Not quite there...
User Rating: 6 | Minna no Tennis PS2
Hot Shots Tennis comes to us from Clap Hanz, and we're all familiar with the Hot Shots Golf franchise. This game could have been much better. Let's first discuss the positives. The game is quite pretty graphically. The environments and characters move very fluently. And that's about it... Where to begin with the negatives. First, the controls are atrocious. Your characters run around smoothly, but when it actually comes to hitting the ball, that is where the trouble starts. The characters use a timing scale- hit the ball too early or too late and it goes awry. You need to hit the ball just right to get it to go where you aim. Problem is, the aiming system is flawed. You use the right-stick to move and aim your shots, so if you are running right and want to drop a volley to the left, you have to stop moving first, otherwise you hit the ball down the center of the court. Most of the time, if you stop moving in order to aim your shot, your character is out of position to make the play anyway, so that is frustrating. As you play through the game, you unlock new environments, judges, and character outfits- that is all. Unlike it's golf predecessor, you cannot unlock new rackets, new balls, or shoes, I guess, to make gameplay different. Last, the "super" characters are so difficult to use because their timing is difficult to perfect they aren't even fun.
