Tennis Masters Series Preview

Tennis games have been noticeably absent from the PC release calendars for more than a year, leaving fans of the sport with very few alternatives. But with the growing popularity of the sport and the success of Virtua Tennis for the Dreamcast console, Microids decided to develop Tennis Masters Series not only to appease PC owners but also to set the standard for all subsequently released tennis games. The sheer amount of effort put into the game, and the resulting level of detail, is evidence that Microids is dedicated to reaching its lofty goals, but it will be interesting to see if Tennis Masters Series can successfully revive the sport on the PC.

Tennis Masters Series lets you play through a series of tournaments to receive points and earn a high ranking. Winning a tournament altogether gives you a high score, while losing early gives very few points. There are nine tournaments in the game, all of which take place in traditional tennis locales such as Monte Carlo and Montreal. If you don't accumulate enough points in these tournaments--or at least enough to rank you eighth in the world out of 67 players--then you can't participate in Tennis Masters Series' championship tournament, the Masters Cup. Aside from the main tournament mode, Tennis Masters Series features an exhibition mode that essentially functions as a practice mode, where you can adjust difficulty levels, the number of games, and the number of sets. There's also a multiplayer mode that supports up to four players through LAN.

Regardless of the mode you start out with, the first aspect of Tennis Masters Series that you'll notice during gameplay is its impressive level of detail in both the courts and the player models. Each court has been modeled to look as realistic as possible, down to the advertisements on the walls just behind the baseline and the Mercedes-Benz logo that can be found on either side of the net. As further evidence of the detail in the game, players actually make footprints as they run across a clay court and even occasionally leave streaks when sliding in to hit the ball. The player models in Tennis Masters Series also express emotions throughout the game, depending on their match performance. Win a point and your player pumps his fist in the air, whereas the opponent simply stands on the baseline with a disheartened look, waiting for your player to finish the brief celebration. They even complain after a bad call. Microids is still putting the finishing touches on all the stadiums and player models, including additional emotions for players and other minor tweaks.

Know the Game

In addition to creating a realistic visual experience, Microids wants to deliver a realistic gameplay experience, but not so much that the game becomes overly complex. For example, a small meter that appears just above the player's head determines serving accuracy and speed. When the meter reaches the red level, your serve has more power behind it, but the chances of it going in are significantly lower. If the meter is down near the yellow and green areas, then the serve will probably go in, but the opponent has an opening to hit a winner down either side of the court because of the reduction in speed. To make service a little more dynamic, there are different types of spin to put on the ball to cause it to bounce in different directions, making it difficult for the opposing player to guess where the ball is going to be. Backspin typically causes the ball to bounce lower than it normally would, making it the perfect weapon against opponents who like to play behind the baseline. Similarly, topspin can be used for opponents close to the net--the higher bounce makes it much more difficult to hit the ball in close. These service strategies generally apply to rallies as well, but you have a few more options to choose from.

Like the service game, a rally in Tennis Masters Series can be played with the utmost simplistic strategy of hitting the ball with a regular swing, but that strategy isn't quite as useful with more skilled opponents. There are four different strokes to use during a rally for the purpose of maneuvering an opponent into position for that winning shot. Once again there's a topspin stroke for forcing an opponent well behind the baseline. There's also a slice for changing the direction of the ball's bounce. A drop shot can lure in players who stay behind the baseline during a match, and the lob pushes an opponent back quickly but leaves an opening for an overhead smash. Each court surface plays a role in how these shots affect play. The hard court makes the ball go faster and bounce higher, whereas the clay court gives a medium bounce with a moderate speed--it also has the added bonus of being a difficult surface to run across as well. It's easy to perform different shots in the game, but it takes some time before you can use them to tire out your opponent.

As of the last playable build, the graphics are just about done, and basic gameplay elements have been incorporated. There were some issues with the controls of the game being a little too loose, not to the point that they felt unresponsive, but at times it was difficult to maneuver the player in properly for a shot. Otherwise, the game looks solid in its current state. Microids has tried to make Tennis Masters Series as simple as possible to play so that anyone can jump right in, but there is an added level of depth in the service and rally games if you want more of a challenge. It's scheduled for release in November.