1st Impressions: Sega Superstars Tennis isn't anything new, but it is plenty of fun, and that's what counts.
The Bad: Some character's specials are just cheap, it doesn't really do anything new, more characters would have been nice, can get dull after a while.
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I have to say that Sega has typically been a hit in 2008. I currently own 5 Sega titles that were released in 2008, and all of them are good. Sega Superstars Tennis was a game that originally, I wasn't very interested in, but after being convinced by a friend to give it a shot, I have to say I'm glad I did.
First off, yes, Sega Superstars Tennis is Virtua Tennis 3 with Sega cartoon characters, but that doesn't effect how much fun the game is. In fact, I'd say it's more fun because of the cartoonyness of the game. You can select a variety of Sega Superstars ranging from Sonic to Beat from Jet Set Radio. Each character has their respective strengths and weaknesses, and using these to your advantage can be key in winning matches on or offline. The specials that your character can unleash can be pretty ammusing, as well as cheap. I mean, why can I not escape Dr. Eggman's giant electric spike balls? That's just not fair... On the flip side, once you get good at using your particular character, you may be able to combat a particularly cheap special with your own.
The single player Superstar Tour basically consists of you playing tennis matches against the AI and play mini games to move along and unlock new characters and courts. The actual tennis matches are fun, especially once the game becomes a duel of specials, but after a while, normal matches get old. The mini games are particularly amusing, especially the House of the Dead themes ones. How awesome is it to be able to hit zombies with tennis balls? TOO AWESOME!!! There are also some that involve collecting rings while giant electric balls are flying at you and dodgeball, so be ready for anything.
The visuals of Sega Superstars Tennis are pretty solid, since it uses the same engine as Virtua Tennis 3, but with a more cartoony style. The sound effects are also solid and the unlockable music tracks are a nice touch.
I do have a few gripes. First, dispite the amusing gameplay, it does get old after a while, so don't expect to get 4 or 5 hour play sessions out of this. Maybe 2-3, but that's about it. Second, I would have liked to have seen some other characters appear. Perhaps Ethan Thomas from Condemned or Scarin from Viking could have added some more variety, but what they have is alright. I have not tried the online yet, so I'll update this review once I do, but it looks like it could be a lot of harmless fun.
Overall, if you are iching for something to get over your Wii tennis craze, or just want something different to play on your 360, Sega Superstars Tennis is a fine choice for some good, mostly clean tennis fun.
Gameplay: Arcady, cartoony tennis is quite fun, but the strange mini games steal the show.
Graphics: Cartoony, but solid visuals.
Sound: Good sound effects and voice acting. The soundtrack is lacking at first, but you unlock additional tracks as you play the game.
Value: At $50, it's not too bad of a purchase, but unless you really want to play it, I'd say wait until it drops to at least $40.
Final Thoughts: Zombies are defenceless against tennis balls...