Virtua Tennis 2009

Following EA’s disappointing Grand Slam Tennis, this is Sega’s attempt at taking advantage of the new Wii Motion Plus controller, and overall it’s a far more successful game.

This game was already released on other formats last month where it upheld the good name of Virtua Tennis. This being the Wii version we fully expect less than spectacular visuals, but it also means we can look forward to improved controls.

There are actually two different control methods for VT09. If you don’t have the new WMP controller then you’ll be playing with a setup designed for the original motion controls, where shots are reliant on timing.

Thankfully unlike Grand Slam Tennis you’re given a tutorial that goes in plenty of detail about how these shots are achieved and helps you to learn all the various moves.

In the practice sessions the controls work just fine once you’ve got the hang of them, but the problems come when you’re actually playing a match. Even the easiest AI opponents don’t give you an easy job and pulling off the exact moves needed when there’s a fast return flying at you is very tough. It soon becomes annoying and you’ll yearn to return to a control pad.

But the game is transformed when you plug in a Motion Plus controller. Where Grand Slam was an exercise in tedium and frustration, Virtua Tennis really shows off what the new technology can be capable of when properly employed.

You’ll still need to go through the tutorial to get used to it, but with a WMP the game does away with the shot meter and timing and relies on something approaching real tennis move, where you have to actually judge the speed and position of a shot. It becomes far more immersive and is very close to what we were promised when the Wii was first announced.

But it’s not all rosy. One persistent irritation is the need to confirm the use of a WMP controller before every game. You can’t just do it once in the options, it has to be repeated every single time. Annoying. Another issue is how you get your character to run across the court to reach a shot. You can use the nunchuk to control movement, but then there’s a cable flapping about. Or you can let the computer take over and control the positioning, but that removes a vital part of the strategy.

Overall 72%

A vastly superior game to Grand Slam, Virtua Tennis really makes good use of the Wii Motion Plus. If you don’t have a WMP though it’s a lot less entertaining.