Virtua Tennis - Sega Dreamcast

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Directly translated from the popular arcade stand-up, Virtua Tennis offers a light-year jump from the Pong-style tennis of yesteryear. Sporting rich 3-D graphics, crisp animation, and realistic sound effects, you'll swear you're courtside at a grand slam. But, thanks to the game's simple controls, you won't have to spend years at a tennis camp just learning a backhand. The game features hard-top, grass, and clay surfaces, all with distinct ball-bounce and sound responses. Choose one of eight internationally ranked tennis pros and play against advanced computer nents, or plug an extra controller in and play a friend head to head. Just as in real championships, ball boys, chair umps, and even spectators react to your game. .com ---- Even if you're not fond of sports titles in general, the simple pick-up-and-play feel and speedy on-court action in Virtua Tennis make it a worthy addition to any game library. Sega did an excellent job making sure even those unfamiliar with the rules and strategy of tennis will be able to jump right into the game. With a little practice you can pop lobs, perform an overhead smash, or even return the ball with a through-the-legs trick . Starting the game presents three game modes. Arcade mode is a direct translation of the coin-operated arcade game in which you must defeat five challengers in order to win a championship. Exhibition mode allows you to choose a player and then challenge any of the other available tennis players in singles or doubles matches. World Circuit mode casts the player as a tennis superstar, touring the world and competing for heaps of cash and worldwide rank. If you're looking to play as one of the top tennis aces in the world, you're going to be disappointed. No Sampras, Asi, or any other tennis giants are to be found. Rather, you're stuck with 16 smaller names including Jim Courier, Carlos Moyà, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite the recent boom in popularity, the women's tennis circuit is unfortunately completely absent. Sega's presentation and graphics are very well done and could almost be mistaken for a real televised match. Details such as the crowds, line judges, and instant replays look stunning. It's a shame that Virtua Tennis doesn't feature the famous venues and tournaments of real tennis, but the game's imitation stadiums in England, New York, and France look close enough to be recognizable. The player graphics are fantastic. Each player displays plenty of detail in everything from facial expressions to sneaker logos. Both the TV-style overhead view and the behind-the-shoulder viewpoints feature animation that's almost always ultrasmooth and is guaranteed to keep your eyes glued to the screen. --Mark Brooks Pros: * Amazing graphics * Easy to play yet hard to master Cons: * You can play as real tennis players, but not as tennis superstars * Strictly arcade--not particularly deep gameplay Content advisory: No objectionable content