Virtua Tennis 2009 (Wii) Review

SEGA are returning to the court in Virtua Tennis 2009 and while the series continues in a new multi-platform installment, the Wii version’s use of Wii Motion Plus sets it above the rest. Few titles have surfaced so far that really utilize the new Wii Motion Plus and, while Virtua Tennis 2009 may not be the greatest tennis game around, it’s a great example of the capabilities for Nintendo’s new 1:1 motion sensing peripheral.

Virtua Tennis 2009 is an updated reinvention of Virtua Tennis 3 and in moving to the Wii with motion controls, certain sacrifices have been made. The game is no longer the fast paced action styled game you see in cabinets at arcades, Virtua Tennis 2009 on the Wii is a much slower game that relies on precise movements with the controls and a level of endurance required to progress in the single player World Tour campaign.

The World Tour mode offers a lot of content for aspiring athletes to progress up the ranks and face off against real-life tennis pros with a custom created avatar that travels the world making partners and playing in tournaments. There’s a plethora of mini-games and extra activities that can actually be quite fun, so if you’re looking for a long game to play through, Virtua Tennis 2009 has certainly set up the content.

The single player campaign is generally very easy; in fact one of the biggest problems with Virtua Tennis 2009 is the lack of difficulty in most single player games. The AI is very dull and predictable, returning any ball that looks logically possible and failing on the obviously tricky shots. This reduces each game to a fairly binary system of forcing the AI to chase after each shot until you can land one far enough out of his reach. Sure this approach is used for much of tennis, but some more versatile matches that play out differently from one another would make this lengthy game so much more substantial.

Virtua Tennis 2009 can be played with or without the Wii Motion Plus, but there’s a big difference between the two control schemes extending further than a little extra mobility. With the Wii Motion Plus, very few buttons are used other than A and B (for specifying shot height and type) and basic movements of the Wii Remote are used to play out different shots. The variety of shots and the skill required to accurately pull them off with the Wii Motion Plus is quite impressive, and will definitely take some getting used to with a steep learning curve due to the underlying complexity in angling and timing each shot precisely.

Without the Wii Motion Plus, players must use a visual indicator to specify the direction to hit the ball, swinging at the appropriate time as a meter appears above the players head. It’s nowhere near as fun or fluid as using the Wii Motion Plus, and after you get used to having the extra motion support this basic control scheme will be less accurate and a bit more difficult to control.

Footwork and movement can be controlled directly by the CPU which can help you keep focused on angling and pulling off the right shot, but occasionally this AI will take a strange dive in the wrong direction and illogically screw up an easy shot. It might be better to take manual control over your player with the Wii Remote’s d-pad or the nun-chuck accessory, as, thankfully, multiple control types are included for different methods of play.

Virtua Tennis 2009 has definitely nailed a control scheme that suits tennis, with the Wii Motion Plus allowing all sorts of slices and angle shots – if only the rest of the game managed to keep up. The frame rate can drop to a shocking crawl in the middle of matches as the ball hovers and speeds up mid-air and players jerk across the court, with terrible animations that really throw off a game that relies on precise timing and quick reflexes.

It’s strange how poorly Virtua Tennis 2009 can run at times, because it generally looks quite poor too. Effort has been put into recreating the stadium experience with commentators and a noisy audience that picks up in the lengthy rallies. The atmosphere of a regular tennis game is there, with some generic music to play in the menus but effort in presentation comes second to a poor in-game performance.

Online it can be even worse, as the experience is playable until any lag makes a complete mess of a match and balls go flying off in the distance only to be suddenly returned at a quick pace across the court. It’s a shame that lag breaks the game so much, as the majority of games that I’ve tried online have worked fine for most of the match. Local multiplayer is a lot better if you’re looking to go past the mundane opponent AI and branch out into some competition. This method works as you would expect, and is included right out of the box!

Virtua Tennis 2009 has enough content and underlying complexity to suck many hours into mastering. The variety of control schemes and generally easy difficulty when facing AI means it should be easy for anyone to get into, but the frequent frame rate drop and underwhelming visuals can dampen the experience. If you’ve been waiting for a more substantial tennis offering on the Wii, or need something to try out your new Wii Motion Plus, then there’s some fun to be had with Virtua Tennis 2009. Just don’t expect anything spectacular.