the ludicrous mini-games.
There are a lot of training and practice options to help you progress from tournament to tournament, great fun, a great challenge and lots of depth for the gamer.
BUT, it is more fun on multiplayer, there is more variety and as with any good sports sim it is definitely better played against another human brain.
The CPU can be a bit stale and predictable, it knows its limitations and at times plays like the robot it is, albeit a very stubborn and effective robot.
All the big names, courts and trophies are here and every ounce of someone's time and effort have gone into producing a really accurate, really addictive and superb looking tennis game.
The only criticism would be the drone like CPU and the fact it is a little to similar to previous titles.
I haven't tried Grand Slam by EA yet but this will take some beating!
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Authors
Steve Wollaston - Sunday Mercury games reviewer Steve has been writing about video games for donkey's years. In fact he is probably far too old for it now which is why you will see a lot of reviews been done by kids... He has been nominated three times for Regional Games Journalist Of The Year at the Games Media Awards, but never wins. His major love is sports games and rates Sensible World of Soccer circa 90's as the greatest game ever made - closely followed by Championship Manager 2. Skyrim has currently taken over his life.
