Tennis Masters Series

While you won’t recognize any of the players names or faces (which are all fictional), there’s still the chance for lots of fun and emphasizes you don’t need brand name players to make a good game. (The locations are all authentic though.) The approach is similar to practically every tennis game ever created, from Mario Tennis to Virtua Tennis but it also allows players with any exposure to other tennis games instant recognition with the basic mechanics. I was able to jump right in and lose match after match after match to the computer - which is no different than any other tennis game I’ve ever played.

The computer AI is good with one-on-one matches, but sometimes I wondered what the hell my doubles partner was doing. Even picking a really good player (ranked by a number of stats) still resulted in the occasional “What the hell?” moment. Of course, playing with a human partner can result in more than a few “What the hell?” moments too, so I can’t fault the AI that much. Another detraction is the graphics, which is not to say that TMS isn’t a good-looking game, it is, but there’s some weird stuff going on. I played TMS on two systems, one a PIII 500, 128 RAM, 16MB 3D card, and the other a Celeron 600 with less ram and an equal 

video card. I got better performance on the Celeron. On my PIII with graphics options set midway, the game went into stop-motion animation for the first ten minutes then suddenly things started running smoother. But not as good as when I turned some of the options down, which made a dramatic difference in framerate. (Also, changing the camera can help you squeeze out some more speed.)

The animations are very good and do a good job mimicking real-life movement. Diving, smashing, and serving all look great. There are even context sensitive situations that allow mundane shots to turn into interesting moves to watch. Plus, you have to deal with momentum - there’s no turning on a dime here! The ball itself moves at a good clip too and responds the way you’d expect it to. The way it interacts with the different surfaces, which ranges from clay to concrete (and the net), actually affects the way you have to play the game (except me - “Whiff!” missed again). To complement the graphics are a plethora of tennis match sound effects: the less-than rowdy crowd, nasally announcer, and lots of sounds for tennis balls hitting other things. Some find the sound too subdued but the last time I watched a tennis match on TV those were the sounds I heard. (Although, the occasional, “You suck!” from the stands as you’re about to serve would surely liven things up.) Tennis attracts a different breed of fan than say, hockey, lacrosse, or football, so the fact it’s subdued doesn’t hurt.

To really rub it in when you (i.e. me) waffle on yet another serve, Microids has pulled a page from EA’s sport games with the use of Matrix-esque moments and instant replays. Sometimes you’ll even be treated to a close-up shot of a ball bouncing just inside or just outside the line. I didn’t always agree with the call and would have liked the chance to throw my racket at the line judge. (Watching my disappointed player looking fretfully at his racket - like that’s what his problem is and not the fool controlling him - got a little annoying when I’d rather be attacking the base of the chair.)

Multiplayer over LAN and Internet is supported but you need to know the IP of your opponent’s computer. I did successfully manage to connect to a few games and things ran smoothly. But there’s still the pitfalls of online play to contend with - dropped connections, lag, etc. And you can also play on the same computer, which is way more fun anyway.

Tennis Masters Series shows a lot of promise, and hopefully Microids turns it into a full-fledged series to build on the first game. There are few aspects I’d like to see added such as, a training mode, streakers, or a create-a-player option. (Emphasis on the training mode.) If some of the graphical problems get hammered out and the online aspect is better supported (say, by GameSpy) Tennis Masters Series could easily join the ranks of EA’s best sports titles.

- Omni