The very first thing that occurred to us upon launching Tennis On-Court docket was a tough crash. Even earlier than we noticed the primary menu, we have been on the error report display screen. The sport would solely crash a pair extra occasions, however it was a worrying begin.
Worse than the crashes is an annoying bug the place, if you happen to hit the tennis ball at simply the best angle, it’s going to hit the web and fall beneath the court docket, however the play will not finish, soft-locking the entire match. This drawback is so prevalent that round half the tournaments we tried to play needed to be deserted earlier than they might be completed.
To rub additional salt within the wound, the gameplay is basically enjoyable. Hit detection and monitoring of each the ball and your racket are distinctive, aiding in the entire expertise. The handful of courts you should utilize are additionally properly rendered, providing totally different color schemes in addition to floor sorts. As you play, you may discover how in a different way the ball strikes primarily based on the floor — turf vs. clay, say — and have the ability to account for that. The AI is kind of able to maintaining with you too, matching the velocities and tempos you undertake. It makes attaining a circulation state throughout a volley fairly magical.
Presentationally, whereas the courts do look good, character fashions look downright demonic. They hardly ever emote, and after they do, it’s disconcerting to the acute. Even simply including an animation for blinking would assist a bit. The gang is missing as nicely. The stands are full of sprites, however they barely transfer or react to something in any respect, and so they solely make noise in between factors. Certain, it is good to respect the gamers out on the court docket, however throughout volleys, issues can get eerily silent.
That describes the sport on the entire, actually. A give and take the place one ingredient of the sport is nice enjoyable, however one other is damaged or unpolished. What you are left with is a recreation with an excellent enjoyable core that is sadly too damaged to place any significant period of time into.
