Virtua Tennis 4 - Xbox 360

I really loved Tennis 2K2 for the Dreamcast, and this is the latest game in the series that I got my hands on (after playing the Virtua Tennis 3 demo on the 360). It reminds me a lot of the old game, with more polished graphics. The menus are interesting and seem designed for a younger female demographic, but the overall game is satisfying for casual gamers and tennis fans alike. T2K2 was even better than the original Virtua Tennis (a great arcade game in its own right) as it was a lot easier to hit the ball and the characters didn't superfluously dive (and miss) quite so often. Plus it added 4 players and the ability to have mixed doubles or play as female athletes. There was also a limited create-a-player option. I never played the career mode in that title, but the one in this game is pretty fun, though some would call it short, where you unlock various items for your player. New in this version is the ability to play with the Kinect, even online (only 1 v 1, sadly). I don't have Kinect so I can't comment on how it is.One thing that bugged me was that Serena Williams is not in this game. Apparently she was licensed to a rival Tennis game series, so the Williams sisters are split up. This is too bad, because they were the dream team on the old series. That said, you can put her in as a created character pretty easily, though the options are limited do she won't look quite how she's supposed to.Gameplay wise, there are now four possible shots you can make instead of just two (as in the previous game I played). You can still have 4 players, but now you can have any mixed of genders (not just mf vs mf or all of one or the other).Now you get power shots that if you build up a meter enough, and get in the right position, it changes to a "cutscene" style animation for the shot which throws your opponents off (remember the position they were in before the cutscene so you have a chance to position up).The ball also has a little yellow trail behind it which makes it slightly more visible than before.There are a few flaws... namely there is a glitch that comes up occasionally where you can hit the button as you normally would, but your character will just stand there frozen (you can tell because the ball basically hits you/passes through). This gives your opponent a point just as if you'd missed it, and it just seems to crop up randomly. The fact that the men are stronger than the women isn't really a flaw, just something to keep in mind when you're playing mixed games. Otherwise, this is a very easy game to pick up, and lots of fun in multiplayer. The career mode is also worth going through, I just wish there were more options for character creation!

I purchased this one since it has a kinect game mode. It is not perfect in kinect mode as i expected. Sometimes it recognizes your timing and speed very well, sometimes it does not even if you do exactly the same as before. It is a good start. I have not tested the game in regular mode yet.

The actual tennis gameplay is solid as always. The minigames in the world tour are ridiculous in a fun way. The progression in the world tour mode is awesome, seeing your guy go from nothing to star is quite fulfilling.

Like it

Game worked just fine but the game was different than virtua 3. Not as good. I can't even beat the easy guy haha.

as expected

Not all the game can be used with Kinect, only a part of the game

Love it and it came really fast

great price

Too bad some features don't work with Kinect! Sad

Excellent good purchase and fast delivery

Hooked on to this game for long !!!

Good