Smash Court Tennis 3 differs from many other sports titles in that it runs on an "RPG Lite" system of play, allowing your player to gain experience and add to their collection of skills as they improve their games. It all starts with the character customization area where you can adjust everything form height, weight and facial features to your characters emotional level. Will you accept your failures with grace or will you throw a McEnroe tantrum and pitch your racket across the court? The choice is yours! But be careful, throw too many tantrums and sponsors won't want to represent you. And unlike some games, the skills and characteristics with which you imbue your character have an effect on how they play they game.

Once your character is created you can enter into a four year career mode that has over 60 different tournaments you can enter into. Throughout your career, real and fictional sponsors will provide you with special rackets and accessories that will add to your skill levels and thus make your character a force to be reckoned with. Sixteen licensed tennis pros also populate the game, giving you an opportunity to play against skilled opponents. These pros are also available as playable characters so you can see what it's like to play as a professional.

The variety of courts to play on are as varied as the characters with fifteen different courts. Some are real places, some are fictionalized versions of real courts and yet even others are completely made up, like the Deep Woods Court. Each one has it's own court surface ranging from dirt to grass. By far my favorite was the Sky Court in Dubai which is suspended by bridges between the tops of three skyscrapers.

I tried out a bit of a two player game and found the controls to be quite easy to master in a short amount of time. simple button presses combined with the directional stick will send your ball flying wherever you want it to go. With a variety of special serves and shots, you'll never find yourself without the right move for the occasion. The graphics looked incredibly sharp and the interface for choosing players was cleverly put together and easy to navigate.

Smash Court tennis 3 looks to be a great game and those into sports games will no doubt find it a stunning entry into the Tennis sim genre. It will be arriving on Xbox 360 later this summer, ready for you to take to the courts and climb your way to the top of the Pro tennis heap.

Move over Mario and friends, you aren't the only collection of characters that can have a sports game. Sonic and friends are taking to the court in a new tennis game entitled Sega Superstar Tennis. While sports games don't really intrigue me, I do like the collection of characters they've gathered for this game like Nights (from NiGHTS), Amigo (Samba De Amigo) and my personal favorite, Space Channel 5's Ulala. Of course Sonic and Dr. Eggman are on hand as well because after all, what would a Sega title be without Sonic. But this trailer really begs the question: Who would win in a tennis match, team Mario or team Sonic?

"We are excited to bring our popular Top Spin series to the Wii," said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. "Given the Wii's unique controllers and the fun family-oriented gameplay, Top Spin Tennis effectively bridges the gap between a sports and a party game."

2K Sports Announces Top Spin Tennis for Nintendo's Wii™

Popular Top Spin franchise to make its Wii debut by combining real life tennis experiences and fun features this spring

New York, NY - August 22, 2007 - 2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today it will be releasing Top Spin Tennis for the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo. As part of 2K's critically acclaimed Top Spin franchise, Top Spin Tennis features fun, flawless tennis action and the most real life tennis experience to date for the Wii. Developed by 2K's Paris studio PAM Development in conjunction with 2K Shanghai, Top Spin Tennis will be available exclusively on the Wii in spring 2008.

The intuitive pick-up-and-play action in Top Spin Tennis allows gamers to use the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers in a way that matches the movements players would make on a real court. The Nunchuk controls the player and aim, while the vibration-enabled Wii Remote hits the ball like a tennis racquet and determines the style of shot ranging from a top spin move to a slice. The Wii Remote also allows players to control the power and the quality of the shot and to serve in many different ways.

The gameplay in Top Spin Tennis will feature an array of modes including singles, doubles, mixed and non-mixed matches, exhibition, tournament and more, with four levels of difficulty and ten international venues. It will also feature more than a dozen licensed tennis stars as well as ten original characters. Up to four players can play Top Spin Tennis using as many as four sets of controllers. To add to the group fun, there are a collection of party games included.

"We are excited to bring our popular Top Spin series to the Wii," said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. "Given the Wii's unique controllers and the fun family-oriented gameplay, Top Spin Tennis effectively bridges the gap between a sports and a party game."

Lexus brings Virtual Open to Rockefeller Center New Yorkers can participate in ultimate tennis experience for chance to win a one-year lease on a new Lexus IS F NEW YORK —As the world's professional tennis players vie for greatness at the US Open, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to share the experience at the Lexus Virtual Open at Rockefeller Center during the second week of the tournament. Participants can compete on a scaled down version of a tennis court for the chance to win a one-year lease on a new Lexus IS F and tickets to the US Open finals.

Tennis and gaming enthusiasts will take to the virtual courts at Rockefeller Center, in the heart of New York City, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sept. 4-6. Professional tennis player and ESPN on-court analyst Luke Jensen will instruct participants and provide commentary as they compete on Nintendo's Wii console. For each serve hit during the virtual tournament, Lexus will donate $1 to the Andy Roddick Foundation (up to $30,000).

"As a sponsor of the US Open we created this event to bring the excitement of Flushing Meadows to Manhattan," said Steve Jett, Lexus national marketing communications manager. "There's nothing like the thrill of competing in the US Open, and while tennis enthusiasts may never experience the roar of the crowd and feel the courts beneath their feet, the Lexus Virtual Open at Rockefeller Center gives them the opportunity to get a taste of it—and win a one-year lease on a new IS F performance sedan, the same vehicle Lexus is awarding to the Men's Singles Champion."

The top two scorers will compete on Sept. 6 for the chance to win the grand prize, a one- year lease on a Lexus IS F and two tickets to watch the US Open finals in the Lexus Luxury Suite on Sunday, Sept. 9. The runner up will receive two tickets to watch the US Open semi-finals on Sept. 8 in the Lexus Luxury Suite.
The event is open to the public. For more information about the Lexus Virtual Open at Rockefeller Center, participants can log on to myownpursuit.com.

I know a lot of people were excited about Nintendo's generic Icy Hockey hitting, but Tennis, I really did despise that game, even when it was cutting edge. Fortunately, they make up for the offensive Tennis game by also releasing Sega Genesis classic Space Harrier II and Military Madness from the TurboGrafx16.

Hit the jump for the prices and official descriptions... Tennis, phhhht! Brian Crecente

Tennis (NES(R), 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Players slam a serve, fire a
blazing backhand and smash a forehand volley on their way to winning the
victory cup. Players can choose between five different levels of difficulty,
ranging from Beginner all the way up to Advanced. If players want to become
true champs, they should be ready to show off their most brilliant lobs and
most powerful smashes. Play a singles match or grab a partner for doubles, and
then choose an opponent. Players control the moves in tennis action so
intense, they'll almost believe they're at center court.

Space Harrier II(TM) (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Fantasyland
has been taken over by destructive forces, and a call for help comes from deep
in the universe. Space Harrier is quick on the scene, armed with his laser, to
defeat wave after wave of destructive forces through 12 thrilling stages, with
a dangerous boss waiting at the end of each round.

Military Madness(TM) (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points): Military
Madness is a futuristic simulation game that throws the player into the middle
of a war on the moon's surface. The rules are simple, making it easy for
newcomers to enjoy the thrills of this war-strategy game. Players can see
easy-to-understand, detailed instructions from the Title screen. Military
Madness is also turn-based, allowing players to devise their strategy before
they move. To top it off, the units players have for each stage are already
decided, allowing them to concentrate on commanding. Use the terrain and
surround enemies to claim victory. Fight through all 16 stages and thwart the
enemy's ambitions!

Tennis great Andy Roddick takes on video game great Pong in this nifty American Express ad. Roddick's totally pwned until he realizes one thing: Pong wasn't 3D. Brian Ashcraft

Thanks, Huginn!

No. There's only one single thing you need to know about the Wii: That it's sheer, unadulterated, peerless and incalculable FUN - for kids of all ages... and we mean that right up to those grown-up kids with mortgages and half-pints of their own.

And thus begins a glowing review of all the Wii games the reviewer could get his hands on: Wii Sports Tennis, Baseball and Golf; Warioware: Smooth Moves; a Duckhunt-like shooter; and Orchestra.

While these reviews are solidly positive, the absence of Red Steel from the list is glaring, and it's really the only one I'm interested in hearing about at the moment.

UPDATE! A buddy writes in to report:

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for good news on it. What I saw at E3 was undelicious. "Streamlined" sword combat means that the useful motions are pretty constrained. I've heard that the consoles weren't really set up appropriately there, but still - it was pretty underwhelming.

i've heard they've taken a lot of the E3 commentary to heart though,
so who knows what we'll get on Oct. 2nd, or whenever it is released.

Poop. Look, I just want to hit stuff with swords, okay? Shooting is good too. I guess tennis is okay for some people, but I anticipate playing Wii Baseball for exactly zero hours. Eliza Gauger

Whole buncha reviews [Game.co.uk]

The biggest crowd pleaser of all the pre-E3 press conferences so far has been Nintendo showing off their Wii tennis game in a pairs match: Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime and Satoru Iwata on one side, Shigeru Miyamoto and Wii First Test winner and current object of our boiling jealousy Scott Dyer on the other. Who do you think has got better form: Iwata-san or Shiggy? (Even if you give it to Shiggy, you've to admit no one makes being a corporate suit look like more fun than Iwata-san.)

Top Spin 2