Another misconception is that the 360 is all about tactical FPS games and drab, grey, gun-toting machismo. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Live Arcade, Senko No Ronde and now this stunning conversion of Virtua Tennis 3 prove that Microsoft’s powerhouse is more than capable of mixing it up in an arcade stylee, even (shhhhh) evoking memories of the Dreamcast.

To console owners, Sumo Digital embody the 2007 face of Sega. With a slow trickle of superb Sega-published titles under their belt including the excellent Outrun 2 arcade conversions and the PS2-and-DC-usurping Virtua Tennis: World Tour for PSP, they were the natural choice to convert the third instalment of the ultra-playable tennis franchise. They have done a spiffing job that actually manages to improve on the arcade original.

For those that are new to Virtua Tennis, the games are a heady mix of realism and pure giddy arcade thrills. The realism comes from the licensed player likenesses, stunning court settings and vibrant, pacy tennis, as opposed to technical nuances and overcomplicated controls. The reason it works so well is that it has simplified the controls down to the minimum number of buttons required, and reduced the gameplay to what is essentially a highly sophisticated game of Pong with bells on. Virtua Tennis 3 is no different in this respect.

Controls are simple and intuitive – the D-pad or the left analogue stick can be used to manœuvre around the court, whilst three buttons are used on the face for forehand, slice and lob. As with previous instalments, the D-pad is used to control spin and direction during each shot, and generally the earlier you line yourself up to play a shot, the more powerful or accurate it will be. This time around, you are more easily able to play shots whilst running and stretching, although these can sometimes be to the detriment of court positioning and accuracy. Serving is the same as it always was in the world of VT – one press to throw the ball up, the other to stop the power gauge.

Such simplicity is why within mere minutes of firing up the disc you can be enjoying a quick tournament or exhibition whether a newcomer or longtime fan. The difficulty curve is pitched just about right; the arcade mode features a series of progressively more difficult matches leading up to a final, and is perfect for a short, sharp blast. There are several players from the world of tennis, including heavyweights Federer, Nadal and Mauresmo, as well as our very own king of underachievement “Tiger” Tim. Each player has their own particular strength, and these prove to be reasonably faithful to their real-life styles of play. Graphically they look the business, and at times you will actually feel like you are pinging a few passing shots at Roland Garros, until you wake up and realise the nearest you get to playing real tennis these days is watching Sue Barker on Question Of Sport.

VT has always been naturally suited to arcades, and indeed a cursory glance inside just about any arcade in the world will reveal an example in its natural habitat (true!). But from Virtua Tennis 2 onwards, home console ports have come with a fully customisable World Tour mode, which involves creating your own players, levelling up stats by accomplishing a series of fun mini-games, unlocking and buying more whizzy equipment and racquets, and playing in tournaments to raise your world ranking. Virtua Tennis 3 is easily the best example of this concept to date. There are now more mini-games than ever before, an even higher and more impressive level of customisation available when creating your likeness to do your tennis bidding, and the brilliant Tennis Academy - a training module that presents a number of challenges to accomplish to raise your statistics. These range from winning a rally with a backhand to serving several full-power serves in a row, and trust us when we say you will become almost clinically addicted until you complete them all. The new mini-games are similarly well-implemented. Naturally, with such a padded-out World Tour Mode, VT3 is loaded with 360 Achievements, but we would wager most folk will continue playing long after.

Sports fare such as VT is generally ideal for online play, if the fast-paced action is not dealt a death blow by lag. VT3 holds up well, with “winner stays on”-style lobbies and a clever option to view the last online match of your forthcoming opponent. Sure, problems come when customised players (i.e. highly powerful, mega-stats tennis machines), or the unlockable King character (the traditionally-styled, all-conquering “boss” that you meet at the climax of World Tour mode) are used in Live matches, but this is more the fault of the selfish, idiotic people of the internet and not the game itself. Of course it goes without saying that offline multiplayer is incredible fun. The simplicity of the gameplay and user-friendly controls mean that like the very best multiplayer games, VT3 is easy to pick up and a cinch for newbies to build themselves up to a decent standard with relative ease. This makes two-to-four player fun a brilliantly poised experience, whomever you are up against. It provides the high-octane, colourful, noisy arcade thrills that we fell in love with Sega for, and brings them forth into the brave new world of HD console gaming.

There is relatively little criticism to be levelled at Virtua Tennis 3. The arcade mode is limited and identical to its predecessors. Once conquered, you probably won’t want to return, on your own at least. Elsewhere, sometimes it feels a wee bit wrong when you are leathering Roger Federer and all manner of lithe, talented Russian babes in singles tennis during the early stages of World Tour mode. Sure, we don’t expect the whole ATP tour to be included, but there is enough clout within the game engine to create some drone characters to beat in the early tournaments, before building up to the big guns when cracking the top rankings. The music is terrible; synthy, MOR-tinged elevator rock with annoying slivers of guitar and no discernible tunes. In World Tour mode, you sometimes get to interact with NPCs, leading to awkward, unintentionally hilarious encounters with expressionless superstars of world tennis who will say something inane about a forthcoming matchup, offer a practice session, or try and say something to gee you up. This inclusion was a bit unnecessary, yet is strangely realistic since you probably wouldn’t get much more interesting repartee from the real people themselves.

For anyone who is a fan of entertaining, no-brainer old-school arcade gameplay, this is essential. It also represents terrific value as the World Tour will keep Achievement freaks happy and entertain for many moons to come. This is also a stand-out Live experience and a title that can be enjoyed offline in the same accessible fashion as the other titles in the series. Whether Sega could justifiably take the series any further is questionable, but with Virtua Tennis 3, Sumo have served 360 owners a definite ace.