Nintendo Wii Review: Virtua Tennis 2009

I have always thought that Tennis and Golf were two sports games that just didn’t translate well into a home gaming experience. The sports require precision, power and control – all of which feel mutilated through standard D-Pad or Thumbstick controls. Because these titles have never really found a home base, developers and publishers alike have never paid enough attention to the detail required to making these games better. Rarely, are these sports improved year over year like Basketball or Football games (though sometimes even that falls into question). Money is not invested into improving on graphics, gameplay and the overall gaming experience. Instead, you get a game that has been hacked together that begs you to put it down for another activity.

If you read my review of Virtua Tennis 2009 for the Xbox 360, you would have seen that my opinion of Thumbstick controls remained the same, as well as my opinion of the overall gaming experience. Surprising, on the golf side I’ve had a change of heart. My opinion of golfing games did a total 180 after playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 on the Nintendo Wii. This was the first time that golfing felt like golfing – well sort of. Then Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 hit, I jumped with enthusiasm as a game of precision had finally found an “authentic” and all-together “realistic” translation on the home console. Add on Wii MotionPlus, and you had a game that was so compelling that you could not justify coughing up the cash to play.

Virtua Tennis for the Nintendo Wii comes to home gamers with the added benefit of Wii Motion Plus. Although this title is in no way comparable to the experience you’ll get from Tiger Woods Golf, it is a step in the right direction for Tennis gaming.

First of all, you can toss away that nasty Thumbstick controller for a racket that gives you more control over swings. Wii MotionPlus will give you a more immersive experience of actually playing tennis. Keep in mind that this comes with its own drawbacks. Gamers, who had way too much fun throwing Wii Parties featuring Wii Sports, will find Virtua Tennis 2009 to not be so forgiving when it comes to swings. The racket is more in tune with your movements and swing types. So you can lob and do slices with accuracy. But, the learning curve will take some getting used to, and can easily frustrate fly-by-night gamers.

You’ll have to use the nunchuk combo to really control your player, which can be cumbersome but still gives you the most authentic gaming experience. With the Nunchuck, you’ll be able to shun the CPU’s atrocious control over your player’s movement on the court. Without it, you’ll find yourself missing more than a few easy returns because the computer just couldn’t keep up with you.

Unfortunately, gameplay is where tennis growth stops in Virtua Tennis 2009. The graphics are lackluster and borderline atrocious. I don’t expect much from a tennis game in regard to graphics, but I would appreciate just better attention to detail when it comes to texture mapping. The framerate will also be an issue on this one, so expect some jarring movements while gaming. But, all things aside you can still have a nice tennis match without focusing too much on the visuals.

The music was just an oversight on the part of Sumo Digital. The matches have a bland musical backdrop with no true sports casting commentary.

Unfortunately, gamers looking for online play will find that opponents are severely lacking in the VT online world. Hopefully, this game will be improved on in the coming years on the Nintendo Wii, so the lack of online community will eventually not be a problem. Personally, I would focus on the Wii release and just cut development efforts from the PS3 and Xbox 360. Right now, however, you’ll have to stick to finding your own opposition when playing CPU players gets old.

Virtua Tennis 2009 for the Wii won’t receive any awards due to lackluster visuals that seems poorly slapped together. However, the addition of Wii MotionPlus makes VT a step in the right direction when it comes to making a home tennis gaming experience that is worth investing the time and money into playing.