VIRTUA TENNIS (DC)
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Game, set and match mon amis

By WILLIAM BARKER

Not long ago this reviewer was flying Singapore Airlines to attend a media release in Asia. The funny thing was that this airline had a few old SNES games on board, so who was I to argue with the in-flight entertainment? After toying with Mario World, then playing Kirby's Dream Course for 23 minutes it was time for a bit of Super Tennis. And boy did it make a seven-hour flight bearable! The gameplay was tops and the idea of having a tennis game on one of the next-gen consoles was enough to give me goosebumps.

The very next week Virtua Tennis came along and quite literally knocked my three-day old stinky socks off. This game's got game.

The premise is simple. Use a racket to hit the ball past your opponent while, at the same, time including one bounce within a designated area. There are initially a dozen or so real-world players to choose from, which is then doubled after unlocking another batch of fictional athletes. The first game mode is Arcade, which involves six matches where opponents get progressively more difficult to beat.

Exhibition is best for multiplayer bouts and VT doesn't disappoint on this front. You can play one or two-player singles or doubles, as well as three or four-player doubles. This is now THE premier party game to own due to the amazing visuals and slick gameplay, but more on that later.

World Tour is where the meat of the single-player game lies and what a sight it is to behold. Not only will you have to play through progressively harder matches, but there are also shops that sell all sorts of useful goodies. Add to this potent combination a funky training mode comparable to the likes of Crazy Taxi and VT looks like being more than simply mediocre sports guff.

After winning matches in the World Tour mode you will be paid money. Loadsa' money! From here you can purchase new players, stadia, better strings for your racket, trendy new threads and even sports-drink bottles. Fabbo! All the goodies you unlock can then be used in your multiplayer bouts, ensuring high replayability.

Where this game really shines is in the gameplay department. Even non-gamers and religious zealots will dig this. There is one button to give the ball a normal shot (volley, forehand, backhand etc) and another for a high-reaching lob. And that's it for the most part. Just put your player between the ball and hit the red button. Depending on your stance you will either perform a forehand or backhand shot and this is important in respects to your chosen player. Each player has a specialty, such as Kafelnikov's ripping backhand and Philippoussis' 145mph power-serve. Once you get used to this simple style of play you can add angle to your shots by holding left or right on the D-pad plus back-spin and top-spin in the same manner. The ensuing rallies are enough to make grown men weep. This truly is a very special game.

"It's not the French Open. NO! Not Kooyong either." Back in the day of Pong the fact that it animated at all was amazing. Now we have VT, which looks very life-like indeed. So much so that the 3D player's faces actually resemble their real-life counterparts. The frame rate is way off the fps scale too and the motion capture can only be described as remarkable. Umpires, ball boys and even the crowd follow the action and sometimes you can even see shadows cross the court as clouds meander by overhead. Bravo Sega, bravo.

Ball physics are top-notch and convey a real tennis feel and different surfaces will affect the speed and bounce of the ball too. The game is easy to pick up, a la Tetris, but like that crazy Russian puzzle game, you'll be dragging it out along with some fermented potato broth for a quick hit in years to come. This one's a stayer. You needn't be a tennis fan or even a sports jock; this game is good old-fashioned fun.