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Usually, if a new game is almost identical to another product of the same name that is already available, there is just cause to hold back on the acclaim you direct towards it. However, when that new game is on a handheld and is bearing the weight of comparison to a title on a brand new next-generation console, high praise is indeed needed.
Which brings us to Virtua Tennis 3 on the PSP, released only days after the PS3 and 360 versions. In the past, multi-format titles, especially those that come to a handheld, have given us reason to be cynical. All too often they are soulless licences that vary hugely in content and quality across the array of game systems they come to.
Not so with Virtua Tennis 3, the latest in a long running series of high quality tennis games. Of course, graphically Sony’s svelte handheld can’t hope to keep up with its newest relative and the 360, but in terms of gameplay it’s a near carbon copy.
The structure of one-player Virtua Tennis 3 is a little like a cross between the progress model of Gran Turismo 4 and the stat-harvesting elements of so many RPGs. Whilst progressing through the world rankings, you juggle tournaments with training to build up the experience points of every element of your character, from backhand swing to footwork.
Just as if you’re playing the console version, when you begin the World Tour mode you are presented with two main tools. The first is a world map and the second is a calendar that allows you to choose when to enter tournaments, when to rest and when to train.
Initially the map is sprinkled with icons that take you straight to what appear to be rather odd mini-games. In fact, these superb nuggets of nonsensical racket swinging are actually cunningly disguised training tools that hone your skills in various areas. From games of curling that perfect your serve through to court-based interpretations of Space Invaders that increase your accuracy, each has an immediacy that truly makes learning the game feel like you are doing anything but mundane training tasks. As you complete the mini-games more open up, and those you have mastered return at higher difficulty levels, providing a constant opportunity throughout the game to have a rest from the traditional matches and to improve your player statistics.
As you improve, various tournaments appear on the map that allow you to up your world ranking, giving you access to more and more testing events. It is here that the game opens up into a brilliant combination of arcade sports sim and tennis RPG. All the time you play, whether training or competing, time passes. In your first year, you may not rank high enough to enter some of the available competitions, meaning your time is better spent in practice. Push yourself too hard and an injury might stop you from playing for 10 weeks, levelling you down and stopping you from entering any tournaments. To prevent this you can rest at home for a week or holiday for three, but time your breaks well or you’ll miss vital games. A simulated email system helps you stay on top of things and, though it may sound a little complex, it works very well indeed.
Of course SEGA could have used all the frills of this tennis lifestyle management concept to hide a dreadful sports sim, but thankfully that is not the case. Eschewing fiddly controls, instead keeping things as simple as possible, Virtua Tennis 3 relies on a fairly basic gameplay model that works very well. Just like the game’s real-life counterpart, timing your shots well is vital, and keeping ahead of the computer is the key to success. The earlier you begin to take your shot the more time you have to swing back your racket to allow for the most powerful and accurate swing, resulting in a game that is all about reacting with pinpoint accuracy.
Yet it would be a falsity to say that the game is overly challenging, and as you complete the initial tournaments it feels just a little too effortless. Fortunately, just as you begin to sense that you are just playing Pong dressed up for a new generation, Virtua Tennis 3 begins to up the ante a little, showing off what it can do as nail-biting rallies and ego-boosting skill shots begin to fill every game, set and match.
The AI, particularly in the doubles matches, is among the best on the PSP, giving a real sense that your rivals and team-mates are as dedicated to winning as you are. Occasionally your computer-controlled partner actually out performs you, which can be frustrating, but often serves to push you on to work harder and subsequently play better.
There are far too many of the completely unnecessary and utterly cringe worthy cutscenes where your competitors and doubles partner ‘interact’ with you in the loosest sense of the word, and most of the loading times are infuriatingly long.
The only other qualms lie with the training mini-games. If you do fail to complete a given objective, you are not given a retry option, instead being forced to wait for the map screen before beginning the lengthy loading process to return to the challenge you have just tried. Online play is also absent once again, although ad-hoc wireless play for up to four players works well if you can get together with friends.
Virtua Tennis 3 does nothing to revolutionise tennis games, but it is evident that continuing refinement has paid off as the series has developed. The game is as close to Pong as the London Philharmonic Orchestra is to a caveman banging a rudimentary drum, and continuing that analogy, Virtua Tennis 3 is just as primal and instinctive as its most ancient of relatives.
