There is something about tennis games on the PSP that doesn't keep gamers interested for long, a fact that was unfortunately proved with Virtua Tennis. But there is a new, more attractive kid on the block, and he's bringing a bag of tricks with him. Smash Court Tennis 3 is another big (forehand) smash from the Namco Bandai minds and it's jam-packed with enough content to last you a trip to Timbuktu and back (or until your battery dies).

Leagues ahead of Virtua Tennis, Smash Court 3 has a wealth of game types, options, customisable features and mini-games to keep those fingers and thumbs in top condition. As well as having fourteen different courts to run around on, it sports all the top names in tennis today, like David Nalbandian, Martina Hingis and Maria "I hit too hard for my own good" Sharpova.

The game itself is a rare aesthetic treat for PSP owners, as it looks great. Before the match starts there's a brief introduction, displaying the playing level and players involved, which shows particular attention to detail. Bayside Tropical Arena is one of my favourites - the camera catches a sunset view over water before panning over to the court, basically showing off what the PSP can do. There you are greeted with a brief set of stats on the players involved - and those players really do look good. Long gone are the days of the 'Transformer' type robotic characters with square features. Each player looks exactly like their real-life counterpart (although Roger Federer's hair looks a bit too greasy) and is rendered smoothly and seamlessly. Even when the characters are moving around in close-up, the image still looks flawless.

After a point is won or lost, the animation of the player's emotion also looks awesomely realistic. Bright colours and a choice of two different camera angles make this one of the most visually impressive games on the PSP to date, arguably providing a new benchmark for the standard of PSP visuals. To round off such stunning visuals, the sounds compliment the gameplay nicely; sure, they are minimal (as you would expect in a tennis game), but they're very well done nonetheless. From the connection of ball and racquet to the abrupt crowd response to the flow of the match, the sounds are delivered realistically and in time with the action.

In gameplay itself is where Smash Court 3 leaps even further ahead of its rival though; veering far from Virtua Tennis's arcade style, Smash Court 3 takes a more realistic approach and pulls it off with surprising results. Believable smashes and rational artificial behaviour from the computer controlled players make this an intelligent gamer's title, rather than one for the "press X and hope for grand champion" gamer - do this and you'll find yourself at rank 249 in the Pro Tour Mode quicker than you can lace your boots.

There are five fundamental controls (which are changeable) - dash, top spin, slice, flat and lob. Learn these controls young Jedi, because if you don't, you will soon be on the receiving end of a master class; the computer controller player gets increasingly good as time goes on, lobbing when you get too close or using a drop shot when you are too far back. It really is very challenging - but in a good way. The dash function is also instrumental to your success, although it can be your downfall in more ways than one. Dashes are primarily used to get to that drop shot that lands just in front of the net, but because of its nature it's very hard to stop or change direction just before hitting the ball, so precision is needed. Also excessive use of the dash button makes your player slower and less able to react, an effect that's shown by the green stamina gauge, displayed before every serve.

There's more to the intricate game engine though; sometimes the ball is temporarily surrounded by a yellow glow that indicates the chance to perform a power shot if you hit the right button with the right pressure length, smashing that ball beyond your opponent quicker than a bullet. However, doing this incorrectly leaves you open to be punished for your mistake! Harder, more powerful shots can be achieved by pressing a button for a short period of time, but this leaves your player temporarily immobile. Shots on the go can be accomplished by tapping a button at the right time, keeping the player moving, but compromising the shot strength. A nifty feature that makes life a lot easier is that when lob shots come your way there's an indicator on the ground that shows where exactly the ball will land - take that Virtua Tennis!

Smash Court 3 offers a wealth of options, starting with Arcade mode, where you play a five-tournament game in either singles or doubles matches. Pro Tour mode is the most interesting one, where you create a player from scratch and attempt to be crowned numero uno. When creating your player, nearly everything is changeable, from hairstyles and facial hair to shorts and accessories; even serving and receiving stances can be selected, giving a comprehensive range of player customisations. You are presented with a choice of rival too, a rival that will pop up throughout your career (unwittingly choosing Roger Federer as a rival, I was given a lesson more than once in "how to really play pro" tennis). Winning tournaments and completing the numerous training exercises earns you experience points, which are then distributed amongst the various stats to enhance your player's ability. As you continue to win, shop points are earned, giving you the ability to purchase new clothes, accessories and more. Progression and tournament invites are tracked via your in-game palm pilot, as are training sessions and your rival's performance.

Ad-Hoc Mode allows you to challenge another PSP gamer using the wireless service. Game sharing is available too, albeit with limited player and court selection, but it's still a great bonus and the loading times aren't too bad either. Tutorial mode hosts twenty-four different lessons to master, giving you a chance to actually try out the skills you will use in the game. Then there's Exhibition, the pick up and play mode with adjustable game settings to tailor the game to your requirements.

Challenge mode consists of training mode and three mini-games, with stats available to view your progress in both areas. In the training mode you choose a player and are given seven different areas to improve upon, for example movement, targeting or serving. The three mini-games meanwhile are based around some Namco classics and they're both imaginative and a lot of fun to play! In Pac-Man Tennis there are lots of Pac-dots scattered around the court, and using Pac-Man as a ball you play against an opponent, picking up a collection of Pac-dots whenever your Pac-Man ball passes through them and gobbles them up! Whoever wins the point wins the Pac-dots collected throughout that point and the first person to reach a set amount wins. However, there are ghosts are on the court that slow down your performance if they get you. Power-ups also appear, giving you extra power or stealth from ghosts!

Next up is Galaga Tennis, where you're playing tennis in space while battling aliens called Galaxians, who are located on your opponent's side of the court and sway from left to right. You can hit them off the court with your ball to open up the Galaga boss; a spotlight beam then appears and scans around the court, causing any player it touches to lose a life, the game being won when one player loses all their lives. Finally there's Bomb Tennis, where the ball is a bomb and when it's sustained too much shock, it explodes, removing a life from the unlucky player. Defining how much shock is applied depends on the strength of the shot applied. The tricky point is that bombs appear on the court whenever a point is lost and they can react to other bombs, causing a chain reaction and a bigger blast radius. Each mini-game is a worthwhile addition rather than simply tacked on and you'll find the time passing as you decide to have just one more go!

Smash Court Tennis 3 smashes the idea that tennis games have no longevity. Hosting a Pro tour mode with a potential 250 players to beat, three fun and original tennis mini-games and a fully customisable character to build with individual talents, Smash Court Tennis 3 is one of those games that you can just pick up and play or really devote time to in a long session. The load times (as with many PSP games) can get a bit tiresome at times and now and again you might feel like the controls could be a little bit more responsive, but neither of these are big problems and the game is so entertaining and challenging that it really is worth serving straight into your PSP!

Reviewed by Earl McFarlane for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).