This game was the DS version, 95% of this review can be applied to other console version, mainly the game play elements, sorry we don’t have the budget to review games on every console yet.
For a DS game Sega Superstars Tennis is pretty good, its nice to see a majority of Sega’s classic franchise’s recognized with characters from them.
Graphics
The graphics are surprisingly good for a DS game, the backgrounds look marvellous which leads me to believe they may be pre-rendered since you don’t see jaggies. The character models are pretty good and represent the character nicely.
8.5/10
Sound
Just about as much as you would expect from a DS game, the track itself seems like a modern remake of various classic themes, I won’t spoil too much but I picked up on some Sonic Adventure theme’s, when you play the game see if you can pick them out! The voice overs are pretty mediocre, I’m still trying to get over the fact that Tails sounds like a girl now.
8/10
Gameplay
The moment you start the game you are greeted with a retro surprise featuring Sonic, a 16 bit Sonic runs by the Sega logo, he leans on it and bounces a tennis ball on his hand. If only the Sega Scream was still present!
You have the choice of playing the game with the stylus or the buttons, thankfully its not both! Each has it’s own gameplay element that adds to the experience. I played the game on the DS lite so I found the touch pad to be a better option since it did not hurt my fingers. For the tennis aspect the stylus method is "dummed down", all you do is move you character to the area you think the ball is coming and wait for them to hit it. With the controls you are forced to move around, change characters, etc just about what you would expect.
The game also comes with mission mode, you pick your character and you do various events. The events are the good part, you can play a court called Sonic, what you do is various missions involving rings on the tennis court. Other missions include a homage to Monkey Ball, Virtua Cop, Chu Chu Rocket, Puyo Puyo Fever, Jet Grind, to name a few. Just image all these titles but with a layout that fits a tennis court. The thing I do not like about these is their control schemes are not universal, some are much easier with one control then another so expect to be switching back and forth.
The thing I really like about this game is the various courts that pay homage to Sega’s past franchise’s also stay faithful to the graphical style of the game that it is based on, a real treat for old Sega gamers.
The game also supports the rumble pack, I do not have the rumble kit so I cannot comment on it. For classic Sega fans such as myself, you will appreciate the arenas since they are based off classic arenas from games such as Sonic the Hedgehog (The old one), Space Channel 5, etc
The multiplayer supports 1-2 players on a single card and 2-4 players on multiple carts.
8.5/10
Conclusion
The game will be enjoyed by all, on the DS the game offers a quick pick up and play experience which you can take anywhere. Old Sega fans will enjoy this more since they will see some of there favourite franchise’s in the game.
Why is it that outsourced Sega games pay homage to classic Sega and in house completely ignores it? Please definitely don’t love new Sega, they love the old Sega!
8/10