We revisit three tennis video games on the Sega Genesis to learn if they have aged like wine or milk.
1)David crane’s amazing tennis(1992)– This Sega Genesis game was developed by David Crane, known for creating the Pitfall series. While working for Absolute Entertainment, he developed Amazing Tennis at his home. The graphics for the game are beautiful, with fluid player animation. However, in what can be described as truly a pain in the a**. David Crane’s Tennis is not so amazing gameplay-wise.
The ‘behind the player’ camera is a bizarre choice on the developer’s part and takes time getting used to. Apart from the general gripe I have with tennis games of the Genesis era, where it was always difficult to time shots, the game outdoes itself with its perspective. The biggest challenge in the game is learning to time your serves right. Though once mastered, the game gets better. If you manage to get closer to the ball being returned, you have a good chance of hitting it back.
Something unique to the game is that you play as just one character whom you can name anything. However, you do have a selection of opponents from around the globe. Games are played in sets of three, with just two modes—Head to Head and Tournament—available for play.
2)Pete Sampras Tennis(1994)-A game featuring only one real-life player, Pete Sampras. It’s an interesting experience as the other AI-controlled players are assigned stats for volleys, serves, and speed. Their playing styles also vary based on whether they are left or right-handed. The cartoonish graphics add a fun element to the game, with diminutive characters scurrying around the court in pursuit of the ball.
The game was designed with couch co-op in mind and includes a J-Cart option for up to 4 players to engage in various modes such as challenge, tournament, and world tour.
Developed by Zeppelin Games and published by Codemasters, the game was well-received, with its fun and challenging gameplay being touted as its selling point. The controls are simple, featuring a lob shot activated by pressing the A button, a normal shot by pressing B, and a dive option made by pressing C and a directional button.
There are three court types: grass, clay, and hard, with the ball bouncing the most on clay courts and the least on grass. There is a secret mode, Crazy Tennis, that lets players rack up points for hitting the ball. This could be the ‘Virtua Tennis’ experience Sega Genesis players didn’t know they were getting, much before the game would release on the Sega Dreamcast in the year 2000.
3)Andre Agassi Tennis(1992)- This one seems to have aimed to capitalize on Andre’s popularity but fell short in terms of gameplay. And boy, does it suck! My biggest complaint with the game, and almost all tennis games from that era, revolves around player movement. It’s nearly impossible to reach the ball in time. The player movement is so sluggish that it feels like they are wading through a sea of honey.
While I appreciate the ability to control the power and direction of shots based on the duration of button presses, the overall gameplay is often hindered by slow player movements. It’s a pity because there’s considerable strategic potential, especially with the added options of backspin and topspin mapped to the bottom and top directional buttons.
The game has a couple of modes, namely tournament and practice. Another mode, ‘skin tournament,’ awards dollars for winning points, with the final match having you compete against Agassi himself. The game features only one real-life player and had four court types: grass, clay, hard, and indoor, each with its merits regarding bounce and spin.”
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