SEGA Superstars Tennis Related content
-
Exclusive: SEGA Superstars Tennis - Montage
-
Latest SEGA Superstars Tennis screenshots
- Preview SEGA Superstars Tennis [26]
PreviousSEGA Superstars Tennis Review
Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Review by Tom Bramwell
Page 1 of 2.
Page 2 
Sumo Digital has made quite a lot of games since its formation in 2003, but our favourites are the two OutRun games and Virtua Tennis 3; love letters for SEGA fans, penned on SEGA's behalf. Superstars Tennis, by contrast, is dinner, dancing, cocktails and fellatio. It's absolutely stuffed with SEGA characters lovingly recreated in 720p high-definition, full of tennis courts built in honour of games like Super Monkey Ball, House of the Dead, Golden Axe and Space Channel 5, with unlockable Achievements for 360 inspired by their names. SEGA Rally is a 40-shot rally, After Burner is a 100mph serve, OutRun is covering 6 miles on foot.
Mechanically it feels like a simplified take on Virtua Tennis, with a familiar service bar that takes one tap to initiate and a second well-timed tap to play the ball, and a pair of shot buttons and a lob available when you tap two buttons in sequence. Not unlike Mario Tennis - dead now, perhaps, thanks to Wii Sports' success - successful shots allow you to unleash character-specific special moves. A golden star outline fills up as you play, and once full you tug a trigger button, watch a cute animation, and take advantage of the result.
The Samba court is probably the best, although the NiGHTS one with the liquid surface is quite special.
Everything is gloriously indulgent: AiAi's special shots bend like a boomerang as bananas tumble around the court; Beat from Jet Set Radio sends the ball cross court via two sharp turns accompanied by spray-can sound effects as Rokkaku police shoulder-charge the opposition; and Tails sends the ball over the net in a whirlwind that leaves his adversaries seeing stars. Balls on the Samba de Amigo court leave the racket to the sound of maracas, Flagman is the umpire on the OutRun level, break-dancing when he gets bored, and every court has several unlockable tunes bequeathed by the host product, selectable before each match. Smashing a glowing ball back and forth in-between dancing sombrero-wearing cacti is all the better for Samba de Janeiro belting away in the background.
Like Virtua Tennis, the main "Superstars" game mode is not just about tennis matches and tournaments but mini-games as well. Sonic the Hedgehog tasks involve collecting rings, Monkey Ball tasks you with smashing monkey balls through giant rings, and House of the Dead - named Curien Mansion here for reasons beyond our understanding or limited tolerance for research - has you bashing zombies. We won't identify all the games, though, because SEGA fans - for whom this game is solely intended - will delight in discovering them for themselves. Needless to say, UK:R, the sky's as blue as can be. The novelty never really wears off, and a steady stream of unlockable courts, music and characters - often glimpsed on the other side of early tournament line-ups - ensures that there's always more to see.
Are you excited about SEGA Superstars Tennis on Xbox 360/PlayStation 3?
View Eurogamer readers most anticipated games
Related Games
SEGA Superstars Tennis
Latest News
-
Games added to US cut-price 360 bundles [40]
-
Condemned 2, Superstars Tennis demos [13]
-
SEGA Superstars Tennis a week early [19]
-
SEGA Superstars Tennis gets date [5]
-
SEGA gets stars playing tennis [32]
Latest Screenshots
24 April, 2008 [0]
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
Comments: 1-44 of 44 in total
|
captainrentboy
18/03/08 @ 11:49
0
I'm getting it, haven't bought anything for my 360 in weeks.
I'll get this, finish it, then trade it towards Condemned 2. Good stuff! |
|
0
Hmmm. Two problems with this game - (1) apart from Sonic, the Sega characters are pretty unlovable; and (2) Wii Sports tennis is still going to be a million times more fun.
I actually hope Mario Tennis isn't dead, because a full tennis game built around Nintendo's much more interesting and varied characters, with Wii controls, could very well be brilliant. Pressing buttons to hit the ball? That's so last-gen... :) |
|
strange_powers
18/03/08 @ 11:57
0
I'm interested in how the Wii version, which apparently comes with a choice of controls including Wii Sports-style motions, turns out. Any tennis game will have to go a long way to beat Nintendo's offering, but this might be it.
|
|
muscleblade
18/03/08 @ 12:07
0
I bought this today. Think im gonna play it for a few days then trade it in for Dark Sector or Viking.
|
|
0
@Killerbee. Do you Really think that Wiisports tennis offers the range of control and skill that Virtua Tennis or even Mario Tennis have shown?
I still believe that the current form of joypads has evolved over several generations because it works and is multi functional. The Wiimote, whilst undoubtedly fun, is just change for changes sake if you ask me. Still, for Nintendo, it's done the trick eh?
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 18/03/08 @ 12:14
|
|
0
Much Love for the opening paragraph.
"Sumo Digital has made quite a lot of games since its formation in 2003, but our favourites are the two OutRun games and Virtua Tennis 3; love letters for SEGA fans, penned on SEGA's behalf. Superstars Tennis, by contrast, is dinner, dancing, cocktails and fellatio." Beautiful. Although a score of 7/10 sounds like the BJ was good, but there was no Deep Throat action going on.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 18/03/08 @ 12:16
|
|
nedrichards
18/03/08 @ 12:18
0
killerbee: if you're giving no love to Ulala or Beat then I'm sad. Tails however...
|
|
0
I was contemplating getting the Wii version but at the moment I just want something that is relaxing to play (and with visuals at a resolution that does my HDTV justice) so I decided to opt for the 360 or PS3 version but in the end it was the 360's better controller which was the ultimate decider so that is the version I'm getting.
|
|
0
OK, i'm leaning towards the PS3 vers. BUT i would really like to know first if it has a friend invite option and in-game voice chat...
I got fecked buying The Club, not having friend invites and in-game chat in a game that supports online,well, that's just stupid. Also lads, does anyone know if this game remains fun after a few hours or...
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 18/03/08 @ 13:01
|
|
0
@erm... lots of people!
Yeah, I do prefer to play Wii Sports tennis over pretty much any pad-based tennis game I've played in the past (I confess I've not played this particular title). The only thing Wii Sports tennis really lacks is the depth of different modes and options and courts and unlockables etc etc to play with - which a dedicated Mario Tennis game would surely sort out. But for core tennis gameplay, I'd take waving a Wii-mote around over a pad any day. I think Wii Sports actually has a lot of depth to it - certainly once I reached Pro status on tennis I could really, consciously place the ball in different areas of the court, and do different shots (lobs, rallies etc) - it wasn't just a matter of waving randomly to hit a return. As for the characters, yeah I admit I'm probably judging this too much on the Sonic characters (which, apart from Sonic, I don't much like) and not giving the others a fair chance. They all still pale in comparison with Mario though. ;p |
|
0
Wii Sports Tennis is anything but basic. Sure in terms of modes and progression it is, but the actual depth to the controls is about 50 times deeper than most people would ever bother to find out about...it's awesome, basically. I'm still playing it 15 months later and STILL perfecting a few different shots.
Back to this though, odd that the Wii version didn't get reviewed first, surely 90% of people will be buying that version..? |
|
kentmonkey
18/03/08 @ 20:24
0
I'm reviewing the Wii version for another site (I won't link to it in these comments, that's not fair, but those of you clever enough will find it easy to locate, or you can look out for me on digg) which I'm submitting tonight and it's not as good as the 360 version.
I agree 100% with the review here, it's quite an entertaining game and the online multiplayer is pretty damn good fun. But on the Wii the gesture controls are unintuitive, the other control options aren't ideal, visually it's much worse than the 360 version (even when considering the difference in hardware and isn't as attractive as Mario and Sonic) and the lack of online multiplayer in the Wii version is a massive loss. Therefore the 360 (or PS3) version is definitely the one to get, if it floats your boat that is. It really is a take it or leave it experience; some will love it, others will undoubtedly prefer Virtua Tennis.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 18/03/08 @ 20:29
|
|
muscleblade
19/03/08 @ 06:59
0
I played it on my 360 last night and i loved it. 8/10 so far from me. Havent tried it online yet but im sure it will be great fun too.
Cant wait to get home from work and play it for a few hours. |
|
0
>>@Darren: Really?
>>I was just going by the front page - 360/ps3 Sarcasm alert. Must be an anti-Nintendo conspiracy of course, yeah? I imagine the Wii version is going to get a separate review, due to the controls/graphics likely to be fairly different, whereas the 360/ps3 versions wouldn't warrant having an individual review each. I'd be disappointed if the Wii version doesn't match up, as that would definitely be my choice. But will wait and see how the Wii version is reviewed, before I decide whether to get the Wii/360 version, or not at all. |
|
spookyzombie
20/03/08 @ 09:10
0
I played this on Wednesday for a couple of hours. I agree with a 7/10, unless you're a Sega nut, in which case you can probably add another point to the score. Quite good fun though.
|
|
0
ULALA ISN'T AN INTERESTING CHARACTER?!?!?
From wp: "When Ulala was 12 years old, she was involved in a spaceship accident in which she was rescued by a reporter from a broadcasting station called Space Channel 5. This event inspired Ulala to not only become a reporter for the little-watched broadcasting station, but also to strive to become the best reporter in the galaxy." The BEST REPORTER IN THE GALAXY! and now she plays tennis as well! how much more depth can you ask for?! |
Comments: 1-44 of 44 in total
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
