Courtside simulations date all the way back to Pong, and Sega's Virtua Tennis 3 shines for its sheer accessibility and effortless handling. The game takes seconds to pick up and play, letting enthusiasts of all skill levels smash, serve and lob like a pro, even if they've never laid hands on a racquet. The franchise's next-generation debut adds amazing high-definition visuals and sound effects so crisp you'll want to show off its slick backdrops, rousing audio library and stellar crowd animations to enthusiastic bystanders.

The biggest addition from past efforts is an enhanced World Tour career mode, which includes arcade-style mini-games, challenge-based training options and a vast array of singles and doubles tournaments. It's entertaining to work your way up from being ranked 300th in the world to numero uno as a custom-made character or improve footwork and volleys by knocking over drums or collecting fruit.

The game stumbles in a few key areas, including poor athlete modeling (Maria Sharapova isn't hot), a limited selection of opponents and a distinct knack for devolving into repetitious, button-mashing showdowns. For some odd reason, instead of randomly generated rivals, you keep facing off against the same selection of 20 featured pros, such as Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. Similar to the chintzy rock soundtrack and general match pacing, this setup tends to grate over time. The real excitement here comes from online multiplayer matches (Xbox 360 only), although the PlayStation 3 rendition has a tilt-sensing controller for better ball control. While a perfectly enjoyable entry point into the sport, it's hardly the must-have outing. But it's a pleasing and intuitive enough diversion, so the game still aces most competitors.