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Any
one for tennis? This sport has always proved difficult to convert into a video
game, probably because of it's stop- start gameplay. So do we have a tennis
game available on PSX that looks good and creates the kind of tension that the
final points of a Grand Slam Tournament provides?
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The
very first Playstation tennis game arrived with great looks but sadly failed
with poor gameplay. Providing multiple camera angles but suffering a serious
lack of options, Ground Stroke Tennis claimed a fault on the first serve.
There was also a severe lack of mobility which could mainly be put down to the
unresponsive nature of the controls.
0-15
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Now
Acclaims 3D tennis sim does have a multiple of options. There are nine diverse
camera angles and sixteen selectable players, each with an individual rated
ability. You are offered the choice of playing surfaces which are hard, lawn or
clay and a selection of six venues, where you can perform your repertoire of
lobs, smashes, backspin or forehand.
V Tennis doesn't move particularly
quick and the characters appear quite sluggish, so once again, it looks quite
good but falls flat on playability.
0-30
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On
SNES, Smash Court Tennis was regarded by many as the best tennis game around for
years. Transformation onto the 32-bit PSX has allowed Namco to vastly improve
the graphics and offer a more diverse range of courts.
The options
cater for the construction of your very own tennis court, singles, doubles,
exhibition and tournament mode. The huge selection of players are cute cartoon
style characters rather than the usual motion captured athletes and in
exhibition mode, these sprightly players, may perform on the most unusual of
surfaces. Fancy a game on sand in Tahiti, or on soil in France, in a marble
temple in Thailand or even on a carpet in a German castle.
The main
difference with Smash Court Tennis is the high difficulty setting. Unlike most
tennis games, when you throw the ball in the air to serve and miss, you are
penalized. You can actually lose a game in the early rounds of a tournament 6-0
before you blink, but this must surely add to the lastability. If things get a
little tricky, then why not team up with a CPU partner for a game of doubles and
sit back and let him tackle the difficult shots, or you can team up with three
mates where your skillful play is not spoiled by some pesky computer controlled
character.
15-30
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The
Davis Cup is commonly recognized as the World Cup of tennis by many
professionals, so here is Telstars conversion of this famous tournament. The
in-game options are plentiful. You may begin with a visit to the practice court
to sharpen your reactions and test your volley, lobs and smash strokes.
Follow
this up with your selection from the 48 digitized renditions, representing the
sixteen countries who have qualified for this tournament and each having their
own unique set of skills and attributes.
Each country that enters the
Davis Cup is represented in the choice of locations, with a world tour including
Italy, the US and Sweden where the ball reacts differently on contact with the
selection of grass, clay, concrete and wooden surfaces. You can take on a
random opponent in a quick game of singles, or challenge a mate to a doubles
match. There is even the option of a 4 player game using the multitap. In
addition to these game modes, you may play out a league, enter the Davis Cup or
take part in a winner stays on contest.
Unfortunately, Davis cup Tennis
fails to use the power of the Playstation and this results in the game having
the 16-bit looks of old. The CPU characters are found to be incredibly dim, as
by the time they wander back to the base line, you can serve and win the point
and they really don't put up any challenge in the early rounds of the
competitions.
15-40
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Featuring
motion capture players, JVCs Hyper Tennis allows you to select from 12 players,
6 male and 6 female, who each have their own abilities. It is important to
study these skills and utilize the players strengths to your advantage. Unlike
many other tennis games, the player is penalized for failing to connect with the
ball when serving, therefore you will need to practice your opening shot to
enable you to provide some sort of challenge to your opponent. Recovery shots
are an automatic feature of Hyper Tennis that allow your player to execute a
diving motion towards the ball by combining the shot button with a press of the
directional pad, but you must remember that the greater the distance of the
recovery shot, the longer it will take your player to recover their position.
There
are two modes of play, Exhibition, where up to four players can compete in
singles or doubles, and a World Tour mode, where you can earn ranking points
over six tournaments. The world events take form of the Human Open in Tokyo,
the Australian Open in Melbourne, the French Open in Paris, Mixed Doubles in
Montreal, Wimbledon in London and the US Open in New York.
The are multiple
viewing modes available, but it must be said that there are some camera angles
that are virtually unplayable therefore you must choose wisely. There are three
different types of surface and the ball will react differently on each. The
ball will bounce low on the Lawn surfaces while the opposite will happen on the
Hard and Clay courts. The surface will also affect the speed of the ball.
Unfortunately
the ball boys are absent and the umpires are missing, while the crowd are a
selection of cardboard cut-outs, so you will have to rely on the gameplay to
hold your attention.
30-40
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Gender
is important in your selection of a player in Oceans Break Point. Choose a
female, and you will be rewarded with speed and agility to reach those
unstoppable shots, whereas the male players concentrate on fast serves and
strong smashes.
There are only three camera angles available but these prove
suffice, and a controlled six angle replay camera should avoid those fall outs
from a close line call. Using the controller is straightforward enough. To
serve, just hit the X button to throw the ball in the air and hit it again to
smash the ball over the net. If you fault on your first serve, then you can
take the easy way out and use the triangle button for an automatic serve
instead.
You can play a singles, doubles, Super Cup, Tournament or a
training mode. Break Point proves to be a good looking game but slips a little
on the gameplay stakes.
40-40
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I
must admit that I tried this one out on the Megadrive first and was quite
impressed by the way it played on a 16 bit machine. So what improvements have
Codemaster added to the conversion onto PSX? I'll tell you, 160 tennis moves,
3 viewpoints, 4 roaming cameras, 19 selectable players and a choice of 8
worldwide competitions. Set in Barcelona, Hong Kong, Austrailia, France,
Frankfurt, London, Moscow and the US of A. The umpire is of each countries
nationality, so you can learn "Game, Set and Match" in each language.
I
must admit that I tried this one out on the Megadrive first and was quite
impressed by the way it played on a 16 bit machine. So what improvements have
Codemaster added to the conversion onto PSX? I'll tell you, 160 tennis moves,
3 viewpoints, 4 roaming cameras, 19 selectable players and a choice of 8
worldwide competitions. Set in Barcelona, Hong Kong, Austrailia, France,
Frankfurt, London, Moscow and the US of A. The umpire is of each countries
nationality, so you can learn "Game, Set and Match" in each language.
At
last a tennis game where the CPU players offer a real challenge. The play is
fast and open with the sound and FMV sequences very impressive.
Apart
from all this on offer, there are four hidden opponents and a secret street
court to unveil.
G.S.M
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Ground
Stroke tennis - Out !
Virtual Tennis - Foot Fault !
Smash Court
Tennis - Ace !
Davis Cup Tennis - Just Out !
Hyper Tennis - Just In !
Break
Point - Fair Shot !
Sampras Extreme - Game Set and Match !
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