It’s not that we’re rubbish, because we’ve been acing matches and handing the AI its silicon arse on a plate in the tournaments. Rather, our complaint is that we know there’s a very solid game of tennis somewhere in Sega Superstars Tennis but, frustratingly, we’ve not been given the tools to make the most of it. Some of the minigames actually force you to switch to the D-pad control method - even ones where you just have to run around and collect stuff, which would be much more comfortable with the analogue stick. It’s quite off-putting, especially when you fail a minigame because you couldn’t keep your chosen control scheme. If you prefer the D-pad anyway, it won’t be a problem.

The special Superstar powers are fairly amusing, and generally involve the ball weaving all over the place to confuse the other player. A couple of characters fire weapons when they hit the ball, and all of the Superstar powers last long enough for you to repeat the trick in the unlikely event of your opponent managing to get the ball back over the net.

Incidentally - and not a specific criticism of this game since lots of other ones do it as well - aren’t those Superstar powers intrinsically unfair? You charge them up by winning points, so the more you crush your opponent, the more of these near-guaranteed winners you’ll be awarded. If you’re on the receiving end of a beating, you won’t get the chance to turn things around with a Superstar power of your own. It’s the complete opposite of Mario Kart’s system, which levels the playing field by giving the best weapons to the losingest players.

Sega Superstars Tennis certainly looks great, with detailed characters and super-smooth animation. If you know your Sega history, you’ll love the little touches in the backgrounds of the stages, and the extensive soundtrack is totally in keeping with the fondness for Sega retro that the developers clearly have. This is deeper than Wii Sports tennis, but not by much, and after you’ve blasted your relatives off the court with a spectacular display of Superstar powers, you’ll find it doesn’t have anywhere near the mass appeal of the Nintendo freebie. So it must be aimed at the hardcore, and if that’s the case then it’s probably too simple. Shame it doesn’t decide one way or the other, because Superstars Tennis is the best celebration of Sega we’ve seen.

Mar 18, 2008