Graphics: Smash Court Tennis 3 boasts a crisp, clean look, even if it comes off like a higher-resolution port of its PSP cousin. The players look nice when viewed up close, and the character-creation tool is so powerful, you can make some stunning re-creations of yourself, your friends or some frightening mutants (depending upon your artistic ability).

Unfortunately, when the action hits the court the graphics take a tumble. While everything is nicely rendered, the game doesn’t hide its PSP roots very well. The biggest offender is the canned animation that actually hinders gameplay from time to time. Also, many of these animations appear to be on loan from the handheld version. What can be overlooked on a portable title is magnified when viewed on a 40 inch LCD.

Interface: I’ve played my fair share of games across all genres and can usually master control schemes without the benefit of an instruction manual. That said, Smash Court Tennis 3 tested my mettle. I pored through the guide and played each training module multiple times, but when it came time to take on some competition (both AI and online), I found myself consistently “served.” It was embarrassing! The problem is that the game is designed to simulate all of the subtle moves an athlete can make with their racket, as well as the timing the pros depend upon to make strategically placed shots. In the game, this translates to a large number of uncomfortable combinations of stick movements and button presses commonly found in old-school fighting games. Memorizing a series of button moves for a split-second fatality is one thing, but having to repeat them ad nauseum throughout a 10-minute match will eventually give you carpal tunnel. Maybe all that time with Wii Sports Tennis has spoiled me, but there has to be a middle ground.

Gameplay: For those who can surmount the vast learning curve, Smash Court Tennis 3 offers a very deep and involving experience. The Pro Tour mode essentially offers a Franchise mode for the tennis set, with players able to develop their avatars through a series of special matches, tournaments and training events. Success in these events provides a constant stream of experience points and in-game currency, so there is always the incentive to play one more game in a bid to better your character or deck him out in the latest fashions and equipment. The catch to all of this is the game’s difficulty level, which can prove especially prickly for casual players. The controls are tough to master, and I can see many people giving up before winning their first match and getting a taste of the addictive role-playing elements.

Multiplayer: As with most contemporary sports titles, Smash Court Tennis 3 offers what you would expect for multiplayer modes. For local play, there is support for up to four players to engage in exhibition matches. On Xbox Live, players can battle others online and see how they stack up through simple leader boards and stat tracking. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be support for online tournaments or integration of the Pro Tour mode into the online arena, which feels like a real miss.

Sound FX: Instead of listening to Smash Court Tennis 3’s oddly selected soundtrack, you could just turn it down and listen to the game’s ambient noise. The crisp thwack, ping and bounce of the tennis ball off the assorted clay and turf courts sound crystal clear and are actually quite soothing. The developers did a good job capturing the sounds of these volleys, and I’ll have to give them extra points for layering in all of the grunts and groans that have become the trademark of some of the more prominent players. Believe me, you and all of your neighbors will know when the retired Martina Hingis is back in the game.

Music: For a game that aims for the strategic tennis enthusiast, Namco Bandai makes an odd choice by scoring the serious onscreen tennis play with buoyant accompaniments that wouldn’t be out of place in Mario Tennis. It’s an odd juxtaposition. I think EA has the right plan in backing their titles with a series of licensed tracks from up and coming acts. Here, the action is laced with generic synth-pop tunes that just beg you to rip your own soundtrack and play with that. Once you wrap your hands around the control scheme, I’d recommend some thrash metal. You’ll need it.

Intelligence: As I struggled mightily with the controls, I couldn’t tell if the AI was just that good or if I was just that bad. As I began to accumulate some experience points through my multiple losses, I realized my player was starting to hold his own against the computer-controlled pros, so some of that difficulty could be the nature of the game design. That said, the computer does put up a good fight, and once you start to find your way around the control scheme, at least enough to hang in there, you’ll find yourself engaged in some vicious volleys.

Difficulty: There’s no way around it—this is as far from pick-up-and-play as it gets. Tennis enthusiasts will find a lot here to challenge them. In addition to the tournament matches against some blistering AI opponents, there are also a number of difficult special-event challenges that offer great rewards in the form of experience points, cash, sponsorships and better equipment for those that can best them. These events act as little mini-games requiring deft use of your skills in attacking and targeting your shots.

Overall: In reality, tennis has pick-up-and-play appeal with almost anyone able to grab a racket and volley a few shots. The same can’t be said for Smash Court Tennis 3, which really aims for the strategic, hardcore tennis enthusiasts, provided they are also able to jockey their way around the game’s demanding control scheme. There is a great deal of depth locked within this title, but learning the tough-to-use controls requires the kind of dedication that many players might not have. I’m all for in-depth sports simulations, but the challenge should come from mastering the strategy of the game. When the controls represent a greater opponent than anything the game can toss at you, it’s time to throw in the towel. This one made me a McEnroe.