TGS '07: Smash Court Tennis 3 Hands-On

By Dan Chiappini, GameSpot AUPosted Sep 21, 2007 8:35 am PT

Grab your tennis racket and white shoes as we hit the clay with Namco Bandai's upcoming tennis title Smash Court Tennis 3 for the Xbox 360.

We visited both the Namco Bandai and Microsoft booths where Smash Court Tennis 3 was on display to get some hands-on time with the latest build of the game. While the demo was limited to only a single venue, Garden City Arena in Sydney, Australia, we did have a bit more choice with the player roster, and decided to pit Roger Federer against Gael Monfils in a three-game singles exhibition match.

Player models appeared smooth and accurate, and bore a striking resemblance to the real athletes they're based on. The demo we saw featured eight male and eight female characters, each with a choice of four different outfits to reflect your style when you hit the court. The player roster includes all the big names from both the male and female pro circuits, including Nadal, Hingis, Blake, and Sharapova on what appeared to be more than a dozen real-world courts.

Smash Court Tennis gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has picked up a virtual racket. The four coloured controller buttons are each mapped to a specific shot. Slices, lobs, top spins, and basic returns are all here, and also double as taunts, as well as signs of frustration or approval when you lose or score a point. Holding a button will increase the amount of power behind your shots.

The most noticeable difference with Smash Court Tennis 3 is the serve system. Rather than have a scrolling bar to indicate power and timing, the ball begins in your hand, with a large target off to the side of your body. As you toss the ball into the air and reach the apex of your serve, the target zone becomes smaller. Striking the ball at the latest possible moment will give you a slight power serve, but you're not penalised for missing it. If you do miss it, or even ignore a button press, your serve will continue at normal speed. Player movement is controlled with the left analogue stick and felt responsive.

Little touches like TV-style screen changes and reverse-angle line replays only help further provide a realistic tennis experience, and we're looking forward to our next hands-on with hopes of trying out some of the other play modes.

5 Comments

  • fanirama

    Posted Dec 11, 2007 12:47 pm PT

    Does it have online-coop doubles ? That is so much fun in VT3.

    I like all tennis and related games. Loved Top Spin, Top Spin 2, Virtua Tennis ( all ), Smash court tennis was a little pain but liked it. I even love Table Tennis. Needless to say, I'm awaiting this game on Xbox360. ( Ignore the buffoon below me who talks about the Wii )

  • Sikzak

    Posted Sep 23, 2007 10:08 am PT

    I don't see the point... since what the Wii has is much more fun of a tennis game than the xbox360 can ever get... I just don't see the point... And of course no offense to anyone

  • Wakey652

    Posted Sep 23, 2007 2:57 am PT

    Yay, another tennis game. if the carreer mode is anywhere near as good as VT3 then should be a good game. The graphics certainly look beter than VT3 already.

  • Nomad013

    Posted Sep 22, 2007 11:46 pm PT

    i wondered if they'd make a "next gen" version of this game

  • 1PSman

    Posted Sep 21, 2007 10:14 am PT

    Weird.

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