Latest Nokia Mobile

Mobile Phone Software,Game Review: Virtua Tennis Mobile

Believe it or not, SEGA is still alive and kicking. And they're still publishing (or should I say licensing) a lot of their older games for use on, of course, mobile phones.

The Virtua Tennis franchise has been around for quite awhile, at least since the dawn of the Dreamcast. (anyone remember the Dreamcast?) For its time, it was an impressive game in terms of graphics and gameplay.

GLU mobile created and produced the mobile version, so you can blame them if you don't like it.

Virtua Tennis Mobile

The mobile version starts out with some nice logos of SEGA and GLU. Nothing too impressive. The main menu consists of some boxes and text, and...nothing more.

Since this game is strictly geared for single player, it's focused on improving your tennis pro (by buying new equipment or doing the Training mode). Training mode has you hitting an infinite amount of balls by some unknown dude. It's nothing like the good old Dreamcast Virtua Tennis Serve Bowling, or that picking-up-the-cans game.

Your character has experience levels and stats like Power, Speed, Angle, etc. Kinda like an RPG.

The actual game has a couple different modes at play here. First, you get a standard Tournament Miode which has you playing against certain races of people - seriously. Your choices, when you first start out, are:

Asian.
English.
African.

We can only imagine what comes after that.

VS CPU mode is also available, but it's basically Tournament mode with one opponent. It's definitely NOT multiplayer mode over Bluetooth. This game isn't THAT complex.

So how's the gameplay? It's actually a little..weird. Players move VERY slowly, and maneuvering around the courts while hitting the ball on a phone keypad is definitely one of the tougher aspects of the game. If your phone doesn't allow you to hit simultaneous buttons, then you might have a Serious Problem on your hands.

Collision detection is virtually non-existent in this game. The ball could hit you in the nuts and you'd still be able to magically execute a cross court forehand out of nowhere. Amazing.

All in all though, it's not a bad little game. It does a good job of wasting time, and isn't TOO ridiculously difficult to play (ala Lumines Mobile). Virtua Tennis will keep you occupied for the ten minutes you're spending on line, or on the toilet, or whatever.

Tags: games, glu, java, software

No Comment | Posted in » Nokia Software