Everybody's Tennis

Written by Tom Clare in PS2 Game Reviews, Friday 26 June, 2009

Released: 2005
Developer: Clap Hanz
Publisher: Sony
Genre: Sport; Tennis
Platform: PS2

After nearly a decade of success with their Everybody’s Golf franchise (particularly popular in Japan), Sony decided to expand their sports range by giving developers Clap Hanz the reigns on a tennis game tailored in a similar spirit. The same principles have been applied; bright presentation, the prospect of a strong multiplayer and easy to learn controls that cater for less experienced gamers. Without wishing to make unnecessary clichés though, tennis proves a whole different ball game to golf.

Everybody’s Tennis gets the bits you’d expect right; visually it’s attractive, with a range of snazzy courts that include locations such as streets, beaches and jungles before finally treating you to a very-Wimbledon-esque stadium in the closing stages to add a dash of grandiose to proceedings. All are nicely fleshed-out, awash with bright colours and in sharp definition. The characters follow suit in their super-deformed cartoony goodness, showcasing some enjoyably exaggerated movements, even if the personalities performing them are often mismatched and not especially interesting. The presentation mimics Namco’s classic Smash Court Tennis (at its peak during the mid and late nineties), but ultimately proves less adept at emulating its arcade-perfect gameplay.

The prospect of competitive computer opponents in tennis games is a slim one, as usually it’s a case of finding their weaknesses and continually exploiting them until you win. This is generally made possible by A.I. that doesn’t adapt to your style as you play, or mix up their game effectively enough to keep the player guessing, an age old problem that is all too apparent in Everybody’s Tennis. There are numerous ways to win points this way, the old favourite being to serve out wide, move into the net and hit the return ball into the open court, a tactic that works with monotonous regularity. So the only sure way of getting a competitive match is to choose a character with less power and agility than your opponent.

Another problem is the simplicity of the playing mechanics. Of course, it’s difficult to recreate a lung-busting five-setter in the mould of a Nadal-Federer encounter with just a joypad, but Top Spin did at least challenge you to take risks and vary your tactics. Everybody’s Tennis represents very few of the sports challenges, focusing its rewards almost solely on getting you to time your swing right, meaning there’s no real buzz or excitement.

It’s also absurdly easy to complete. Whilst Everybody’s Golf typically requires weeks of practice to prise out all of its hidden goodies, you’ll likely reach the end credits of Everybody’s Tennis in two or three sittings. It was around twenty matches before I even lost a single game, and as you fly up the ranks, you’ll be longing for some kind of challenge to remind you it’s based on a competitive sport. You’ll notice the introduction of some truly bizarre serve tactics in the latter stages as your opponents produce some outlandish curve effects, whilst occasionally the bounce of the ball will be akin to it hitting a pothole, which isn’t especially fair as it’s impossible to predict. Still, it’s only after you reach the tier of ‘Tennis God’ will you feel like you’re really being given a match, but even this additional class feels like a desperate attempt to squeeze longevity out of the game, as the rather tenuous rewards for beating the fourteen characters are simply a black version of already-acquired costumes.

The stroke-timing system is a positive addition, with what are presumably images of a tortoise and a hare appearing if you are too late or too early on the shot. Learning to time the ball sweetly yields its rewards, though working it from baseline to baseline does get quite dull. The slice and drop shot ideas are implemented well and can get you out of trouble, though the players seem a bit suspect around the net and lobs seem largely ineffectual, as players run rather too fast in relation to the ball. Doubles matches are quite weak, as your partner proves erratic and indecisive; sometimes they’ll go for every ball in sight whilst occasionally they’ll leave one coming more or less right at them.

Unlockables include additional players, umpires and outfits, as well as some attractive-looking courts. It’s nothing to write home about in all honesty as the umpire’s participation is understandably limited and the characters themselves are largely faceless. It’s more disappointing that some additional game modes weren’t introduced along the way, or at least some new racquets. The lack of attention to detail in many regards is strange given the developers pedigree – you can enter men against women in singles allowing you to choose someone with a significantly more powerful serve and groundstrokes than your opponent, and there aren’t even any specialist left-handed players in the game, as you have the peculiar decision to choose this with each character.

All this leaves the game feeling less than what its high quality presentation and solid design should have amounted to. Winning is a chore and short, easy rallies offer little satisfaction as even the most inexperienced of players will be able to coast through the game on auto-pilot. Challenging tennis in video game form is clearly something of a difficult art, and one that Clap Hanz sadly hasn’t been able to master.

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