In bullet points:
* Designed by Sega Japan.
* Decent netcode. Max server timings are off but strokes are hitting the ball.
* Online roster now includes pro players so you don't have to create your own - a baffling decision in 2009.
* 1080p (up from VT2009's 720p downgrade) with improved animations. It looks much better.
* Closer to VT2 in terms of ball weight and physics.
* A very straight forward menu system, you don't have to solve Rubik's cube to find the multiplayer portion.
* Stronger emphasis on positioning, volleyball tennis is out.
* Redesigned World Tour mode which is more like playing a board game and shorter. Progression is linear.
* The AI needs some work, doubles AI doesn't improve even with the setting on Very Hard.
It feels like they are on the right track at least and this is a step in the right direction. It does look like some budget cuts were made as the roster is halved and Roland Garros amongst others are simply replaced with national cups. It's a bit dull in terms of mechanics and the games are not particularly colourful, the arcade feel is toned down and this has brought them closer to Top Spin but at the same time they are not offering the same level of control.
It's a toss up between this or VT3, the design is also pioneering every shade of grey. Personally I think Virtua Tennis 2 is still their strongest and most enjoyable effort.
Is there a demo of this around mate? My Mrs is AMAZE at Virtua Tennis 1 + 2 and I need to pick up something to cushion the blow of spending $780 on a console and stick later today.
The demo is PS3 exclusive, not sure what to make of that decision.
probably worth a dl of the demo to check how grey it is and then put VT2 on
I'm warming up to this. They've adjusted the max server gauge to climb at a quicker and steady pace as opposed to accelerating which feels great, serving in VT3 feels terrible now. Online has been very good as well, you can bind comments to the triggers and activate them whenever the ball is out of play for a quick taunt or laugh.
It's slower than VT3 but it feels more cohesive, the angle and height of the ball factors in how it's returned and how much power you can apply. You are not running all over the court but rather positioning yourself to hit the ball from the right place to put the opponent off.
It's quite good, actually.
Had a go on the demo to this, and its a real surprise its got all the charm you want a mad board game system for the world tour and actually some Seganess. The frighteningly small shorts on my character on the otherhand... MY EYES!
But yeah, I will pick this up on a platform where its not forty freaking pounds. I can see me losing a few hours to this... the Demo is excellently well put together and genuinely made me want to pick up the real deal.
Something for your Kinect:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004LWZ52G/
It is about the same at GAME too, I think.
GAME online scamatron (i.e. its still £39.99 in shop), its £35 in CEX and I have a bucket of credit, I might go in there, or leave it the required 2 month Sega crash period and find it in with the carrots at Tesco.
Kinect sounds fascinating it even says "better with kinect" on the box, how can one deny such an accolade?
It's not a toss up anymore, this is the best Virtua Tennis yet and an essential purchase if you like Tennis.
You can begin charging your shot while you're approaching the ball unlike the previous games where you have to remain fixed on the court. These returns are not overly powerful but you can hit a competent shot that doesn't go high for an easy smash. On the other hand the characters are not as fast so you have to guess the direction to run in just like real tennis. The result is that points do not go on forever like they could in VT2 where the characters are incredibly fast.
Powerful shots can also be returned with an equal amount of power so it's not safe to play a hard hitting game at the baseline because your shot can just as easily be returned back to the other side of your court. Slices and loose top spins are very useful for breaking up the flow and getting yourself out of difficult situations.
Points are shorter but with these changes they are far more dynamic and there's a stronger sense of tension. Unfortunately AM3 will just sit on their tennis throne for another four years until someone else gets a decent Tennis game together.
It was £27.99 in GAME a week ago - sounds good, I'll pick it up at the end of the month I reckon.
Did a bit of a read up, the motion controls on the various platforms is limited to a specific exhibition mode... while this makes sense on a technical level its a shame there is no tourny.
I am considering the Wii or Xbox version, I have an Xbox Arcade stick... I am now erring in that direction if its compatible a full career mode on a stick sounds like fun... hope the cable is long enough!
Poundland USB extension cable for the WIN!
The HORI arcade stick cable is more than long enough, I also has a bizarro long cable with a wireless keyboard I got weirdly.
Rattled through an entire world tour on professional, and got totally whipped, it was brilliant fun. The format is great, its a board game, you get tickets that allow you to go spaces, these spaces have mini games for upping your stats, exhibitions, tournaments and publicity things, that simply up your Star rating, there are also other spaces that do other things.
The Star system allows you to enter tournaments along the way to the big tournament at the end (which you have to get to in a certain day limit, a day is a use of a move ticket (or any ticket)).
So cleverly, you can rinse the Tour in the 4 parts of the globe and not even see half the tournaments or even get to the top rating... once one full cycle is done you restart the worl tour with the same character, lose your star rating but retain your abilities, meaning its more likely you will get the required stars from the required exhbition matches etc etc.
So that's cool.
The game itself I still haven't quite worked out, the obfuscation of the ability of my World Tour character means I really can't feel the edges of the game... maybe I should whack through the arcade mode.
I like the special power bar, thats cool as it rewards you for a particular style of play, that's a nice, haven't worked out how to bend serves yet either, but this again might be a world tour thing.
Basically, you can't go wrong with this, its good.