Gameplay Today - Because You're Always Gaming

After a long hiatus, Virtua Tennis is back. The gameplay that we’ve grown to love since the original game have returned and that we’re grateful for. The question is whether or not Sega has finally decided to change or update the gameplay that is so accessible, players just can’t seem to get enough it. At first glance, it looks like we’ve just got more of the same. So we dug deeper to see what’s new.

The highlight of Virtua Tennis 4 is the World Tour mode. Just like most sports titles of late, VT4 has you create a player from a few options and then customize the face and body. VT4’s career mode kicks off from there with players starting with a few bucks in their wallet and minimal skills. When you’re not playing tennis on the court, the rest of the game feels like a big game of LIFE. You move based on cards and you can’t go backwards. You can only move forward. So be sure to choose what cards you use strategically. Speaking of things besides actually playing tennis; you’ll be playing a lot of tennis-themed mini-games. There’s poker which has you hitting a wall with cards on it. There’s coin collecting where you collect coins in one on one timed matches, and plenty of other tennis themed mini-games.

World Tour mode is best described as the tennis career mode with RPG elements. For Madden fans, its best described as Superstar mode for tennis. You do everything from train, go to fan events, signings and even charity events. The neat thing about this is that it actually affects you stamina. You can build up your gauge in a natural progression by training though. Conditioning is very important. It will prevent you from getting injuries, which of course is very important.

Graphically, VT4 is a solid game, but can’t be described as beautiful in anyway. Just like previous versions, the courts and maps are brightly colored and look decent. The player animations are fluid and rarely result in any issues such as choppiness or glitches. The courts are all distinguishable. You won’t confuse the clay courts of Europe for the hard ones of the Americas. The wide variety of unlockables for your players provide plenty to look at and distract you from the main gameplay as well. There aren’t as many extras as some other tennis games out there, but you wouldn’t say its lacking.

So what’s the final verdict? Virtua Tennis 4 is a mixed bag of fresh new tennis balls and some elements that have been recycled from previous titles and have lost their bounce if you will. The World Tour mode is structured very well and provides enough incentives to keep you working your way through the entire map. The only gripe in terms of presentation is the overwhelming Japanese influence in design. The music  and interface don’t feel very “western”, which is nothing new for Sega games. Despite these minor gripes, Vitua Tennis 4 is a solid sequel that will keep tennis fans happy with solid gameplay and mini-games to keep you coming back. We’d like to see a little more evolution in the inevitable sequel, but as Sega has proven in each Virtua Tennis release – you don’t mess with a good thing.