PlayStation 2

Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament

Smash Court certainly isn't the best tennis outing to date. But it offers something very important in games these days and that's fun. Despite the relatively simplistic graphics and the few other shortcomings here and there, Namco's endeavor into the world of tennis was quite good, and it's a great game for any tennis fan to experience -- or sports fan in general.

I like tennis games, and I was prepared to like this game, but nearly as much as I figured. Smash Court Tennis requires more than just a few hours of play to dig into its deep wealth of usually balanced arcade tennis, and it's definitely worth buying. The single player modes are good, and the four-player modes are unbelievably entertaining. I lost sleep, gained blisters, and earned myself a decent level of self-esteem by beating these polygonal players, and in the end, despite imbalanced Pro Tournament mode, I enjoyed the brutal string of losses because I eventually won.

Sadly, the aforementioned stars look a little chunky, due to the odd character models, and move like they've hit a Wimbledon locker-room buffet one too many times, giving the game a much slower feel than Virtua Tennis. Also, the career mode is not dazzling, with ho-hum prize points (which allow you to unlock pictures of Yevgeny Kafelnikov - Yay!) taking the place of Virtua Tennis' wacky minigames.

True to actual tennis matches, the music department is set to silence when the ball is in motion. A cool little facet becomes apparent when the judge calls for quite from the crowd, as the game is ready to proceed. Things like this seem to be on cue with each spectator reaction and between sets, there are tunes that deliver nothing more than a decent listening. Aspects like grunts and moans are present from players reaching for the ball, and the sound it bouncing off the racquet is nicely timed with the visual display.

Since Super Smash Court Tennis is the only option on PS2, it's an easy choice for fans of whacking fuzzy balls. Lots of multiplayer and single-player options will keep you playing for a while, but the action isn't as fierce as Virtua Tennis 2K2.

With Tennis 2K2 for the PlayStation 2 still a long ways off, Smash Court is currently the only option for tennis-loving PlayStation 2 owners. Virtua Tennis fans who are hungry for something new and can overlook some of the game's shortcomings should have some fun with Smash Court, though the less forgiving gameplay makes the game less appealing to the average gamer.

The so-so visual and sound package contributes to the middling quality of the game, too. You play in bland-colored stadiums with players who aren?t sharply detailed. The few grunts and umpire announcements complete the soundtrack.