Virtua Tennis 2009 Comments by Kristan Reed

One to grab from the bargain bin in a few weeks, then. Although a lot of this review just read like a whinge that it's not VT3 (I didn't play Vt3 much, but when I did, I wanted to whinge about it not being VT2, so I'll probably prefer this one!)

Oi, you used the same subtitle in your Virtua Tennis 3 review, you scheming bastards.

I loathe the gameplay in virtua tennis because the points are never-ending, repetitive, and also the fact it is the exact same game as VT 1

Looks like the good ole dreamcast original is STILL the best :)

How is 7/10 bargain bin worthy :S

It's not the score, it's the review. I was surprised the reviewer scored it as high as 7 after reading his opinion on the game, tbh.

Not played 2 and 3...

Qhat would the score be if the reviewer hadnt played any of the other games since the dreamcast original (Which I loved?)

Does Eurogamer have something special in mind for the plethora of motionplus games coming out over the coming months? Virtua Tennis will likely be the first one I see so I'd love to hear some opinions.

WOOOAHH! Hang on...

The wii version is motionplus? Are you SURE?


If so - then screw buying the 360 version - Sounds from the review like i've already played it on the dreamcast... i'll hold off for the wii version

oh dear. I was going to get this today. I think I 'll wait to see what EA come up with now.

one of those types of games where theres no need for it to actually exist.
Virtua tennis 1 on the Dreamcast was as good as its possible to get.
Personally i think sequels like this should be half the price of the original and treated as simply updates.

I spent a good five hours or so yesterday working my way through the Career mode in the Xbox 360 version. Although I like the game, I agree with pretty much everything EG have said in the review and the score seems completely fair on that basis. It's a good game, I especially love the fact that you can play against non-Pros in the Career mode, which at least keeps things a little less repetitive and more like reality. Strange that EG didn't mention that... or did I miss it? Whatever, it's a good game, perhaps not essential if you own VT3 and only play online - VT 2009 allows you to play the Career online however - but the improved Career mode makes it a worthwhile purchase IMO even if it isn't really that different from the last game.

What? Clicking buttons to play tennis? Sounds dull.

I think I 'll wait to see what EA come up with now.

EA's game is Wii-only. And this isn't a review of the motionplus-capable Wii VT2009 that's its true competitor.

@ Smelly

Dude where have you been for the past few months? Yes, the Wii version is indeed Motion +. So is EA's Grand Slam Tennis.
I cant wait.

Same here, waiting to see what the Wii motion+ version will be like.

I am quite stunned. This is probably the best review that Kristan has ever written - informative and bereft of hyperbole.

Well done, Krudster - I think I'll wait for EA's effort now.

EA's Grand Slam Tennis (2010) is pencilled in for a late December release for 360 & PS3 too.

I'm disappointed the developers haven't added a bit more depth to the single player experience, but hardly surprised at the same time. Despite this I'm still going to pay full price for this simply for the online play (I own the PS3 version of VT3), because multiplayer VT is probably the most fun you can have on a console.

Hi folks,
Just a few things, it's worth noting that the WorldTour mode featues quite a few new aspects - Davis/Fed Cup (not mentioned), Charity matches (which tie in with wearing fancy dress), practice matches (with friends made from world tour). On the minigame side, you get to play these online on all versions which is a nice addition if you want some crazy minigame action :P

Thanks,
T.

thew glad i read that i was going to trade vt3 and get this - definately wont bother if thats what theyve done to world tour mode

Not meaning to be a busybody, but...

"One difference is the way players no longer make ridiculous dives for the ball in the manner which blighted VT3 for a lot of players. Instead, players stretch in the manner they used to back in 1 and 2."

Players dived in VT2.

Indeed, it was actually one of the game's big new features at the time.

I got this yesterday and it's excellent. Granted, there's not a lot over VT3 here but it's enough of an improvement to warrant a purchase if you're a fan and, if you've never played VT before, it's absolutely essential. After all, VT is, without question, the finest tennis game ever made by some margin and this is the best iteration of it yet.

World tour mode has always been way too easy for far too long before it gets interesting. Hearing this makes the same mistake has put me right off. I just can't be arsed to go through all that again. It's boring.

@DaDon123456: I didnt know that honestly.

I was considering buying this on 360. The original dreamcast version STILL gets regular play when i have drunken parties, and is pretty much the only reason i kept the dreamcast.

But providing the motionplus isnt screwed up.. I'll hold off.

After all who really cares about hi def graphics playing a tennis game with mates?

>informative and bereft of hyperbole.

I disagree. It tells me that it's not worth buying from the previous versions.. but it doesnt tell me that if i've only ever owned the original if it's worth buying

Sure, get it if you've only ever played VT1. Online is a decent upgrade, even if the core gameplay remains largely the same as ever.

I've never played a Virtua Tennis game (unless you count Sega Superstars Tennis), but I loved the Smash Court Tennis series on PS2...

And apparently this is as good as inFamous then :P

I agree with the reviewer.
It feels a little rushed to me. It's got a few bugs and glitches that I don't think would have been there if AM3 had coded the game. It is good if you don't have any of the previous versions. I don't think it's as good as VT3.

I have always been a big fan of Virtua Tennis since the arcades and the Dreamcast.

However, Virtua Tennis 2009 is a big waste of money. This is the same as Virtua Tennis 3 with a new Roster, and worse graphics

Why step down and run this in 720p rather than the native 1080p of Virtua Tennis 3 ???

If you have Virtua Tennis 3 please compare the two from a graphical standpoint. Even Top Spin 3 has better graphics than Virtua Tennis 2009 and that also runs in 720p.

The characters are bad. Please if you have VT3 compare it to 2009. The graphics cannot compare.

Something isn't right with this game.

I urge you to stick with VT3 or Top Spin 3.

I am so disappointed with this, because I was looking forward to this I have traded the game in CEX and got an exchange voucher of £30 (bought this game for 32.99 on gameplay), and bought Top Spin 3 for £10.00...

@ AgentCool:

Top Spin 3 would beg to differ...

I've been playing the VT2009 career for six hours now and in almost 80 matches I've yet to lose a single game nevermind a match. As such the games gets very dull, very quickly and it doesn't help that visually the game is bland with the worst character creator ever, one that doesn't allow you to make a human-looking person!!! There's virtually no rewards for winning games and stuff at the Tennis Shop takes an age to unlock and when it does it's disappointing. There are also lots of annoying little glitches and bugs which suggest the game has been rushed and it lacks the polish and professionalism of VT3 IMO. Score so far from me: 6/10.

Quite right Darren, I don't understand why people don't see this as a step backwards from Virtua Tennis 3??? They say that they can see some 'graphical improvements'..erm...where??? The character models are a step back from Virtua Tennis 3 and Top Spin 3. This is a rushed effort, i am afraid.

I re-iterate I was really looking forward to this game :-(

Some of y'all are saying it's actually a step down from VT3. Is that only in terms of graphical polish or does it actually play worse than VT3? If the gameplay is just as good as VT3 then I think I'll have to buy it for the online mode, but if they've actually managed to make the basic gameplay experience less enjoyable than it was before then I may have to reconsider.

If it comes down to a choice between VT3 and no online play and VT2009 with online play I'd still choose VT3.

I thought the PS3 version was superior graphically anyway, and 2009 just feels unfinished and buggy. The changes seem to be there just for the sake of it. Player "stumbling" for instance, seems no better than player diving IMO.

And you are stuck at the bottom of the screen no matter which camera view you choose. Some people don't like to play from the top of the screen, I know. But I prefer to have the choice, which is available in VT3.

The character creation leaves you ending up with a sort of cartoon like creation, whereas the selectable pros have a completely different look.

@Jackinov - You could see a definite improvement between, say, Top Spin 2 and Top Spin 3 over two years but apart from a few tweaks to the Career mode here and there and gameplay which remains EXACTLY the same, VT2009 is a step backwards from the last game in every other area. Poor character creator, no challenge in the Career mode, virtually no licenses, longer loading times, mediocre visuals, weak lighting, workmanlike presentation, no restart/retry option for the mini-games and bugs/glitches aplenty (although the animation is nice). Not quite what you'd expect from a sequel to a two year-old game really. That's what's so disappointing. It's like SEGA commissioned a sequel for easy money but Sumo Digital were either restricted by what they could do, had no real interest in doing it or just had no idea what to do with the game to improve it.

I played three hours of Top Spin 3 last night, having not played it for the best part of a year, and I was surprised at just how good it still is. At least the CPU offers a challenge and the matches are rarely dull as a result. That's the crux for me, VT2009 feels wafer-thin compared with Top Spin 3 and the complete lack of polish or evolution means it's a competent but exceedingly bland sequel. And the first disappointing game I've played from Sumo Digital (although SEGA Superstar Tennis was hardly amazing either, at least the cuteness, daft power-ups and SEGA licensed characters and backgrounds compensated somewhat).

@rayman - "The character creation leaves you ending up with a sort of cartoon like creation, whereas the selectable pros have a completely different look."

What annoys me is how few hairstyle and customisation options you have. You nearly always end up with players that look the same bar their sex, skin colour and hair style, something that is blatantly obvious from the non-Pro players just meet during the Career mode, all of whom look... dah, dah... pretty much identical.

Now I'm all for simplicity with character creators but this game takes it to the wrong extreme and makes it frustratingly hard to actually create the player you want. Despite the pros having short hair with baseball caps, I am unable to select the same for my player, I can't even set the hair colour. It's very poor compared with Top Spin 3 IMO.

I don't even think Sumo Digital spent any time on this game myself. They took the same engine from VT3, knocked the resolution to 720p and made the visuals worst to reduce slowdown and tweaked a few things here and there. It was probably knocked out during their lunch hour while they worked on something else... well, OK, probably not but that's how cheap the game feels to me. :(

Hell, Top Spin 2 is still made of excellence.

The game just felt half baked. No programming effort whatsoever. I loved VT3 I thought it was excellent and this was on of the few (if any games) that was implemented at 1080p native. Can't believe they updated the game to er...720p..you have got feel a tad short changed :-(

Reading other peoples comments and i have to agree, in many ways it is a step back from VT3, which is hard to accept given that VT3 was a game i picked up at launch with the PS3 over 2 years ago.

Saving grace though for this game is online play. On that front, as you have to play with your created character online whats the best way to build him up? I dont have tons of hours to invest in playing it and they have changed the way you develop your character (which i also dont like). I seem to be coming up against guys who can hit the ball much much harder than me and am hoping that i dont have to slog through too much of the painful single player game to build my guy up, cant believe i have moved from 100 in ameteur to 90 after 8 or 9 tournaments in which i have lost maybe 2 points!!!

@ Darren, you any further forward with this yet...has it got challenging at all?

Having not bought or played a tennis game since Virtua tennis 2 on the PC, I plumped for this today on 360.

While I took into consideration all said here, and the few reviews I've read, I'm still pretty happy with my purchase. Online play against mates at home or away, and tennis fun.

Looking forward to having a play this evening! Strawberrys and cream anyone?

"Oi, you used the same subtitle in your Virtua Tennis 3 review, you scheming bastards."

WHO REMEMBERS THAT!!!

This review is absolutely clinical and on the money.

Have been playing the game solidly with a friend for a week and I just can't recommend it over VT3 in any sense. Not even the fact that the online mode is slightly more interesting makes up for the fact that they've taken away bits and pieces that made VT3 great, and hardly improved on the bits that were and are still rubbish (the identikit feel of most matches and the generally sparse atmosphere to the whole thing). In other places they've made improvements (non-pros on the tour) and then taken a step back (they look rubbish).

The final straw is the adjustments made to the career path and the way your character progresses. It's worse than a chore.

If you've never played VT, get VT3. If you played VT3 to death, dust off that disc and wait for the next tennis game to come out. This doesn't warrant anyone spending more than a tenner on it.