Lives up to the game of Tennis
I love this game. I think after each hour I like it more and more. It just has the complete sports game package.
First, great gameplay. Not arcade, but simulation. I think an inherent problem with sports games is that developers have to find a balance between gameplay that benefits casual players as well as fans. This game does it well. I suppose you could hit a flat shot every time and on some of the lower difficulty levels you could win and have fun. But, with the same controls you can prefect your timing (not a gimmick, a real part of tennis) and work the other shots into your game. It is a perfect balance. The gameplay is truly fun, rewarding and the the back and forth actually feels like tennis. There is that same energy.
Second, the presentation is solid. The player graphics are not great, like unbelievable, but they are good. Courts look like... courts. I like the TV style presentation; like in other sports games it makes you feel connected. The sound of the matches actually follows the action, which also adds to realism. Solid.
The create a pro is better than most. Part of the reason I retuned fight night 4 was because I hated the create a pro mode. This game has it perfect. Yes, the actual creation tools are vast and great, but the best thing is the month by month training and match system. Training is useful both in on-the-court practice, as well as raising your stats. Fight night training had little to do with an actual bout. You feel connected to your pro because there is a real relationship between practice in training and leveling up. I also like how the match calendar follows pretty close to the actual pro calendar.
In the IGN review they faulted the game for not including Wimbledon. Honestly, it is disappointing, Wimbledon is a huge part of the tennis year. Dublin is just not the same. However, based on the level of care put into the rest of the game I am confident that Wimbledon's absence is not due to a lack of care on the developer's part. It probably has something to do with a licensing problem, like EA probably owns the rights to exclusively use the Wimbledon license. Not a huge deal. If Wimbledon's absence blows the game for you then you are really missing out.
In the end this has to be one of my favorite sports games. I think it slightly edges out MLB 10, which is in front of NHL 10. Actually, in terms of connected and smart gameplay, presentation, and create a pro mode, this game shares a lot of similarities with MLB 10. They are both great, but something about playing this game, where the gameplay really shines in a match against a real pro, is just amazing. I will be enjoying this for a long time to come. And after the cpu gets old I look forward to playing online.
If you love tennis, get this right away. It lives up to the game, something that cannot be said for many sports games. If you don't like tennis, this is still a very worthy sports title.
Oh, and the best part (actually, it's sad that it even needs to be a good part of reviews) is that as far as I can tell, this game is bug free. Crazy! I was a little worried about buying a 2K sports game after I traded in NBA2K11. 2K11 was a great game but the bugs killed it. Sad to say bugs kill many otherwise good sports games, but not at all in this game.
* After 3 weeks the only criticism I can find is the difficulty disparity. In the Career mode I was cruising right along until I hit the semis in my first grand slam. I hit a wall of Nadal. It was much more difficult and kind of a shock. But, fitting in with the simulation realism of the rest of the game, I thought the difficulty bump up was appropriate. What I don't like is how whenever you are playing anyone else in any round below the semis, the difficulty goes back down. It's annoying. I had to practice to beat Rafa and it was an accomplishment. I am now used to the level of play. Now it is just boring to destroy other guys in rounds below the semis. And it just doesn't make sense. In a two set match with a 3rd set super tie break, how can I crush Federer 3-0, 3-0 in the quarter finals in one grand slam, but in the next grand slam beat him in a tie break in the finals. I appreciate the difficulty, I just want consistency. Otherwise the three weeks so far have proved money well spent.