A steady volley of tennis titles regularly appear for the Megadrive, affirming the sport as one of the most popular console sims. As yet, however, we've yet to see the texture-topped, polygon-sculptured 32-bit treatment applied to the tennis experience.

Virtual Open Tennis is the Saturn's first grass court sim. Although Sega declined the chance to distribute the game in this country, it'll soon be making an appearance and is already knocking around on import. Singles or elaborate doubles combinations are on offer from a choice of ten burly international players - none of whom ever throw any tantrums or vlounce off the course after an argument with the umpire. Aside from this, Imagineer have recreated the tennis experience faithfully, from mechanical training procedures to championships and exhibition tournaments, with only a few freak-out twists thrown into the mix. Not content with swapping mundane old Wimbledon for a Palace of Versailles style setting, Imagineer have gone one further and set Virtual Open Tennis in space. Mother Earth hovers over the horizon as you scrape your knees around various courts with scant regard for personal safety or adjusted gravity atmospherics. So, with your trusty Saturn as umpire, grab a cup of Barley Water and a natty headband. This is a whole new ball game.

This is one damn fine tennis game. Animation is quite impressive, with the players executing the vast array of shots available with quite realistic movements.

And once the spins and lobs have been mastered, you'll find that it becomes a lot more addictive with good rallies becoming ever more frequent. But the stadium and crowd backdrops are poor, with the crowd in particular looking like cardboard cut outs. The sound is also a bit dodgy, but if you concentrate on the gameplay you don't really notice it.

Having said that, these are all minor gripes, and the biggest problem comes when you switch ends. Trying to play from the far end of the court is like catching a fly with chopsticks.

You'll get aced almost every time at first, and that prevents this from scoring a higher mark.

Having endured the dismal Virtual Volleyball, the thought of another sports sim from Imagineer's 'Virtual' range filled me with nothing but dread. I needn't have worried.

Virtual Open Tennis is a little ragged around the edges, but features some carefully constructed and well thought out gameplay. The whole affair has a truly 'interactive' feel that fools you into thinking you really are in control of your player.

In reality the game ensures it's not that difficult to miss an incoming ball and that dives and leaps are fairly automatic. What you're left with are the most exciting aspects of tennis (strategic ball play) without the boring technique. The only real downer is the difficulty is judging perspective and distance when you're playing at the far end of the court.

We discovered that two player games are most likely to be won by whoever's playing at the near end. That aside, this does the job is some style.

Graphics 75%
N. Backgrounds can tend to appear wobbly and 'disconnected' at times. The grass court is especially uneasy on the eye.

Animation 77%
P. Fluid and varied - players diving for the ball are especially impressive.

Music 62%
N. Supermarket muzaak gives way to whining heavy metal. Dreadful.

Effects 78%
P. Racquet sounds, ball volleys and knee scrapes are all superb.

Playability 81%
P. Accessible on several different levels of expertise.
N. Largely dependent on which side of the court you're playing on.

Lastability 86%
P. The better you get, the more you want to play! An uncomplicated and compelling game.

Overall 82%
Playable in all the right places. An addictive, if flawed, sim.