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06-20-2008, 06:27 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Smash Court Tennis 3 Preview
Quote:
Smash Court Tennis 3 Preview
We hate to lose more than we love to win.
by Ryan Geddes 
June 20, 2008 - At last year's Tokyo Game Show, we elbowed our way through crowds of cosplayers to get a quick look at the Japanese Xbox 360 version of Smash Court Tennis 3, which had previously only been available on PlayStation Portable.
Though beefed up for the 360, Smash Court 3 is still the same tennis title at heart, and we spent a bit of time with a localized version of the game this week, courtesy of U.S. publisher Atari.
On one end of the tennis spectrum lies the Top Spin franchise, which does its best to be the ultimate simulation of the sport. On the other, there's Virtua Tennis, the clear arcade contender. With Smash Court Tennis 3, Namco is trying to split the difference, allowing some arcade elements to sneak into what's clearly a sim at heart.
 Don't let the hat fool you. She's tough.
In SCT3's Pro Tour mode, where most of the career-oriented action lies, things get downright RPG-like, as you can drop experience points into your custom character through a clever logbook that tracks the progress of your early years. You can pump up different aspects of your player's game and round him or her out as you see fit. As you move forward in your career, SCT3 will track your stats, updating you on service returns, accuracy, stroke stats, and more.
There are 16 licensed tennis stars, including Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, in Smash Court Tennis 3, and there are a variety of courts to choose from, both staid and wild. We played at a laid-back French location and then moved on to a mile-high court nestled between three skyscrapers in Dubai.
Although our time with SCT3 was brief, we did get our hands on the controls, which took some getting used to. At times it seemed our volleys were right-on, while other times our racquets sliced air and didn't find the ball.
However, we didn't get a chance to try our hand at the in-depth tutorials included in SCT3, which were quite deep in the PSP version. We also didn't get a chance to create a character that looks like IGN Xbox associate editor Nate Ahearn, which is a must at the beginning of any good videogame tennis experience.
 Packed stadiums await you.
We'd love to update you on the game's visuals, but due to technical problems it was only shown in standard-definition at Atari's recent San Francisco event, so we can't accurately say how they stack up. But we hope to get a better look at the tennis title at E3 in July.
Smash Court Tennis 3 is scheduled for release in August.
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IGN: Smash Court Tennis 3 Preview
Hmm, i liked the demo for Top Spin 2....and thats as far i went |
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