For a coin-op inspired setup, there's a surprising amount of gameplay depth here. Simple hits like lobs, slices, and top spins can be modified into smashes, drops, and running shots based on player position and the amount of time a button is held; and when you factor in variable player stats and multiple surface types, you get a pretty good game of tennis.
Truth be told, playing lob wars with an ad hoc buddy or the CPU can be a lot of fun -- even if it does feel extremely similar to 2005's Virtua Tennis: World Tour. Whether you're smashing back and forth in a singles match or teaming up with three others for a doubles competition, there's real entertainment value here -- and some matches can get downright intense. When two or more advanced players are butting heads, it's not uncommon to see 30-stroke volleys that involve every racket motion known to man. Diehard fans should feel right at home.
The revamped World Tour Mode is a nice distraction as well, but it does feel a little limited compared to the 2005 game. Most folks will still spend the majority of their time in World Tour obviously, but the tweaked interface and loss of a market option is a slight backwards step. However, the inclusion of the sim-like stamina meter, the all-new mini-games, various practice challenges and a formal "Tennis Academy" (for fine-tuning attributes and skills) is a definite move forward. Putting it all together makes for quite a few game years of net play and all things considered, it's still pretty good.
One of the reasons that World Tour is so interesting is because creating your own character is actually entertaining. Though the facial modification and accessory options are limited (even more so than the console version, as the PSP edition removes the option to do real-time morphing), enhancing a player via the Tennis Academy (timed shot challenges) and the mini-games is really addictive. Finding an excuse to avoid boulder-sized tennis balls while capturing fruit to improve your footwork or blowing up orb-shooting robots to better your stroke is a smart and surreal way to pass the time. Being able to influence what sort of tendencies your alter ego has (big server, fast runner, etc) is a nice touch too.
Visually, Virtua Tennis 3 isn't so bad either. The animations are more fluid than they were in 2005's World Tour, but the character models are a little less detailed. It's actually sort of baffling that Sumo Digital only focused on making the top-down camera look good and not the close-ups. Once the between-set "reactionary movies" play, the repeated animations grow old after only a few matches and the super-wrinkly faces make players look like modern-day Thunderbird puppets. The poor conversation scenes aren't so hot either and you can't change camera angles anymore.
Those few presentational snafus aren't so bad on their own, but there are a couple more that can't help but be noticed. Why is it, for instance, that you begin your career at rank 300 but can only play against 13 men and seven women? Were generic players not considered? You can make a fake guy any time you want, why can't the computer? It's also disappointing that the game is a total push-over until you're ranked 100 or so (several hours into the career) -- though admittedly, the AI is a little more balanced than it was in the first PSP title.
Mini-games still aren't available as a multiplayer option either-- truly disappointing considering that it was a big fan request coming out of 2005 and that the console versions offer the option to play competitively right out of the box. That said, the ad hoc four-player support works well and the single and doubles exhibition matches are no-brainer fun.
Verdict
SEGA's decade-old tennis engine is so good that it still makes for a decent time-waster all these years later, especially for this "on the go" format. Despite its few refinements and lack of infrastructure or multiplayer mini-games, Virtua Tennis 3's user-friendly mechanics and fast-paced arcade style can't be ignored. There's no doubt that it's a strong pickup for casual sports fans or dedicated SEGAphies, but for those of us who played its predecessors, it may be a little too familiar.
