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Let me start out by saying that I'm a hardcore tennis fanatic. I've played tennis for years and I'm also a big gamer who tries every tennis game that comes out.
My first impression while playing the game was that no one on the developmental team has played tennis or knows anything about it. There are so many things wrong with this game. First, the players don't run across the court, they glide. Additionally they are able to glide (not run!) to the most ridiculously angled shots. I couldn't believe some of the balls that were coming back!
Secondly, the ball does not play realistically. It floats and glides as well. Hitting topspin shots and slice shots barely makes a difference to the velocity and spin of the ball. I could hit winners off the slice just as easily as I could with flat or topspin shots (which if you play tennis knows rarely happens...if you do it a slice winner it was luck).
Third, the player animations are awful. The serving and groundstroke motions are all very poorly copied, even though the game claims to use trademark player swings.
Fourth...and this one really irritated me...players with two handed backhands hit one handed backhands A LOT. I'm not talking about slice backhands, which are always single handed, I'm talking flat and topspin backhands being hit by guys like Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and the rest who use two hands. Did no one on the developmental team watch a single match for research purposes?
I really like that there is commentary from Johnnie Mac and Pat Cash, but they must have about 50 lines each, that's it. The same things get repeated over and over. I actually ended up turning it off.
Stick to the Top Spin franchise, they are still king of the tennis video game world.
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I must say that, although I'm not an avid tennis simulation player, I have been an on-again/off-again fan of the sport since the late 1980's, and I have played many, many tennis games over the years, extending all the way back to "Tennis" for the NES. If I had to sum this game up in one word, it would be FUN! I love the look of the game. If you didnt know any better, you'd think you were watching a real match. It is great. I love the textures and the look of the courts. The players are not robotic and look very natural (as natural as a video game player can be) in their movements and how they attack the ball/serve/etc. I love the raquet control and I especially love the Tennis School portion which is coached by John McEnroe. The create a player is deep and I love the career and grand slam historical match recreations. If I had any complaints, it'd be the commentating. There is very little in the way of variety, so dont be surprised to hear the same comment 2, 3, or even 4 times during a single match. Also, it is a little strange to have commentating from McEnroe/Cash WHILE they are also playing. I think they should have had a commentating crew that weren't available players in the game. Otherwise, I think the game is a blast!UPDATE 1: After playing the game for a week and a half I must say it is still as fun as I stated it was in the beginning. After 9 dyas, I can now beat the computer on "Superstar" level and the matches play out like their real-life counterparts. Every point is a grueling battle and I love it!! The online multiplayer matches (something I omitted from my original review) are a blast as well. I have played 26 ranked matches so far and am currently 20-6 in those. Although it is just a game, there is a real sense of accomplishment that comes with beating your live opponent in 5 sets, where every point won is an exhilarating rush. For the record, I now play the game with the commentating volume all the way down. The commentating is by far the most annoying aspect of the game and I find I play much better without the constant re-hashed comments by McEnroe and Cash.
UPDATE 2: After 3 weeks, the shine is wearing off on the game a bit and I have reduced my rating from 4 to 3 stars. Although it is fun, it is VERY repetitive and the AI on Superstar level is a bit ridiculous at times. The computer controlled player can routinely get to shots that would be impossible for any human controlled character to get to (for example I was volleying near the right side of the net and hit a sharp, flat shot to the far left corner. The computer player returned and I, being so close to the net, immediately hit a power top spin backhand to the opposite corner. Not only was the computer player able to amazingly return the shot, they super-humanly returned it with maximum power and at an impossible angle that I could not get to even remotely fast enough and got the point). Not to mention that the commentary may be some of the worst I've ever heard in an EA sports game. Again, it's still fun, but not AS FUN as it was.
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