Virtua Tennis: World Tour

A serve, a dash to the net and a winning stroke into the empty court - Virtua Tennis: World Tour brought SEGA's famous tennis series into your pocket and proved that on the PSP a brisk and addictive sport can be just as fun as on the big screen. For fans of the white sport it was one of the best reasons to own a handheld at all.

The game principle rests on controls that are instantly comprehensible but gradually deepen. A few buttons suffice for different types of strokes - a flat topspin ball, a slice or a lob - and yet surprising tactical depth is born from that simplicity. The key is correct positioning, reading the opponent's movement and timing your stroke so as to chase your rival off the court and open the path to a winning ball. It is precisely this balance between accessibility and depth that made Virtua Tennis a phenomenon.

The Virtua Tennis series was first made famous by SEGA in the arcades, and its reputation rested on lightning-fast gameplay and a perfectly tuned feel. The World Tour version for the PSP was adapted for the portable console from the ground up and made use of its capabilities, including wireless linking of several consoles for player-versus-player duels. On top of basic matches it added a more extensive career mode and a set of minigames that turned training into fun in its own right.

At the time of its arrival, the PSP was a console that promised quality close to home systems right in the palm of your hand, and Virtua Tennis: World Tour was among the titles that fulfilled that promise. Fluid gameplay, fast matches ideal for short sessions and the multiplayer option made it a popular choice both for pick-up matches and for longer career campaigns.

Culturally, the Virtua Tennis series set the bar for what an accessible yet deep tennis game should look like and influenced the whole genre. The portable version expanded its reach and let players take their favorite sport with them anywhere, making it one of the perennially remembered titles of the PSP's early library.

Why play: For SEGA's perfectly tuned, instantly fun tennis gameplay, which thanks to the PSP and multiplayer you can enjoy anywhere.