Sega Superstars Tennis (DS)

CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
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Overall score: 6.5 (3.0 stars)
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Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Aaron Thomas
• Reviewed on: 03/25/2008
• Released on: 03/18/2008

After Sonic's recent lackluster performance in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, you'd be forgiven for having low expectations for Sega's next sports game to feature mascots: Sega Superstars Tennis. The characters aren't all A-listers and the tennis isn't great, but the game's interesting court designs, minigames, and classic Sega tunes make for a decent package.

Sega Superstars Tennis features 16 characters from classic Sega games. Each player is rated for speed, control, power, spin, or all-around ability. The eight characters that are unlocked from the start include: Sonic, AiAi from Super Monkey Ball, Nights, Ulala from Space Channel Five, Beat from Jet Set Radio, Amigo from Samba de Amigo, Tails, and Dr. Eggman. The unlockable characters aren't quite as interesting and mostly consist of lesser characters from the same games, though Gillius from Golden Axe and Alex Kidd are worthy additions to the lineup. The courts on which you play and the music you hear while you play are inspired by the game's characters and are sure to please anyone who has enjoyed Sega's games over the years.

Admit it, you've always wondered who would win this epic showdown.

The characters, levels, music, and even some of the gameplay from these classic franchises are put to good use in game mode. This mode is made up of 10 different areas, each of which is based on a well-known Sega game. The roster includes Super Monkey Ball, Puyo Pop Fever, Samba De Amigo, Sonic the Hedgehog, Nights, Space Channel Five, ChuChu Rocket, and more. Each is filled with ten minigames that mix tennis with gameplay from the franchise on which the area is based.

Many of these missions are really fun, and some of them are especially creative. In the Virtua Squad minigames, you shoot (aim the ball at) the bad-guy targets that pop up while trying to avoid hitting the civilians, just as you would in Virtua Cop. In Puyo Pop Fever, you're essentially playing the actual puzzle game and clearing the Puyo with tennis balls. ChuChu Rocket is also a lot of fun. Just as you did in the Dreamcast game, you have to lead the mice to their rockets by changing the direction of the arrows on the level and avoiding cats--only this time you change the arrows by hitting them with tennis balls. It's amazing how well some of these games mesh with tennis, and the ones that are done well are really a lot of fun. The only knock against these stages is that the game doesn't do much in the way of explaining the gameplay, so if you've never played ChuChu Rocket before, you're going to be clueless as to how to proceed here. All of the missions in game mode are not created equal. The Jet Set Radio stage has the look of the game, but the tagging minigames are frustrating and uninteresting. Running around the court while collecting rings in Sonic's stage isn't too exciting, either. But even with these issues, game mode is an entertaining and enjoyable way to play tennis.

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Amazon.com Marketplace	$19.79	Yes

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Where to buy Sega Superstars Tennis (DS)

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• CompUSA $20.99 Yes
• TigerDirect.com $20.99 Yes
• Amazon.com Marketplace $19.79 Yes
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