Simultaneously accessible and challenging, Virtua Tennis 2009 distills the sport of tennis to its purest form by offering a short list of shots (lob, top spin, and slice), while emphasizing your reflexes, position on the court, and ability to anticipate your opponent. At first, the mechanics might feel overly simple — a stark contrast to the other big tennis game on the market, Top Spin 3, whose gameplay leans more on realism than exaggeration. But beyond VT 2009′s simplicity is an addictive arcade tennis game capable of fostering intelligent, thought-provoking matches.
Tennis fans will appreciate the tools available to attack either from the baseline or near the net. Aggressive baseline players who favor force over finesse can return the ball from the back of the court with a speedy forward spin to overpower their opponents. Net players, on the other hand, who avoid the back in favor of the center of the court, can gracefully volley the ball as soon as it flies over the net. Baseline and net players are fundamentally different from each other, but require similar skills in order to be used effectively.