Superstar Mode allows the player to complete missions which include exhibition matches, tournaments and tasks based around a specific Sega game including Sonic the Hedgehog, Puyo Pop Fever and Virtua Cop. Completing missions unlocks items such as courts, stages, soundtracks and different characters. Exhibition Mode offers the chance to challenge a character to a match on one of many courts, including Sonic's home court of Green Hill Zone, or Amigo's Carnival Park court. Whichever court is chosen, there are a host of Sega celebrities cheering them on from court side. Tournament Mode allows the player to play in a series of matches against opponents chosen at random by the computer in an arena also chosen at random. There are several playable minigames in Sega Superstars Tennis, including ones from Sega games such as a House ofthe Dead meets Space Invaders game, in which the player has to hit moving targets in the form of zombies, a Space Harrier game, a Puyo Puyo game, and a Virtua Cop game. Each character has its own unique 'special attack' giving the player more chance of scoring a point. For example: Gilius throws a magic bottle in the air and covers the opponent's side with thunderbolts, if they touch one the character will be stunned for a brief moment, or Sonic's signature "Super Sonic" attack, which causes the tennis ball to zig-zag in various directions around the court when he hits the ball. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions both have online play, while the Wii version has three different control schemes. The Nintendo DS version of the game can be played with the standard control pad, or utilize the stylus.
Reception
Sega Superstars Tennis received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Eurogamer praised the Xbox 360 version for its fan service. Official Nintendo Magazine reviewed the Wii version, saying that it had great gameplay and fun minigames and was enjoyable in multiplayer. However, the game just missed out on a Gold Award due to the lack to Nintendo Wi-Fi support and blasted Sega for the omission due to Wi-Fi being supported on the Xbox and PS3, commenting that as Nintendo Wi-Fi had already proven its capabilities with other games, it appeared that Sega simply couldn't be bothered to include it. IGN called the Wii version "a tennis game that should have been better than it is." They criticized the lack of detail in the graphics, the muffled sound effects, simplistic gameplay, and the lack of an online mode, which is present in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.
