Sega Superstars Tennis [X360]

Sumo Digital could have gone one of two ways with the controls of Superstars. They could have retained the console control scheme of Virtua Tennis 3, in which specialized strokes like slices and lobs were controlled by hitting individual face buttons. Or, they could have gone the Wii Sports tennis route and assigned all strokes to a single input type.

Instead, they split the difference. On the Xbox 360 controller, regular ground strokes are controlled by the A button; fast shots are controlled by the X button; lobs are initiated by tapping A and then quickly tapping X; and drop shots are made by doing the opposite -- hitting X and then quickly tapping A. It's a silly control scheme that adds unnecessary complexity to the game for casual players and limits the pace of the game for those more experienced.

It's an unfortunate control choice, and Superstars does not allow advanced controller mapping, so you're basically stuck with the two-button configuration. But at least I can choose whether I want the umpire's voice to be male or female...

One of Superstars' calling cards is its Superstar State function, which, when activated, allows the characters to turn into even zanier versions of themselves (Sonic becomes a super-fast Super Sonic, for example). Practically, though, most Superstar powers are fairly useless against AI players, and the ones that do actual damage to your opponent are extremely annoying to play against in one-on-one matches. Luckily, you can turn the function off, an option I quickly took advantage of.

Superstars has a strong multiplayer function that works well both online and offline. Mini-games and matches can be played with 1-4 players locally or online, and Sumo resurrected the TV function from Virtua Tennis 3 to allow online players to watch highlights and live matches from around the world in real-time.

In my online experience, the game ran respectably, with only a moderate amount of lag during play. Facing off against human opponents, either on your couch or over the Interwebs, is the best thing about Superstars. But the gimped control scheme dilutes even that experience, making the overall multiplayer somewhat dull.

Closing Comments
In theory, there's nothing wrong with the idea of a whimsical tennis game featuring classic SEGA characters. In practice, it's a bit of a yawn that ends up feeling like a barely good enough cash-in. The environments and characters are largely well-done, but the control scheme and dull mini-games drag SEGA Superstars Tennis down.

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