Not so smashing...
I've been a great fan of the VT franchise for quite some time, but this latest installment lacked the fun and sense of achievement that made VT so brilliant.
My biggest problem with the game, though, were the glitches. I endured the wearisome monotony of winning game after game to make it to #1 rank, but after all that - the achievement did not unlock. I was desperately disappointed.
You see, the difficulty ramp for this title does not really exist. It plateaus at Very Easy until the very end, when you play the King of Players tournament (SPOILER: Which you unlock by making it to the #1 rank). So, it's a really laborious process and whether you complete the game or not depends on how much you can stand before slipping into a coma!
Conversely, I found the mini-games, which I used to love, incredibly difficult and frustrating. They're extremely unforgiving and, at times, a little confusing (the later stages of Zoo Feeder come to mind).
Anyway - I digress. The ugliest glitch in the game was the fact that every five minutes the sound went out of sync with the image. Without those audio cues, it was often difficult to tell if my opponent had returned the ball or not...until it was too late!
Overall, it's a game that feels as though it was rushed through and wasn't completed properly. It's a great shame.