Virtua Tennis 2009 for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

I'm not a huge Tennis fan but I really liked Virtua Tennis 2, which came out a few years ago. So when they were developing VT 2009, I was hoping for some improved gameplay, improved World Tour mode, and just an overall improvement. Instead, I got a sloppy and very time consuming game that really sucked the life out of VT2, which was a very fun game to play.

The Good:

The Graphics are improved and I like the newly added camera angle for singles matches.

The world Tour is pretty in depth and allows you to play online, something that wasn't allowed in VT2.

The Bad:

While the graphics are improved, gameplay took a large step back. Your player will lunge for the ball even when the ball is clearly within his/her reach.

Even on the hardest difficulty, the game still isn't overly challenging either.

The online feature is nice but it really doesn't work that well. I have a great internet connection at my house and it was still a little laggy at parts which can be frustrating at times.

The world tour mode requires a lot of patience as the computer AI is so awful that if you allow a point, you probably shouldn't be playing this game. Since this is really the only feature this game offers, it should be a lot better than what it is.

Even though this game does have a few short comings, it's pretty fun if your playing against another person instead of the computer AI. Other than that, you will spend probably a day or two of your life trying to work your way up through the World Tour mode beating every competitor 2-0 in a 3 match set.

They game has many great features. As a moderate sports fan...ie hockey, nfl and collegate football, and mlb baseball, it is fun for about the first 30 minutes then everything becomes repetetive and boring. To a tennis fan it is probably a dream come true, and probably worth owning. All in all a fun game, with great graphics, and sound. Bottom line for me...no replay value!

Before starting I do have to admit that I am a huge tennis fan, so I'm more likely than most to enjoy playing tennis games. Virtua Tennis 2009 is not an ultra-realistic simulation of tennis. It is arcadey, but that's also why it is fun.

Pros:
- The controls are simple and easy to learn. Within a game or two almost anyone should be serving and volleying or crushing ground-strokes from anywhere on the court
- The World Tour mode was originally way too long, only going up 3 or 4 ranks every tournament even if you won both singles and doubles. However, a patch has since come out that makes it go much faster and makes it more enjoyable. World Tour itself is where most people will spend their time. Ranking up to get on the Pro Tour, and eventually becoming number 1 in the world. There is a fun mix of mini-games and matches and you have to rest now and again to keep your player from getting injured. Also, you unlock new outfits and raquets. One thing I really liked was that raquets actually have stats
-Different surfaces actually play differently. So slower bounces on clay and really fast bounces on grass, just like it should be
- There is just something about the game, that keeps drawing you back. I'll find myself saying I'll only play one more match and playing 10 more because it is just generally fun.

Cons:
-Most of the clothing you unlock is terribly animated. Character customization in general is pretty much a joke because your character always looks bad.
- Virtua Tennis 3 had you level up in minigames, but you actually had to work on stuff in the minigames. Wanted to get your backhand better? You had to use your backhand in practice. This has been replaced by Skill Types that are a great idea if they were implemented alongside leveling up different parts of your game, or if they felt significantly different from each other. Sadly, they all feel the same

While I only give it a 6, I will admit this game is hard to put down. It just could have been so much more.

In its first week I forgot I owned any other games. Even got a friend who had no prior interest in tennis hooked on it. It's good fun; might not be the most ultra realistic game out there, but it's still a blast. Yes, the tournament mode is a bit of a grind, but I think the game truly shines for its doubles mode anyway. Just my $0.02.

Fun when playing 2 - 4 players. Once you get the mechanics, you'll start to enjoy this game.

it's not what i thought it would be,but the little side game s are cool

This game is just plain boring and too repetitive do be any good at all. I read tons of reviews on this game thinking that this game could not be as bad as its rating but trust me it is. I would never play this game again even if it was the only game I had. Hopefully EA Sports will come out with a better tennis game this winter.

Figured that title would explain it perfectly. Bottom line: put a tennis game among a group of your friends and you can have a good time. However, playing it alone is boring and repetitive. Playing through the entire World Tour would take a LOT of free time, let alone the amount of time to rack up all of the achievements. The game has been patched but STILL has a lot of bugs and problems that need worked out. A slight graphical improvement from Virtua Tennis 3 but that's not enough to say that this is "better," and certainly isn't the more stable release of the two. Overall, a good rent if you're a fan of the series or just a fan of tennis games. But I wouldn't be purchasing this one until a lot of fixes are made, which probably won't be anytime soon, or the Keep It price drops under $20.

so I thought next version should be better than previous one and it actually other way around. most of the game is the same as a previous version, this one has a lag during the game. u advance 2 spots at the time thats gets really boring really fast. in tennis academy i got all gold medals on the first try and had nothing to do for the rest of my "advancement".
long story short, gets boring really fast, has bugs and no fun at all. save you time and money for something better

This is an arcade style tennis game. There aren't a ton of features, but its a great time to play with a group of friends. If you are having a game day with a group of friends who like sports games, this is a good rent.

I didn't play the single player portion as I rented this just for the multiplayer.

I to was really looking forward to this game, especially after VT3. After playing the game I like a few improvements, but miss a lot of VT3. The graphics engine has improved, but there are slight freezes at times while playing. The new mini-game additions are very interesting. However, the old leveling system was a lot better. Now things are just catagorized, which seems to simple. Small issue on the character design, all of the amateurs you face look exactly like your created character. I do like the break difference between ametuer going to the pros, which wasn't previously in VT3. The money system is very cool, so are the continuous ability to have practice matches.

It's the same on both consoles, everything I enjoyed in VT3 were butchered. A lot of the additions to VT09 feel very half done. Hopefully the next installment is better, because like many I have loved this series since it was on DreamCast.

All in all the game is good, but if you were looking for an enhanced version of Virtua Tennis 3 this isn't really it.

I was really looking forward to this game, but it felt unfinished. The things I liked about World Tour in Virtua Tennis 3 (being able to upgrade your player, actual challenge once you start reaching the top of the rankings for example) were butchered. You no longer upgrade your character's speed, stroke strength, serve strength, ect., you can only unlock certain playing styles that really don't make much of a difference. Also, as previously mentioned, in Virtua Tennis 3, it actually got difficult once you got closer to the top. Here, the A.I. is mind-numbingly easy, so it's really hard to justify to go through the rankings. Also, if you choose to go pro early before you reach number 1 in amateurs, you will miss out on a trophy/achievement, so you have to start another character and put in at least 10 more hours of easy wins just to get that trophy/achievement. Also, all of the amateurs you face look too much like your created character. No matter how you create your character, they basically look the same.

I thought online play would help save it, but unfortunately it really didn't. Your player moves fine, but your online opponent looks like he or she is lagging (even if they really aren't), and because of this, your opponent can somehow reach out-of-reach shots and hit the ball back on the second bounce.

Basically, the things I enjoyed in Virtua Tennis 3 were butchered, and the additions to Virtua Tennis 2009 were only halfway done. I was disappointed with it that I returned it in a week. Some people might like it, but I would at least rent this or check out other tennis games before buying this one. Hopefully this helps you out.

I got this game an played it for one night, put back in the mail the next morning. I play all sports game's and thought this was going to be really good. The graphics i give 5, game play 5, replay value 2. It is so easy to score an you cant be beat. The a.i is horriable just silly. The computer runs away from your ball plays like a person that has never played tennis. Some of the people you have to play look like zombies, the game is just bad. Dont wast your time on this one. If your a fan of tennis. Rent top-spin.

Too... cartoony? good for 6-10 yr olds the actual tennis is o.k. but you have to get past the practice, training, shopping cart dash?, pirate practice?, and etc.... plus your ranking starts at #100 and only move up 1 maybe 2 spots after winning the whole tournment without getting scored on once! Just not worth waiting the shipping time for.

The graphics are nice and on par with TP3 and that's we're the similiarity ends. The all important 'gameplay' is typical of all VT3,- unrealistly fast, in fact, too fast!

I felt this game was a really poor effort over VT3 and not much has changed. I would recommend Top Spin 3 instead as it has a much better career mode and better controls once you get used to them.

The graphics are cleaned up a bit, but it's about the same as the last version. So, if you weren't overwhelmed by the last one, save the time and rent something else.