Smash Court Tennis has an esteemed pedigree on PlayStation platforms, stretching back beyond the milestone Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis on PSX but introducing realistic graphics from the first PS2 game. Along with each new version, the control system has been not so much refined as redesigned. But while that implies risk-taking in itself, the game is also seemingly determined to turn into a simulation despite Namco's arcade origins and former dominance of the cabinet industry.

To put it simply, there is no way Smash Court Tennis is going to match Virtua Tennis 3 in mass market prestige, but its best chance for a decent sales challenge is on PSP where VT3 is buggy, offers no support for the PS3 version and is somewhat rough around the edges. So too is SCT3, but the results are at least intentional and appear to be negated in the multiplayer mode when poor AI response to your shots - the game's primary weakness - can be eliminated altogether.

The controls take some getting used to, even if you are familiar with the previous PS2 game. The key is when to let go of the shot button, which determines precision and power. In previous games the press itself was the main determinant. You can map the buttons to your liking, and, as seems to be common with sports games, the slice, topspin, lob or flat shot buttons don't always follow their description; certainly lob volleys are impossible to do. You can, however, pull of a drop shot with a press of the D-pad (down).

There are some great angles to be achieved during rallies, which come about from early preparation so you can hold the directional control down longer, and that perfectly timed button release to ensure you don't hit out. Messing it up is relatively easy, and so it should be: in real tennis, unforced errors make up most of the points won in a match, not winners or errors forced.

The training mode takes you through the controls step by step, which will remove almost certain fustration incurred by diving straight into the so-called Arcade mode. That is the usual progressive challenge mode covering a few games in different courts covering hard, clay and grass surfaces and increasingly skilled opposition. The long Career mode is very Namco, complete with fan letters and courting sponsors. You can auto-train to build your player's abilities and this might be the difference between indulging and ignoring this mode on account of the slow and bumbling start your character will make, especially considering the lineup of ready-made pros available in the other modes. There's no Brit stallwart Henman or pre-Wimbledon tournament winner Rodick in the men's lineup, but both Feder and Nadal are correct and present. Henin, Sharapova, Hingis, Mauresmo and Henin's French Open final victim Ana Ivanovic are all here but players' traits resemble their real-life counterparts only vaguely, as do their appearances.

So does Namco really want Smash Court to simulate tennis? Not really; there is even a Pac-Man Tennis and Galaga Tennis mode on offer - the pro player licenses didn't stretch that far but you can have a lot of fun with quite an inventive arcade take, complete with alien tractor beams and power pellets.

While there are more options to Smash Court and deeper controls than Virtua Tennis, the decidedly J-pop feel to the game puts each component in its true context: Namco isn't trying to kid you into thinking this is a sim, but it will indulge you if that is how you'd like to believe it to be. And with a lack of more realistic alternatives in the market, Namco's is a fair angle to take.