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1. Claire Cameron Says:
   November 17th, 2009 at 7:25 am

   I found this game fun and entertaining as a party game, as well as playing it solo. As a student I found it an excellent game to play if I needed a 5-10 minute break from my studies. The courts were colourful, the music was catchy and it was brilliant to see Sega bring back some old characters from much of their forgotten past, as well as some of the courts from their early years.

   My one complaint is that there aren’t enough characters from different sega games. They concentrate on having 5 Sonic related characters, while the others would have a maximum of two from a game. It would have been nice to see characters from other games like Burning Rangers, Billy Hatcher or even Shinobi!

   Overall it’s a nice easy game to play, but there are enough challenges later on for the more experienced players. Online play is a bit of a let down, since there are usually not many players on the server, so don’t expect to complete the online achievements very quickly, unless you know someone who can assist you.
   Rating: 4 / 5

2. M. Scott Says:
   November 17th, 2009 at 8:10 am

   I got this in a pack with my new XBox 360 (a xmas pressie) and immediately thought, cool but it’s for kids. . . . however that didn’t stop me enjoying Ratchet and Clank for my PS2 so I thought why not?

   I was immediately taken aback by the standard of the game. Excellent graphics, coold music (although this does grate on you after a while) and a nice simple addictive game. However, the game itself while easy to pick up and play is proving infinitely more complex and infuriatingly hard to master. Other reviewers have said that this i sa bad thing but I disagree, this is making it a challenge to play. What throws you off is not knowing where you need to be hitting it to beat the computer and also not knowing where the computer hits it let alone where the ball is going during the ’special power’ shots. But i’m finding that practice does indeed make you better and more able to read the game. Having said that it is far too difficult for the target audience which is younger children, although quite what young children are doing with an XBox 360 rather than a Wii is beyond me. . .

   The game does suffer a little for being a ‘Sega’ cast of characters of which I can honestly only say i’ve ever heard of the Sonic ones and the others are a complete mystery. This does give things a slight unfamiliarity that the likes of Nintendo group games don’t seem to suffer from (which i’m guessing is Sega’s attempt here to compete with the likes of Mario Carts etc). But once yu just accept it for the game it is it isn’t too bad, not necessarily thebest game i’ve played but very good fun none the less. . . . and surprisingly addictive for it’s complexity and frustration value
   Rating: 4 / 5

3. Ben Says:
   November 17th, 2009 at 10:17 am

   I have to help in balancing out the average review score as well because this is far, far from the most frustrating game ever made.

   OK, let’s start with the highs. If you’re a fan of SEGA’s many franchises from days of old including Sonic the Hedgehog, OutRun, Alex Kidd and Golden Axe, their franchises from the mid 90s such as Virtua Squad and the cult classic NiGHTS and franchises from the early years of this decade such as Samba Di Amigo, Super Monkey Ball and Space Channel 5, then this game is nostalgia heaven for you. It makes great use of the artistic styles of SEGA’s wide and historic back catalogue of wonderfully creative and loveable characters and games, with faithfully revamped or reused sound effects and music from the respective games and the whole idea is for all of this great history SEGA has under their belt to simply come together and have a great party with tennis.

   Even if you’ve never heard of most of these characters and games, (might want to consider coming out from under that rock,) you’ll grow to love them quickly and when you see their own games coming out, you’ll recognise the faces and have more fun. (Watch out for the new Samba Di Amigo on the Wii!) This game is great for the family and for the hardcore gamer seeking nostalgia and a bit of casual fun with tennis.

   Let me clarify one thing: it’s NOT a game you can just pick up and play, hence the title of this review. It requires a bit of practice and maybe a skim of the instruction manual, something the people who have written one-star reviews clearly didn’t have the patience for, but when you get the hang of it after a while this is a really good game to have if you’re having a party in the house or by yourself as a nice way to pass the time.

   The main complaint about this game, coming from both a casual audience and the more experienced gamer seems to be unresponsive controls. I must agree that the game takes a little getting used to. Don’t get me wrong, the game’s not broken or deliberately programmed to cheat, but if you’ve ever played Virtua Tennis before (this game was based on its engine) then you’re going to notice a difference at first.

   People here are complaining they can’t return the ball in a match or win at the missions you complete in order to unlock hidden characters, courts and music tracks. As far as returning the ball goes, I seem to get by fine by watching how your opponent is about to swing and running in a certain direction, (which is a lot more intuitive than I make it sound,) and then pressing the X button to whack it back. The characters normally dive for the ball automatically as long as you’re close enough but even if the ball’s coming right at you and you’re standing there like a wally, don’t expect any help. Also, just before you press the button to hit the ball back, tilt the control stick left or right to aim your shot and try to hit it to the opposite side of the court so that your opponent won’t be able to run and dive for it before it bounces out. Obviously there’s also the “Superstar Modes” as well which is a special skill assigned to each character that, when used, will just make crazy stuff happen when they hit the ball such as making it swirl in strange patterns, and making your character get dizzy or warp somewhere when you hit it back.

   When you first play this game, I strongly recommend heading for the options menu and setting the game’s difficulty to easy and just play some simple doubles matches so that you’ve got a computer player to back you up until you get better at the game. Like I said, this is a game that you need to give a chance before you throw it at the wall (or at whoever sold it to you!) but once you get the hang of the controls you’ll find a fun game to play whether you want tennis with a twist playing as some loveable characters rather than boring old sweaty humans, or whether you’re a long-time fan of SEGA’s long back catalogue of excellent games that you want to re-visit in a tennis environment for a dose of nostalgia but also the glory of seeing it all up to date.

   Buy this game, lend it your patience and a few hours practice, you’ll love it, your kids will love it, your friends will love it, and when you do, you may find yourself buying the games that are showcased in this one. (No I haven’t been sent from any company!!)
   Rating: 5 / 5

4. Ms. C. Kelly Says:
   November 17th, 2009 at 1:08 pm

   THIS GAME HAS EXCELLENT COLOURFUL GRAPHICS BUT DON’T BE FOOLED, THIS IS THE MOST STRESSFUL, FRUSTRATING AND ANNOYING GAME EVER MADE. I BOUGHT IT FOR MY 3 SONS (AGE 8 YEARS, 11 YEARS & 14 YEARS) TO PLAY AS THE LABEL SAYS AGED 7 YEARS AND UPWARDS ON BUT THEY COULDNT DO IT AND GAVE IT TO MY PARTNER, MY PARTNER HAS PLAYED THIS GAME FOR HOURS & HOURS & HOURS ON THE SAME MISSION AND AS AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER I HAVE GOT TO SAY THAT IT THE MOST FRUSTRATING GAME EVER MADE! THE “COM” PLAYER IS ALWAYS FASTER THAN YOU, HARDLY EVER MISSES AND MANAGES TO GET IN SOME EXTREME SHOTS WHICH YOU MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE OF ACTUALLY HITTING IF YOUR PLAYER COULD KEEP UP WITH THE GAME! IT APPEARS TO FREEZE WHEN THE BALL IS RETURNED AND WHEN YOU TRY AND RUN TO HIT THE BALL IT DOESNT LET YOU UNTIL THE BALL HAS GONE PAST. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO SEVERAL GROWN MEN WHO HAVE VISITED AND ATTEMPTED TO PLAY THIS GAME AND I AM LUCKY TO HAVE EVERYTHING IN ONE PIECE IN MY HOME! THE VOICES ARE VERY ANNOYING AND WHAT DOESNT HELP IS THAT APPEAR TO BE TAUNTING YOU WHEN YOU LOSE AND YOU FEEL LIKE JUMPING IN THE TV AND SMASHING THEIR FACES IN!!!! THIS GAME RAISES YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE AND FRUSTRATES THE MOST RELAXED PEOPLE AND MY ADVICE IS TO STEER WELL CLEAR AND DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY. (STICK WITH THE CLASSIC SONIC ON LIVE ARCADE! IT WONT STRESS YOU OUT HALF AS MUCH!)
   Rating: 1 / 5

5. Timo Upton Says:
   November 17th, 2009 at 2:53 pm

   I agree with ms. C “all caps” Kelly this game is terribly frustrating.
   However there are some good points: it looks great! it’s so colourful and relaxing to look at. It sounds great: classic sonic-esqe guitar riffs are almost euphoric. Its crazy: who doesnt need a bit-o’-crazy every now and then. . . all good aspects but they cant balence out the fact that this game is so frustrating!

   The frustration revolves around one design flaw. . . players cant stretch for the ball. . . but instead slowly reach the racket out in a delayed move as the ball goes flying past. It’s impossible to catch the wider shots and this gets frustrating – your fingers were in the right place at the right time. . . but you still lost out. AND THE AI DOES TAUNT YOU! after a point or game is won the camera focuses in on them as they drop a one-liner-taunt. AiAi the monkey’s is particularly reage-inducing, he blurts out “AIAI! AHAHAAA,” in his crazy monkey voice.

   Stupid monkey.
   Rating: 1 / 5

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