E3: Virtua Tennis: World Tour Hands-On

Sega reunites with Sumo Digital for a portable new version of the classic Virtua Tennis series.

We took to the courts with Sega's Virtua Tennis: World Tour - the latest installment in the popular Virtua Tennis brand - and after a few gameplay sessions, came away pretty impressed.

While Virtua Tennis: World Tour isn't the first time a game from the series has appeared on a portable system - let's not forget the great GBA adaption - what we checked out not only played as well as its console cousins, but looked and sounded just as great too.

Developed by SUMO Digital, the good folks behind the excellent Xbox OutRun 2 conversion, World Tour features the same type of addictive arcade-styled action as its predecessors, while bringing a number of new elements to the table.

The version we played pretty early, but offered a sweet taste of things to come. Thanks to the intuitive control scheme, the gameplay remains as solid as ever; volleying a tennis ball back and forth across a net has never been so much fun, and because it offers such trademark pick-up and play design, could end up even more satisfying on the portable.

While the demo limited us to the game's 'Quick Match Mode' against the CPU, the action moved at a brisk pace and our CPU-controlled adversary gave us a pretty good run for our money - as well as a pretty good beating during our first three games - making it quickly apparent that the AI is playing for keeps, and player reflexes will need to be sharp to stand a chance.

Graphically, Virtua Tennis: World Tour is pretty slick, sporting character models that animate extremely well with life-like movements that are as impressive as those found in its console counterparts. Everything from the player models to the stadium graphics looks sharp with solid textures, lighting, and animated shadows. The only flaw we spotted were the inanimate, pixelated, cardboard cutout audiences in the backgrounds - but other than that everything looked great.

The audio portion of the game was impressive as well, with sharp sound effects of the ball getting smacked back and forth across the net, the squeak of player tennis shoes, as well as the sound of fans applauding all coming through the PSP speakers with clarity - and while we didn't get to sample much of the game's soundtrack, the music we heard included the type of rock sounds we've enjoyed in Sega's Japanese-developed sports games in the past.

World Tour will be host to a wide range of gameplay modes & features - players will be able to take to the courts in three game modes which include: Tournament, World Tour, as well as a standard Exhibition mode, and there will be four different court surfaces for players to play on - clay, grass, hard court, and carpeted surfaces.

The game's player roster provides a wide variety of licensed tennis pros to choose from, as well as the option to create their own players and personalize them, using accessories purchased with tournament cash.

Players will also be able engage in multiplayer matches against up to three other players via the PSP's Wi-Fi connectivity feature, and there are a number of brand new mini-games in the works that should add more fun and longevity to the overall game.

Virtua Tennis: World Tour will no doubt be a welcomed addition to the growing PSP game line-up later this year.

Joseph Jackson
Executive Editor, Kikizo Games