Sega Sports Tennis

"The best tennis game out there"

Well the heading tells the story here, sorta. Yes it is true that Virtua Tennis is the best Tennis game available but it hasnt exactly got much competiton has it? As in the past with Tennis games it can fall at the most blatant hurdles but it also does what other games have not, it is addictive where as the others have been pretty boring this is overall a pretty ace game.

Graphics:8/10
Well on close up views of the players the graphics like nice and smooth and the stadiums and courts all like fairly lifelike but look at the fans and you may be put off, the classic paper effect comes into use here and its fairly ugly but apart from that slight down side everything else is fine with all player likenesses accurately carried out.

Gameplay:9/10
Ah the classic question in sports games. How does it play? And usually in Tennis games the answer is 'fairly crap dont touch it' but with Virtua Tennis, it is actually fun to play! Easy to control at first and it doesnt get easier as you get used to it as more and more advanced controls are thrown at you so its not bashing X there is also some pressing of square.

Lifespan:10/10
Ah well theres Tournament,World Tour and Exhibiton which might not sound like much but on single player this will take forever. World Tour consist of you creating a male and female player and taking them from rank 300 to 1. To do this you must compete in tournaments that are available to you and train various parts of your game by using the games many mini games. As your player gets more experienced so do the rest so look out, I have yet to meet anybody who can complete this game.

Sound:6/10
Eh it can be pretty cheap in places and there isnt any commentary for some reason. Yeah this is quite a major fault but still you werent buying this game for the sound were ya.......

Overall:8/10
Well despite what I said earlier it is possible to get bored of this if you play it for hours straight. The World Tour mode will take you forever and in that you have to unlock everything from arenas to clothes. Once your bored with that theres a Tournament mode for up to 4 players and the classic for settling arguments, doubles on four player. I never owned a tennis game before this and you dont really need another one afterwards it is that good.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/14/04