➤ AO Tennis 2, the review 🎮

When it comes to videogame reproduction of tennis, we touch on a rather delicate topic. Let's put it this way: despite a fair niche of fans, unlike their "cousins" dedicated to sports such as football, American football, basketball, hockey and baseball, those dedicated to tennis have not seen the light of success for some years. We have had prominent exponents such as the Virtua Tennis series (stopped in the main chapters in 2011) or as Top Spin, but also some not too excellent releases such as Tennis World Tour and AO Tennis. The franchise officially licensed Australian Open, after the failure of the first chapter, is preparing to return to the shelves with a renewed lymph also given by Big Ant Studios who took over the reins of the project. So let's see in ours AO Tennis 2 review if, after years of darkness, the world of videogame tennis is ready to re-emerge in the sunlight.

Right and backhand

The greatest merit of AO Tennis 2 is to entertain. We want to specify it immediately: the gameplay of AO Tennis 2 is a hybrid of arcade and simulation that is extremely fun to play. The title published by BigBen Interactive offers a series of animations that are very close to the movements and plays that can be carried out on a tennis court and they provide the player with the feeling of having to work hard both in the precision of the movements and in the approach to the game. match. The search for the ball, the timing of the approach to the shot, the return in the middle to prepare for the next response, are tricks that must be sought in-game by the player. This is accompanied by a classic hit control system (the four main keys X (A), O (B), square (X) and triangle (Y) are assigned flat, top spin, slice and bottom hits) which it is integrated with a power / accuracy system of the shot (the same goes for the service) which will act on the pressure time and the release time of the button used to hit the ball. Three dorsal buttons (L2 / LT, R1 / RB and R2 / RT) are then assigned the inside out, the net run and the shot modification button to make it a forced play (i.e. the use of a multiple shot. powerful than normal usually used to try to close a long trade or to force the opponent to open their defense).

The whole of this gameplay is rather harmonious, seasoned above all by a greater care of animations facial and body to reduce the effect puppet, proposing instead bodies more similar to reality. The work done with Rafa Nadal, the main male testimonial of the title, was probably based on these aspects and it must be recognized that the jump compared to the previous release is substantial. Me too'artificial intelligence it is really tough and reactive (in some cases even too much) pushing players from the lowest levels of difficulty not to underestimate the challenge proposed by the title. Unfortunately, however, the title is not free from defects: first of all the artistic side, which when approaching a good level of animations clashes in quality not only for some of the textures of the players but above all for what is the outline. Mind you, this is not a poor graphical level, but certainly for the times that exist there is better. THE players officers included will be 25 with Nadal, Wawrinka, Monfis, Barty and Stosur to command the train of the famous, followed by a fair number of not so well known (the various Anderson, Isner, Garcia, Puig will excuse us). Heavy absences, therefore, starting from Federer and Djokovic for example, which can however be filled with the useful and rich editor, if you are good at DIY, or by downloading the creations of the community (as happens in the WWE 2K series). Another problem is with the number of mistakes made by players both at net and on the net, but let's explain ourselves better: we have seen how the shots and the service consequently are managed both in terms of power and accuracy with a bar linked to time. pressing the corresponding key, so to hit the perfect shot (i.e. the green) there is a timing to be respected in releasing the key and this time window varies not only based on the difficulty chosen but also based on more or less high skills of the player used. Therefore, if with Nadal, Monfis and the like, for good or bad the error window can be managed with accuracy, with a player created from 0 playing Grand Slam mode for example, the number of errors with shots off the court and / or services sent. at net will force you to review many of your tennis-related securities, to put it mildly.

In the footsteps of Nadal

With regard to game mode and the possibilities offered by AO Tennis 2, in addition to the aforementioned player and stadium editor, players will be able to try their hand at Play Now mode, in the Australian Open mode that will make you play the famous Australian tournament, then Tutorial to learn the basics and train, the online to try your hand with other players from all over the world, Competition and Scenario that will allow you the first to create the tournament of your dreams, while the second to create a game with the possibility of inserting particular victory conditions (having a predetermined number advantage game, never miss a tie break, etc.). Finally, the academy and career modalities. The mode Academy it will contain all the editors (players, stadiums, scenarios, logos and competitions) but also the rankings of the most popular creations of the community as well as the menus used for downloading these creations. Finally, the Career, the true heart of the game experience of the title that will put you in the shoes of either a player of your choice or one created by you to face the climb to success. The Career mode will be modeled according to your skill: a rampant young man will have to do the "mess" in minor tournaments before landing in competitions such as Australian Open or the fictional Champions de Paris (Roland Garros) and Royal Championship London (Wimbledon), while a star will be ready for those tournaments. Also interesting are the choices to provide some 2K-style narrative support (although not with the same depth and possibilities) and to insert the reputation of the players based not only on performance but also on behavior on the pitch (through the pressure of two buttons L2 / LT and R2 / RT it will be possible to contest a decision of the referee calling the review of theHawk eye or react well or badly to points gained and lost. We are obviously talking about good or bad features seen in other forms elsewhere, but this does not mean that they do not do their duty also in AO Tennis 2.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Digital Delivery Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store Price 54,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.0

Readers (11)

8.3

Your vote

AO Tennis 2 is certainly not a revolutionary title in the videogame tennis scene but it amply fulfills its duty, that is to entertain tennis fans who want more than the usual games on TV. Playing alone, online or with one or more friends (local doubles is a lot of fun) at AO Tennis 2 is satisfying and fun. The choice of proposing a hybrid between simulation and arcade, despite some small moles, is positive precisely given the animations consistent with what happens in real tennis courts. We are not faced with an excellent title neither from a graphic point of view nor from a technical point of view, but we are faced with a title that makes the time pleasant for those who prefer the yellow and small game sphere over the larger one. high-sounding than other famous sports.