Lacks long-time motivation
The main theme is tennis, of course, but tennis matches get only 50% of the attention. The other 50% go to mini games, some of which are more fun than others. That's why you get a mission mode instead of a career mode where you play several variations of the 8 mini games and only occasionally a tennis match. There are 100 missions and you might think they keep you busy for a long time but most missions last no more than a minute or two and are easy enough to beat them on the first try. After only about five hours all missions are done and everything is unlocked. What's next? You can play the unlocked mini games to get new high scores but what is it good for? You can also play tournaments against the computer but without a story or unlockables you have no motivation to do so.
That leaves tennis matches against human opponents. If you are lucky you have friends who come over and play with you because it takes ages to find another player online. However the Tennis is solid as far as I can tell. (I have no experience with other tennis games.) It is no game of luck. Skilled people can own beginners pretty badly. You can do normal shots, long and high shots, balls that drop right behind the net and smashes when you are in a good position. Additionally every character has a special move. Unfortunately they are imbalanced – some lead to a point way more certainly than others.
Overview:
Content
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• There are 16 characters of different types like speed, strength, spin or control. Some characters are only clones from others. You will find characters from Sonic, Space Channel 5, Monkey Ball, Jetset Radio, Samba de Amigo, Golden Axe and Alex Kidd.
• 10 tennis courts and a some mini game areas with three to five songs to choose from
• 8 mini games of different quality. Some are really good, none is really bad. You can try to get high scores or compete against a friend offline.
• 100 very short missions
• You can play 1 on 1 matches or 2 on 2 as well as 1 on 1 and 2 on 2 tournaments
• 3 difficulty settings for the tennis (not for the mini games)
• A variety of unlockable music titles but no option to play a title without playing on the associated place.
• Online mode with test matches, ladder matches and tournaments. You can play 2 vs 2 online but not two offline players versus two online players.
• There is a TV option but nothing is on.
Quality
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• Controls are responsive and ok. I don't like the concept of pressing two buttons in a certain order for either a long or a short ball but other than that I had no problems.
• Graphics are good except the new 3D models for Alex Kidd and the Golden Axe character.
• Sounds are simply Sega-like
• Sometimes there is some lag noticable online but it is still well playable.
Difficulty
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• The missions are mostly easy. Only a few will make you try several times. Unlocking everything should be no problem
• The difficulty of the tennis depends on your settings. On easy it is very easy. On normal most matches will still be easy except some tournament end bosses.br />
• Online is the real challenge. It's hard to compete.
Value
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• The single player part is very short but fun while it lasts.
• You get a solid tennis game with online mode.
• Some minigames are great to chill out