As Wimbledon get underway this week, tennis fans may be tempted to pick up Tennis World Tour. Sport video games, after all, give players the chance to either sample the sweet taste of victory in sports they’ll never play professionally, or set the world to rights if their favourite player crashes out of a tournament.
Just ask FIFA fans; it’s likely Argentinian, German, Spanish and Portuguese players are burning through that game’s World Cup mode as you read this.
However, for those who fancy a hit and giggle with Tennis World Tour, heed these words of caution: resist the temptation. Tennis World Tour is a badly made, poorly put together tennis simulator that isn’t worth the cost of entry.
Really, you’d be better off picking up a racquet and trying the real thing or, if you have a Nintendo Switch, picking up a copy of Mario Tennis Aces, which is arguably the best tennis video game available right now – not that Tennis World Tour gives it any real competition.
The game’s highlight is its Career Mode, in which players craft a young female or male tennis player and then head out on tour in order to become the number one player in the world.
Rather than jumping into their first tournament match however, players will need to work on leveling up their budding star through basic training, in which they work on serves, volleys, basic shots and more. They can then opt to do more training, play in a tournament or exhibition or rest to lower their fatigue levels. The amount of time spent resting, however, has to be leveraged against earnings so there’s some strategy involved.
However, once players start competing, the problems start. The controls aren’t exactly intuitive and even those players who work hard to master them will be frustrated by the apparent break between their input and the reaction of their player on screen.
Too often what feels like a point-winner is returned by the AI with a backhanded shot and their avatar’s sluggish movement is also an issue; sometimes returning a shot is impossible even though the player is only inches away from it – no attempt is even made.
On top of that, the presentation is positively last gen. Visuals aren’t exactly crisp, the response from the in-game crowds sound like the game is taking place in front of around ten people and the in-game commentary is so bad it’s almost laughable. The game is further let down by the fact that it has no official licenses for any of the major tournaments; it’s hard to really feel one is competing in the French Open, for example, even if the action has switched from grass to clay.
All of these elements conspire to strip away both the sport’s drama and fun. Really, if you’re after a tennis experience while Wimbledon is on, turn on a game and settle for the real thing.
★★☆☆☆