If you've ever felt compelled to watch a guy in a cheeseburger suit race a tiny motorcycle, this is the appropriate game. As a Mario Kart style game, this is a good substitute featuring both online and offline multiplayer. One of the interesting differences between this game and Mario Kart is that instead of collecting power-ups in the usual fashion, you instead go through gates which give you power that can be transferred into either one of several power-ups or boost at any time. This trade-off really changes the strategy from the usual Mario Kart style of play. The single player is abysmal though, as AI opponents do not even attempt to compete in non-racing modes! In fact at various points I've seen the bots racing around the course backwards, and piling up all together. Of course the flip side to the poor AI is that this turns out to be the easiest of the three BK games to get achievements with. So long as you can follow the course and get used to the control scheme, you'll be set. Unfortunately this game also seems to suffer from the most bugs as it is the most complicated. However some design choices just seem awful. Why won't Pocket Bike Racer remember which camera choice I make between races?

There are a few certainties in life - death, taxes, clichéd opening sentences like this, and Virtua Tennis' game design. Honestly, watching Virtua Tennis evolve is like watching grass grow - it's pretty bloody slow, and you can basically shut your eyes and still know where it's headed. That's not to say that the Virtua Tennis games are in any way bad - as far as grass growing, this is pretty good stuff; it's just that with each iteration, it's harder to justify spending more money for what is essentially a very similar experience. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Virtua Tennis 3, and in fact, the core gameplay is as good as ever, but it just doesn't take the step forward that it could, and probably should. Particularly in its PS3 incarnation, but more on that later.

Somewhat critical introduction out of the way, there is a lot to like about this game. SEGA nailed the sense of movement and the ball physics right from the first game in the series, and these elements have continued to improve. Player animations are stunning for the most part, only falling down occasionally by virtue of the fact that they are so good. When you see a player sprinting back down the line in an attempt to reach the ball while he's still facing forward, for instance, it doesn't gel with what you know the player's intent would be - to simply get to the ball. If anything these moments are a compliment - as with any game that emulates real life, the closer you get to reality, the more you'll pick up on minor flaws. By and large Virtua Tennis 3 is a joy to watch, and even after extended play you'll still see the odd animation you haven't come across yet.