AO International Tennis

AO International Tennis went wide with its first service, and double faults at second attempt. Turgid, unrealistic gameplay is emphasised by the title’s shot targeting mechanic, which largely restricts you to the spot and relieves you of the freedom that you’d have on a real court.

The ideas on show in AO International Tennis do suggest that with the bugs ironed out and a little more development time put into livening things up a bit in career mode, it could be a contender. The stamina and timing systems are enough to differentiate the game from the slew of tennis titles that have come before it and are undoubtedly good ideas. Ultimately though, the poor execution and the cracks in the gameplay cause this wildcard entry to fall well short of being a grand slam effort.

Despite giving the player an excess of control over shots themselves, the movement in order to set up those shots is almost completely absent. Add to this a list of unrecognisable names and you’ve got a tennis game that feels pretty darn hollow.