Virtua Tennis 3 (360): I should play games right after Dancing with the Stars more often.
Virtua Tennis 3 is the third iteration of the venerable VT franchise; it has appeared on other handheld consoles in various forms, but I won’t include them because the GBA and N-Gage versions were poor.
Virtua Tennis 3 decided to take on Top Spin and moved away from the arcade like qualities that made the original VT so insanely addictive. That’s not to say it’s a bad game, but it is definitely not for everyone.
This game doesn’t allow you to whack away at the ball with reckless abandon. Here, timing is everything. You can’t deliver a full power cross court shot while running. One of the biggest things I needed to practice (yes, practice) was the split second timing between the perfect return and a poor return (the difference is measured in milliseconds).
This review can only be half done, because I don’t have xbox live. Two equally matched opponents will have a blast playing this, but I have no equal. My 360 sadly informed me that I put in over 20 hours of play time before it was all said and done.
VT3 has a wider range of players to choose from. And unlike VT2, you can have inter gender matches. This alone is worth the price of admission; oh come on, you’ve never wanted to see a Serena Williams versus Rafael Nadal? The styles between men and women naturally differ, so the gameplay is incredibly captivating.
The create a character bit is nicely done, but the game never puts your name on the match boards, instead opting for ‘custom’. Little touches like that would’ve been nice, but it’s only a minor nit.
Ultimately, I think this is one of the best games on the 360. It’s gorgeous, fluid, and incredibly fun. The problem is, it’s not anything like the original Virtua Tennis. Every player is now nuanced, and you have to learn their idiosyncrasies to succeed. There’s no Jim Courier-esque player that anyone can pick up, use and master within minutes. Clearly, this game has evolved from its arcade roots, but whether that’s good or bad is for you to decide.
Outrun2 (xbox): I can’t really say that I beat this game for two reasons. First, there’s six paths, and the path that was completed was the A path, or the easiest one. Second, Nora beat it, not me. That is, she held the controller and was my good luck charm.
I love this game. I absolutely, truly love this game. Outrun 2 is the successor to the original outrun – yes, the game that showed up in the arcades two decades ago. It’s one of those games that aged well, and this version received a beautiful graphical update. This time around, the cars are licensed.
And Nora loves the game, to boot. She loves the beaches, the cars, the buses, the boats, the trucks, the bridges and the windmills. Since races never last more than five minutes, and the scenery changes from minute to minute, it keeps her toddler mind captivated.
So, I’ve been having trouble with a small section of the game. This morning, Nora demanded to play ‘black car!’ so I happily obliged. Periodically she hits the thumbstick but mostly she holds the controller, feels the force feedback and watches the scenery intently. So for the first time since getting the game, I completed the castle section (easily, I might add) and cruised to victory. Nora’s initials are on the high score list, not mine.
There are six different ending credits in all.
This game is short. For most racing fans, it can be beaten in under two hours. But that’s not the point – the fun is in the experience, which Nora has already grasped. Sega knows arcade games better than anyone else, and thankfully they know how to leave that arcade feel intact.
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Nora is so cute. “Daddy, cars! Cars, Daddy! In the office! Black car! Let’s go!” I think she’s definitely going to become Daddy’s gaming buddy as she gets older.