International Volleyball 2009

International Volleyball 2009 is a volleyball simulation game from a few years back that aims to recreate the atmosphere of a championship match as much and as best as it can. The game offers you the chance to control a large number of teams from around the word and see them victorious through simple tournaments, championships and even finals.

If you know the rules in volleyball, then playing International Volleyball 2009 and enjoying it only comes down to mastering the controls. Like with most team sport simulators, this one has all the mechanics well implemented and players are controlled with just a few keys.

Service, receiving, setting, attack and wall are all available using a handful of keys but getting the moves right is all about timing. The game comes with a decent tutorial but just like with the real sport, only by practicing can you improve.

Visually, International Volleyball 2009 looks good. It’s pretty clear from the title when it was last given any attention but even so, despite the rather robotic animations, it won’t hurt your eyes when playing.

Apart from changing the role that each player has in the team, in International Volleyball 2009 you are given the chance to edit player characteristics. You can change their name, surname, shirt type, number and height. Yep, you can create a team of dwarves or amazonian women in minutes.

That option however isn’t there for amusement, it’s actually a very good feature to have since shorter players have their well known advantages when it comes to receiving and setting up difficult attacks.

International Volleyball 2009 is a nicely done game even though it has a few years behind it and lacks in presentation if compared to today’s standards. However, if you’re a volleyball fan, it’s still a good choice. Be patient with the controls though.