All-Star Tennis '99

Hi all!

Hooray for dirt cheap sports games I found in the depths of a bargain bin! I've not played this before now, as I'm not big on Tennis and so Mario Tennis is plenty for me.

The game has three basic modes: exhibition, tournament, and Bomb Tennis. There are eight real-world "all-star" players to choose from, which would likely be instantly recognizable to tennis aficionados but are completely unknown to me. There is a good selection of courts from around the world, but most of them seem like palette swaps or recolourings of each other.

The controls are simple and allow for various types of shots in theory, but in execution, there's almost no noticeable difference between them. There is a delay between when you press a button to swing and when the racket hits the ball, which makes it all about timing. This amount of time changes depending on your position on the court, which makes it needlessly difficult to be consistent. On top of this, it's incredibly difficult to aim the ball without hitting it out of bounds.

There are three difficulty settings for the A.I. player, but the only real difference between them is the reaction time. On any setting, the computer player will not only always return the ball if it is within reach, but also hit it perfectly in the spot that you're not standing. There are a couple of gimmicks intended to spice things up but feel rather out of place in an otherwise realistic game. There is a power meter which fills up with good plays, and once it is full, a difficult-to-return special shot can be used. The aforementioned Bomb Tennis mode leaves a bomb on the ground wherever the ball bounces, and if a player hits a bomb, they will be stunned for a few seconds.

Creating models of real people has always been dubious on the Nintendo 64; with such limited hardware, it's simply impossible for them to resemble the people they are modeled after. Still, the impact of this shortcoming can be lessened with good animation, but the already muddy models are as choppy as an old projector. The court itself has no real detail, and the crowd isn't animated. In the sound area, there is no music, so all there is to be heard is the distinct sound a tennis ball makes when it is hit by a racket, and the occasional grunt from the players when they make a desperate attempt to return the ball. There is also an announcer who sometimes spouts generic commentary, but it is so forgettable that mentioning it almost slipped my mind.

When it comes to tennis action, Mario Tennis just does everything better. Even if you want a realistic tennis game, I can't recommend this one as it just isn't solid.

Score: 4/10

-Mop_it_up