|
 Let
me start this review by saying I'm a football fan, I have never really followed
tennis, I don't watch it and I don't play it, so I ask myself, why do I love
Virtua Tennis 3 so much, I just can't understand it, well in fact I can
understand it and here is why.
To make a excellent multiplayer game you need
excitement, fast paced action and most of all a game where it is easy to just push
the button and get straight into the action, thankfully Virtua Tennis 3 has all
these things and more, it has built on the strong foundation of the past games
in the series adding photo realistic graphics and player animation which
is amongst the best you will see on any console.
When the game loads you will be treated to a menu
with four modes of play, these are, World Tour mode, Tournament, Exhibition mode
and Court games.
In the beginning World Tour mode starts with creating your character, first of
all you change his features, clothing etc and then move on
to developing his skills, this is done through a mixture of mini
games, the tennis academy and of course by playing games, you also have a home
where you can rest using various options when your stamina gets a bit on the low
side.
The tennis academy lets you
improve your skills by providing challenges which help improve
your serve, footwork and general all round play, the more
challenges you complete the stronger you will become. The mini
games are similar in that they help to improve your character's
ability, there are various games you can play from bowling,
bingo and bull's eye to avalanche where you need to catch fruit
that is tumbling down the hill whilst avoiding the large Indiana
Jones style tennis balls which are hurtling towards you, this
really is an addictive part of the game and you will find
yourself playing World Tour with only these games in mind.
All of the training and
mini games in World Tour mode have a purpose of course, which is
to improve your character and get you up the ranks as quickly as
possible, the better you become the more your level will improve, meaning that in turn you can take part in tennis tournaments
(doubles and singles) and improve you ranking in the world of
tennis.
The tournament mode is also good
if you just want to get straight into the tennis, this gives you
the option of either playing in a singles or doubles tournament,
although doubles only really gives you the option of playing
co-operatively rather than against each other with a computer
team mate.
Exhibition mode explains itself
and as normal
allows you to choose which
settings you would like and
play, with up to four players
being allowed to take part.
The only other mode to talk of is
Court games (mini games), which is one of the most addictive
things about Virtua Tennis, therefore it seems strange that this
mode is only for more than one player, which means unless you
have a friend around you will be unable to play pin crusher or
any of other fun games, although to be fair it is fairly simple
just to visit World Tour mode and do it that way.
While we are talking multiplayer
it is worth mentioning the most disappointing aspect of this
game on the PS3, yes there is no online mode, unfortunately for
reasons I do not know, Sega have decided that the PS3 should not
have this included, which therefore gives the Xbox 360 version a
big advantage in this respect, whether this will be implemented
in a possible update in the future is yet to be seen, but it
does take away from what otherwise is a game that you will not
want to put down.
When playing through Virtua
Tennis 3 you just can't help but
feel like having one more game,
the movement of the on screen
characters is just perfect and
the flowing pace of the game
just makes it feel so good to
play. Graphically the game is
hard to flaw, the green's, blues
and browns of the tennis courts
look bright and vibrant and the
character animation helps create
the feeling of authenticity, the
sound also helps add to the
atmosphere with all the grunting
from the players and the gasps
from the crowd as you hit that
nearly impossible shot, perhaps
the only flaw in respect of the
presentation is the music which
plays all the way through your
game, although it is quite easy
to turn this down and save the
setting to stop it happening
again.
There really are few launch titles this good so
if you are considering getting a game for your PS3 and don't have this one then
I would definitely recommend it as a must have.
Words by
Wotta
(PS3 ID) |
