Virtua Tennis 2009 was officially announced by SEGA on 5 February 2009, and was estimated to be released in May, just in time for the Winbledon series. It was released later on, only at the end of May and beginning of June, on 28 May 2009 to Europe, 29 May 2009 to Australia and 9 June 2009 to North America under the genre of sports. It is developed by Sumo Digital and published by SEGA for the Xbox 360. Among the modes included are single-player, multiplayer, and online multiplayer. Virtua Tennis 2009 features 40 different courts to play on, including locations such as Dubai and Shanghai, as well as an all new create-a-player option that provides players with the opportunity to create anyone. Not only that, the game also includes the World Tour Mode and includes a fully integrated online ranking system. The Davis Cup has also been licensed and will appear in Virtua Tennis 2009. Virtua Tennis 2009 also includes mini-games with 12 court games, including new entries such as Pot Shot, Pirate Wars, Block Buster, Count Mania, Zoo Feeder and Shopping Dash.
Reviews
Virtua Tennis 2009 is a game that will test your determination and persistence as you will have to endure more than 10 hours in World Tour mode before you face a competent opponent. It features well done core mechanics that allow you to easily hit the ball anywhere on the court. However, Virtua Tennis 2009 is so devoid of life and insultingly easy that it can never capture the thrill of victory.
“Innovation is a big part of any good gaming franchise. If you’re going to make sequels upon sequels you have to improve on the previous game with each and every installation. That’s my biggest gripe with Virtua Tennis 2009: aside from being able to take your created player into online matches in your career, there is next to no genuine innovation to be seen.
For some, that might not be such a bad thing. The core tennis that has been in the series for years is still present. There are three shot types: top spin, slice and lob; why they refuse to allow you to flatten the ball out like the pros is beyond me, but those who played Virtua Tennis 3 will feel right at home. One slight change that Sumo Digital (the developers) did make to the gameplay comes in the form of a greater emphasis on movement. Players no longer dive for shots (thank you!) on the baseline and you’ll now need to orient yourself properly with an incoming ball if you want to slap a powerful return. I also found it easier to “wrong-foot” the AI by hitting the ball behind them. If you open up the court with an aggressive cross-court shot, after hitting their return the AI will realistically run to cover the open court. In some cases all you’ll need to do is hit the ball behind them for an easy winner. They’ll pick up on the trend eventually, but the change in AI pattern is good to see.
Much like the gameplay, World Tour hasn’t changed at all. You still scroll across the globe and select destinations. Whether it be going home to take a rest, doing training at the tennis academy, playing in a tournament, practicing with your partner, or taking part in any of the ridiculous mini-games such as feeding animals by smacking meat and fruit at them or sinking pirate ships with powerful groundstrokes. You’ll unlock new mini-games as you progress, but that sure does take awhile. I won several tournaments and was disappointed to see that I had only moved up eight spots in the rankings; from 100 to 92.” (IGN, 2009)
