

There's the Australian Open and a Competition mode that both play this role. There's a lot of focus on realism, and AO Tennis 2 certainly hits the mark, but there's nothing particularly satisfying about viewing screens of statistics and updating a day-planner interspersed with a match or two.īasic tourneys can be created as well, for nice medium of game length between the campaign and a quick play match.

The matches in this mode can be played or simulated, meaning the computer determines a winner based on stats and the gameplay itself is bypassed. Superfans can also select a celebrity tennis player instead of their own unique avatar. They plan out the calendar, selecting dates for rest, training, and events, and can even vie for sponsorships. These are single (or co-op) campaign experiences where the player creates a character and takes them through the experience of a year of tennis matches or training respectively. The console experience may be similar, albeit with a more easy-to-approach control scheme.įor a robust gameplay mode, there's both Career and Academy. It's all a bit janky and can often feel like the player is suggesting that the character move, not actually moving them. The arrow keys are used for navigation and WASD for determining with type of shot to use when the ball comes the player's way. These matches are short, but not necessarily sweet, as it becomes instantly obvious that the controls were not optimized for a mouse and keyboard. On the PC, that means a couple friends can share the screen, or one can play against an AI opponent. It may get a little crowded, so its more likely friends will opt to play online where they can compete together or against one another. Play Now offers the immediate no-barriers entry, allowing anyone to set up a singles or doubles match with ease. There are numerous modes right off the bat (err, racket) for the player to jump in to. Related: Mario Tennis Aces Could Add LINK (Which Breaks An Old Franchise Rule)

But AO Tennis 2 is unlikely to inspire any interest in the sport on its own without Mario there to participate, or a wii-mote to swing. In fact, international tennis fans will certainly appreciate the game's attention to detail and vast variety of options. Though the focus is not on Wimbledon, the US Open, or the French Open, AO Tennis 2 isn't limited to just events in the Southern Hemisphere. AO Tennis 2 sees the popular international sport arrive in its most true-to-life version ever, but it proves that without some amount of physicality or a fun twist to the virtual world, tennis should stick to the actual courts.ĪO Tennis 2 is the followup to Big Ant Studios 2018 game AO Tennis. As the name implies, the game is centered around the Australian Open, the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year. The representation of the sport (and its "table" variant) have come a long way since Pong, but the simple formula of volleying a ball back and forth has remained the same. Not the version played on the field, of course, but a virtual version that replaced players with short white lines and the green ball with a white dot. It could be said that Tennis was the original video game.
