he game's online play is fast, addictive, and intense; thanks in part to the absence of Superstar animations. Rather than show the brief animation accompanying the boost, characters start whooping up on you without warning, adding to the intensity. It offers gamers the option to have single matches or tournaments, as well as the unique option to watch other in-progress games via the 'TV' option. As exhilarating as the online games are, Live also features the game's biggest disappointment, the lack of minigame competition online. There is up to four-player competitive minigame action on the same console, but that does not make up for the lack of Live minigame action. Offering up the diverse set of minigames online would have gone a long way to enhance the replayability of the otherwise mediocre game.
The controls are simple enough for anyone in your house to pick up and play, but buggy enough to drive even a casual gamer to chucking the controller at the nearest wall. The game strips down the play into two buttons to produce either a regular shot or a drop shot. While the dumbed-down controls make sense for the arcade-style gameplay, it does make matches feel overly repetitive after a while. Worse yet, your characters seem to have a hard time moving and swinging the racket at the same time. Too often, you will make a run at the net to volley a short shot, only to have your character run forward with no swing in sight. The serve mechanics are as easy as the rest, with one click to start the serve and another to stop the power meter based on how hard you want to hit it. You have some control as to where in the box you aim the serve, though without a graphical interface showing you the spot it is too hit and miss.
The game does a great job at recreating the vivid, colorful landscapes of the games it borrows from. You will notice character cameos and clever game-specific touches to the backgrounds around the courts. It earns massive 'cute' points throughout, thanks to its well-liked arsenal of characters. There really is nothing cuter than a tennis match pitting a Monkeyball monkey against Amigo. Still, nostalgia is not enough to warrant the full price of the game. Most times, the game feels as though it should be a high-end XBLA game, rather than something you pick up at the store.
The real problem with Sega Superstars Tennis is really that it is aimed at kids who are too young to remember most of these characters and casual gamers who could care less. Gamers who fondly remember these classic characters are not likely to sit around and play minigames and mediocre arcade tennis for hours on end.
