Unfortunately, one of the major flaws of Tennis World Tour 2 comes into play here, namely the bad competitive characterization of tennis players. The opponents you will meet are equipped with a decent AI that, however, sometimes seems to turn off completely. If you are an attacking player you will realize how hard it is to score a real stop-volley or a demi-voleé, while the system chosen to make short balls deserves applause, which if used with the right parsimony can become very dangerous weapons. Despite a good control system, being able to make the most refined shots (from short balls to stop-volley) will nevertheless remain rather difficult. Clay is the realm of Top Spin and serves in Kick, while grass is perfect for slices.Ī simple Tennis School will teach you the fundamentals but it will be only with practice that you will be able to “master” everything.
The various surfaces return different bounces.
During the games you can choose whether to place the ball with a light touch of the chosen button (flat, slice and top) or whether to “load” the shot hoping to break through the opponent’s defense. A ball hit too early or late is unlikely to have the power and precision needed to be a winner. The timing required to make a good shot is essential and can make the difference between a tight ball placed at the intersection of the lines or a floppy cross sorted in the middle of the field … and therefore easily attacked by the opponent. Unfortunately, there are still problems with collisions, even if more sporadic, and some animations are still a bit woody but we are on much better levels than the bad first chapter. The impacts with the ball are felt more, as well as the effects impressed based on the chosen shot. It seems to us that the online infrastructure is of a completely different level than the previous game, but the real test will come as the servers begin to be more populated.įrom the point of view of pure tennis enjoyment, the generous injection of new animations has allowed the exchanges to get closer to that realism that a sports game developed today should aspire to. In the few matches that we managed to complete everything went quite smoothly except for some quick freezes during exchanges. For example, why not insert some management element or perhaps a background history similar to that of the last FIFA?Īs a side dish we find the usual options seen and magazines, exhibitions and customizable tournaments and online challenges that unfortunately in our test period we could not test too thoroughly due to the discrete shortage of opponents.
In the past, the path of injuries was attempted, inevitable if you choose to play too intensely, but the possibilities are still unexplored. The possibility of starting from the minor circuits and then attempting the big leap towards the ATP Race is very pleasant, but we would have appreciated a few more twists, some original element that influenced the progress of the Career.
This mode is structured in a very classic way: every week it is possible to choose whether to train, rest, improve the basic strokes with training or of course participate in some tournament. Part of the doubts raised in the preview phase were somewhat lightened by more prolonged game sessions and the possibility (finally) to experience the real heart of the game, the Career.
#TENNIS WORLD TOUR VIDEO GAME SERIES#
We hoped that the experience gained by this team with the sister series AO Tennis would be enough to give us a noteworthy simulation but unfortunately it did not go as we hoped. Tennis games probably scare developers, first of all for the inevitable comparisons with the two masterpiece series mentioned above, but also because in the sports video game sector everything that is not football (or at most basketball / football for the American market) hardly guarantees stratospheric collections.Ī few weeks ago we told you about Tennis World Tour 2, game passed into the hands of Big Ant Studios after a disappointing first chapter. Usually in these cases it is said that “many have tried and just as many have failed” but this time it is not exactly like that. The heavy legacies left by SEGA and PAM Development with Virtua Tennis and Top Spin are still around, floating in the memories of players who have been waiting for a long, long time for someone able to revive their glories.