Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Unlike so many who fondly remember Virtua Tennis from its heyday on the Dreamcast, I

  • recall many a shiny dollar being pumped in to the machine at the local Arcade (or if

  • I was lucky, a bunch of free plays during a lock-in night). Combining both the complexity

  • of athletic Tennis and the simplicity of Arcade controls, it was a smash hit. Now on the iOS

  • it has a chance to ensnare even more people, but as you'd expect it's not an entirely smooth

  • ride.

  • Despite the minimum fourth-gen iDevice requirement, the experience is currently less than optimal

  • and for some it borders on unplayable. For those playing on an iPhone 4S, iPad 2 or 3,

  • you're in luck as the game runs smooth as silk (barring the occasional hiccup on longer

  • matches).

  • It's hard to say whether the slick 3D engine being used is to blame, but the original Arcade

  • atmosphere is replicated almost flawlessly - not quite ultra-realistic, but not cartoonish

  • enough to be off-putting; it's a beautiful mix of aesthetics.

  • Controlling your player is also a snap, though those after something more than a quick and

  • casual fix will want to switch to the virtual controls. The default swipe gestures take

  • very little time to learn and in fact training can be skipped altogether if you so wish,

  • but for those hoping to replicate those magical dashes and smash hits the virtual console

  • and arcade controls will be your best friend.

  • There is a noticeable amount of content missing for those used to the console version, notably

  • a Career mode, but the World Tour and Singles/Doubles Exhibition matches, as well as a Point Challenge

  • mode manage to showcase the basic strengths of Virtua Tennis.

  • Unfortunately multiplayer is also less than optimal at this time, with issues ranging

  • from lag to poor matching, making it more of a blow than anything else at this time.

  • Virtua Tennis Challenge is nowhere near an Ace serve, but if you have the latest iDevices

  • available to you it will give you a run for your money.

Unlike so many who fondly remember Virtua Tennis from its heyday on the Dreamcast, I

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it