Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions

[goh]

The intro song was really,really,really lame. I did like the video style though.

This appears to have been a very well made game for the most part.
The move system in world tour however appears poorly thought out and luck is a big factor. It seems very possible to get screwed over by the system.

Personally however it doesn't matter because I find this game entirely unplayable. Not due to poor controls or glitchyness or anything of the such. This is the most difficult sports game I've ever played and it's on easy. (Called casual in tour,easy in exhibition) I didn't get an instruction book so I have no idea how to do drop shots etc. but I really don't think it'd matter. If I had the blue target that's in practice mode I might be able to win something but there's no option to have it present during the actual game. It's like it's on All-McEnroe! Which is a shame because it otherwise seems pretty great.

Sim heads should love it though. Casual fans...up the river.

I fffiiiinnnnaalllllyyyy managed to win something!

[Rules]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

The intro song is terrible and that is being nice.

Right now I am playing on the highest setting and so far I have walked thru all of my opponents who are very low skilled. My next match is against a world tour player so we will see. I will play that match tomorrow.

Playing World Tour and I think the game is worth the $32 I paid. However, I think it is more arcade than sim.

One doesn't need a manual as it is actually very basic. Just look at the controller scheme in the game. Only using 4 buttons and both sticks. The left to aim and the right to control your player.

[goh]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

They don't have drop shots and that stuff? Maybe they got the difficulties backwards,wouldn't be the first time.

[Rules]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

They don't have drop shots and that stuff? Maybe they got the difficulties backwards,wouldn't be the first time.

Tap triangle if you have a ps3. Also pull back on the left stick.

[dbacks01]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

The intro song is terrible and that is being nice.

Right now I am playing on the highest setting and so far I have walked thru all of my opponents who are very low skilled. My next match is against a world tour player so we will see. I will play that match tomorrow.

Playing World Tour and I think the game is worth the $32 I paid. However, I think it is more arcade than sim.

One doesn't need a manual as it is actually very basic. Just look at the controller scheme in the game. Only using 4 buttons and both sticks. The left to aim and the right to control your player.

Virtua Tennis has always been arcade like never sim.

[goh]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

If this is arcade it should be a whole lot easier. I'll try Top Spin 4 later but I could win most of the time in the old versions of that.

[cdawg44]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

So I have to admit. I was real skeptical about this game after the diasters that were Virtua Tennis 2009 and Virtua Tennis 3 made me very sour on the series. Well, after spending some time the game on Xbox, I can say the series is back. I honestly beleive this may be the best VT since the original back on Dreamcast. It is certainly the best on next gen. While, I strongly prefer TS 4 over VT4, it has truly provided a nice break from TS.

First off, the game is the best looking Tennis game I ever seen. The player models are great and the court environments are superb. It's massive upgrade from 2009. All the glitches and slowdowns in the middle of play that plagued VT 2009 are gone and gameplay is pretty tight. The best part for me is actually seeing aces occur in the game; something that is rare to see in Top Spin 4. You still don't see a ton of errors in game like in the other game, but you will see more than in other VT games. They also added new animations that try to make the game more realistic, but I'm not sure how well it worked.

One of my biggest beefs with the last VT game was just how long and tedious the last world tour was. You had to plow through two full tours and it took alomst 12 in game years for me to finish. I like the direction Sega went with the new overhauled world tour with 4 years divided among the the four majors and all the build up to it. Once I got adjusted to having to use tickets to move along to different stops, the tour became a blast with you having to balance playing matches and tournaments, public appearacnes and manging your condition. My one major beef with the tour is how short it is. I finished the first 3 years of the tour in less than a day of play. I feel like it could have been drawn out longer to maybe two years in all four areas of the world and then in the second year you get to play in the majors. In addition, you only play 2 tournaments in warm up for the major of that area. So I only played in Spain and Egypt before the French Cup and played in Sweden and Prague before London tournament. It seems as if Sega heard all the complaints about how long the tour was time and really worked to shorten it to a more reasonable length, but I really beleive that they went to far in the other direction with so few tournaments and a short time period.

The mini-games are all new unless you buy the PS3 version which has the Pin Crusher game which has been long over due. The mini-games just became so stale to me and having new ones has blown some life into the game and made it a fresh experience for me. I am really enjoying the mini-game ace striker where you have to serve a soccer ball into a goal past a goalie and walls of soccer players.

The big let down for me it how bad the game is with Kinect controls. It really has not been as fun as thought it was going to be and I have had many issues with the sensor picking up my movements. PS3 has been a better expereince with the move in IMHO.


All in all, I'll give the game a 7. The shortness of the world tour and poor use of the Kinect really let me down. Other than that, if you like arcade tennis, you'll enjoy this. However, I would wait until a price drop on it. With Top Spin 4 at $39 new and $17.99 pre-owned, that is for sure a better buy.

[ZeeAyKay]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

Thanks for the impressions cdawg. I was looking into buying either Top Spin 4 or Virtua Tennis, and while I think I'd have fun with both, your impressions helped pushed me over the fence towards buying Top Spin 4.

Also, have you noticed any unresponsiveness? One of he reviews I read said that on multiple occasions his player would not react to any inputs, and I can imagine how frustrating that would be after having a long rally.

[cdawg44]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

Thanks for the impressions cdawg. I was looking into buying either Top Spin 4 or Virtua Tennis, and while I think I'd have fun with both, your impressions helped pushed me over the fence towards buying Top Spin 4.

Also, have you noticed any unresponsiveness? One of he reviews I read said that on multiple occasions his player would not react to any inputs, and I can imagine how frustrating that would be after having a long rally.

I haven't seen any unresponsiveness yet. I will play some matches on world tour and see if anything comes up today and et you guys know if I do, but its been pretty good in that regard for me. Yea, I like VT 4; its a fun game and i like the direction Sega went in for this game, but it doesn't touch the depth of Top Spin 4. And since TS4 has gone on sale and a great price point, it provides a nice bang for your buck. VT is something you may pick up at Gamestop used for 20 or 25, like I will for a PS3 version in the future for the exclusive players and mini-games.
There is nothing glaring wrong or broken about this game and I could see why some reviewers gave it high marks like they did. It is for sure the best VT game on next gen where VT 2009 was a mess and VT 3 was unplayable for me. Old VT vets from Dreamcast and the arcade versions should be happy with it.

The short world tour really left a bad taste in my mouth with only 12 tournaments you play through. Not including the the little small satellite tournaments. While Top Spin 4 has almost 30 tournaments per season.

[goh]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

I've had the unresponsiveness a few times. I'm not sure if I hit the button too late or needed to be at a different angle or what but there should've been a swing attempt and there wasn't. One time they just stood in the center and didn't do anything at all. Wouldn't move or swing.

The drop shot helped quite a bit.

Doubles was ridiculously easy. Serve,AI hits it back,AI partner hits it between the 2 of them and neither do anything.

[cdawg44]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions thread

I've had the unresponsiveness a few times. I'm not sure if I hit the button too late or needed to be at a different angle or what but there should've been a swing attempt and there wasn't. One time they just stood in the center and didn't do anything at all. Wouldn't move or swing.

The drop shot helped quite a bit.

Doubles was ridiculously easy. Serve,AI hits it back,AI partner hits it between the 2 of them and neither do anything.

Yea, I've had to adjust to this game because you have to start your swing earlier than on other VT games. Try hitting the button as soon as your opponent strikes the ball and see if that helps.

I'm kinda warming up to the world tour now and it's length because I see it's designed to make you play multiple world tours to unlock all the courts and play styles. The highest I got in one tour was to level 35 on the skill level.

Also, has anyone unlocked King yet? I was able to unlock Duke through the Arcade mode, but can't get King. Any help would be appreciated

[cdawg44]

Re: Virtua Tennis 4 Impressions

I Finally unlocked King last night while I was taking a break from LA Noire.

So you have to play in the arcade version on Normal with any character of your choosing. Then you have to win all four matches without losing a game and not going to deuce in any game. In addition, you have to get medals in EXACTLY 5 of the 6 categories. So you have to hit an ace or dropshot/lob winner once.

To beat king, avoid the backhand at all costs, and serve max serves into his backhand and follow that up with volleys and smashes. It will take a couple of tries, but he's beatable.