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Originally released on Sega's Naomi arcade board before moving across to the Dreamcast, Virtua Tennis was the finest tennis sim of its age. Visually arresting with a brilliant control system, it made a generational leap on from Codemasters' 16bit behemoth, Pete Sampras Tennis, and has rarely been bettered since. More recent iterations have suffered, perhaps – like PES, they have failed to keep pace with the advance of console specifications. But now the original development team is back in control, and Virtua Tennis 4, currently only announced for PS3, has been built to harness two incoming technologies: 3D and Move.
And harness them it does…
Virtua Tennis has always been famed for its intuitive controls – now, the Move version of VT4 accentuates this by removing the need for button presses altogether. Every one of the game's shots, from savage cross-court volleys to delicate lobs is accessible through movement. But it takes skill – and energy. At first, you're just trying to get the ball across the net, but gradually you learn how the virtual tennis racket on the screen moves identically in relation to the Move controller. Top spin is accessible via a well-timed flick of the wrist, and a cheeky chip over the net can be achieved via an underarm scooping motion. It's total physicality.
The key element, though, is controlled exaggeration. As many of the shots require similar movements, the more ambitious need to be very well defined. So, for example, to pull off a cross-court shot, you need to start with the Move controller, tucked well around your body, before bringing it through an extravagant arc to the other side. Without the full swing, you'll just end up with a hard shot down the line. It's demanding stuff, and after a several long rallies with Murray, you may well feel as though you're getting a reasonable workout.
The system is still being tweaked and refined, though, and there are some sketchy areas. To move in to the net, you have to make a concerted stride forwards, but the system doesn't always pick the movement up so often you find yourself playing a baseline slogging game, whether you want to or not. Also, when you are at the net, your player disappears, leaving the onscreen tennis racket as your only onscreen presence, which can be rather disorientating. But mostly, after a few minutes of practise, the ball is generally going where you want it to, and the feeling of competing, of formulating tactics, of gaining control over the court, is already thoroughly invigorating.
As for the 3D visuals – in some ways this is what the tennis simulation has always been waiting for. The traditional behind-the-player view, while workable, has always been something of a compromise, providing a forced perspective, or an ever-narrowing court. But in 3D, the view is lower, the sense of space much more authentic. In Virtua Tennis 4, the effect is rather subtle, and as in the best 3D movies, you start to take it for granted after a while. The only problem perhaps, is the spatial disconnect between the ball flying toward you, and your Move controller; you almost expert to see the ball fly out of the screen and make haptic contact with the device in your hand. Consequently, it takes a while to get the split-second timings right.
Apparently, there will be over 20 players in the finished version, though currently only Murray, Nadal and Federer have been confirmed. Sega assured me we can also expect the usual range of wacky mini-games in the World Tour mode, and hinted that these have been totally redesigned to take advantage of Move controls. There'll also be online multiplayer.
In short: classic Virtua Tennis accessibility and depth. In 3D. With Move support. I mean, what else needs to be said?
Virtua Tennis 4 is currently confirmed for PS3. It's due out next year.
