Tennis games

smash tennis on snes ftw!

http://planetemu.net/screenshots/goodsnes/Smash%20Tennis.png

mike will kick your ass and rinse yo hair!

I played a bunch of the last Virtua Tennis before ultimately deciding I didn't like it (I mean, I gave it more than a fair shot - I worked my way all the way through the single player stuff to rank 1, etc).

The game has several glaring problems, the biggest of which is there is way too much diving going on. Literarly you can play a whole game where you dive for every return and still win. Second - the character creation engine is so minimal, one wonders why they even put it in there. And as far as I could tell, once you created your lame looking character, there was no way to change his or her appearance without starting over the game. The online would have been much more fun if everybody could play with much more interesting looking avatars (like Tiger Woods style character creation). The mini games - just lame (after the first few). But really, mainly it was the excessive diving - it made it feel less like proper tennis and more like, I don't know what - more like volleyball. Oh - and also the doubles game against the computer were lame.

I'm definitely curious about the new Top Spin. I like the idea of tennis as a video game - even if maybe it's too basic of a product to be charging sixty dollars for. I'd like to see a downloadable tennis game with Smash Tennis like graphics but in HD. Something like what they did with SWOS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU6iA1Ozz0U&feature=related

Match Point was fucking dope.

oh - I forgot in VT3, those incredibly annoying cut scenes when a tennis pro takes over the screen, with lips flapping and hands a wagging, but with no sound - just stupid subtitles, "Hey, you're getting pretty good. Maybe we should have a practice match on April 27th," etc...

Also the energy drinks & vactaions

mario tennis on N64/GBA was great.

super smash tennis way back on game boy (1995?) was a cracking game.

tennis usually comes out well in game format, compared to most other sports.

I think I'm getting that Sega tennis game, why because it look intersting

I was curious about that one too - though I heard it's just a re-skinned Virtua Tennis? Is there a demo?

Haven't looked in the PS store yet; I'm really hoping to find it used.

cozen is otm! i can't believe that didn't get nominated in dom's poll actually

Dan are you talking about Everybody's Tennis? I just bought that yesterday and have never fallen in love with a PS2 game so hard in my entire life.

I think in the US it may be called "Hot Shots Tennis".

Oh never mind, that's made by Sony. Ironically, it's made me want a Wii.

Virtua Tennis 2 on the Dreamcast dominated 2002 for me.

is that the same as 2K2? best tennis game ever.

Yeah, a.k.a. "Sega Sports Tennis" for the PS2. It's good but I just warm to the way Everybody's Tennis dispenses with any focus on graphical realism. It's a video game - why should it try to be realistic? I can see the most realistic tennis ever played - with shots and angles that will appear nowhere on any video game system - just by turning on the US Open. Everybody's Tennis is a video game first, which just happens to have the same rules and physics as tennis. It's brilliant, and graphically very beautiful. There's something very satisfying about the bodies, the action, the motion, the sound. (Well except for the music.) There are 3-D spectators who hang around and clap and stuff, and when a ball comes their way they scoot out of the way!

Only two tiny little things could have made it better.

1 - More customization of replays.

2 - Better crowd reactions. EVERY tennis game I have EVER played has whiffed spectacularly on what ought to be bone-simple to implement. Rally gets longer? Crowd starts sucking in breath, murmuring in astonishment and suspense. Particularly nasty drop shot? Have the crowd start going crazy AS the opponent makes a run for the net, not AFTER he's fucked it up! It would add so much to these games to have accurate and exciting crowd noise.

^^totally OTM on your second point^^

Really, it does seem like something that should be very easy to implement.

I haven't gotten heavily into a tennis game since good ol' Super Tennis on SNES.

http://www.gamingsteve.com/images/2008/02/9-snesbest.jpg

i think i might feel about the "physics and rules of tennis" the way you feel about graphics. i'm not looking for one-to-one simulation, i guess, but rather a game that has a logical and intuitive but challenging mechanic. even if doesn't perfectly simulate the experience of actually playing the game. the big draw of 2K2 for me was the way the game played rather than the graphics. that was what i loved about mario tennis for the N64, which is my only other contender for favorite tennis game.

that sd i haven't played the hot shots game.

Everybody's Tennis, i.e. Hot Shots has a fantastic mechanic. It really does feel like tennis, even if your player's head is half the size of her whole body. My favorite character so far is the overweight coach, who falls to his knees and fist pumps every time he wins a game. My least favorite character so far is "the black American", I think actually named "D.J." who wears headphones and while waiting for a shot HOPS from SIDE TO SIDE as if he is BREAKDANCING. I honestly have to just forget the character exists or I feel icky about the whole thing. The British girl's stereotypical mannerisms are spot on though. When she's serving for the game she says "ready to get beat, loser?"

I've been reading reviews to see what the official games press (lol) thinks of HST/ET. It seems there's a grudging respect that quickly turns into bitterness that there's not a "season mode" where you get to build your player's abilities over time. i.e. start out as a rookie then build your stats.

YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT. This is not a game for loners, bug-eyed in front of the TV at four in the morning. Well, it can be. But mainly you're mean to play WITH PEOPLE.

Also, this made me lol:

"The Hot Shots games have never been acclaimed for their graphics as they rely on vibrant, colorful cartoon environments and quirky character design instead of photorealism."

I can't stop loving this game. By the way the reviews that said the 1-player mode is too easy are SHITBALLS INSANE. After you beat everyone several times and unlock all the characters, you then have to beat everyone AGAIN but this time they're wearing BLACK uniforms and are fricking IMPOSSIBLY GOOD.

No one has even written a FAQ or walkthrough for this game, I don't understand it. Maybe I should.

just picked up everybody's tennis for £3 in tesco! stoked!!!!!

weird - I just picked up Everybody's Tennis (Hot Shots Tennis over here) a couple of weeks ago. Game definitely starts out VERY easy (haven't lost a set) and seems very grindy to get up to the challenging stuff (I hope there really is challenging stuff at some point). I enjoyed what I've played for the most part, but it doesn't feel markedly different from any other tennis game. Definitely worth £3 though.

I meant to say, I haven't lost a game (and barely lost any points)...

lost my first game to suzuki in the semi-pro class, don't know how many tiers there are above that; it has been a bit grind-y up till now but the game is fun

it's a rhythm game at heart; very simple to pick up but there does seem to be some depth because your positioning (along with your timing of course) completely determines the quality of your shots

suzuki is my favourite character so far btw; something about his running animation is so great

damn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12zTAKU-OrI

The new features start with the on-court assists, which are known as "helpers." They're designed to help with different aspects of your game, including timing, shots, and ball placement. The timing helper tells you how well you've timed your shot by placing an indicator above your character's head, with such ratings as good or bad displayed.

Everybody's Tennis has had this for years, i.e. the little turtle or the bunny or the note that appears over you to indicate too fast, too slow, or just right