International Tennis
by Brian Cross
Zeppelin Games Ltd
1992

Zeppelin
£3.99 cassette
091 385 7755
Reviewer: Linda Barker

As I write, my washing is dripping on the line. It's been doing this for the past week and I'm fed up with it. By the time it's dry, it will no longer smell of daffodils and lambs, it'll smell of winter damp and slugs, or something. Bleugh! I wouldn't be able to play tennis in it if I wanted to, which I don't. (Eh? Jon) Now is not the time to skip around outside trying to hit a ball, but it might be just the time to load up the Speccy and try out a few volleys. And what should I find in my Speccy but Zeppelin's International Tennis. This could be just the thing for those long, winter evenings.

International Tennis lets you play against a real opponent or a variety of computerised ball buffs. As per usual, you can choose which kind of surface to play on (hard, clay or lawn), whether to go for a single match or a whole tournament, how many sets in a match and the difficulty level. So far, so run of the mill. For International Tennis to be as good as Zeppelin claim, it's going to have to play well.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

Hurrah, it plays well! The character sprites are clearly defined and they move smoothly across the court. They're skilful, fast, graceful and right little movers. The choice of moves is such that you can make your player run around like a madman. It all looks quite dangerous actually, there's your player racing up and down slashing his racquet left, right and centre. All it needs is for somebody to run out onto the court and we'd have a real slasherama of a game!

But hey! This is tennis, it's quiet and civilised, right? Erm, well, not in two-player mode. The pace is so fast and it's actually quite difficult so with two-players a nice game of tennis can quickly become a furiously vocal fight to get those balls over the net. Service is the easiest move to play, and it gets more and more difficult from thereon - and this is in easy mode. International Tennis is addictive enough to make you want to play on, so you do get better as you proceed. But there's always a more difficult level and, if you beat the computer opponent at that level, you can always get in a mate who's completely brilliant at computerised tennis. (You can even play doubles with (or against) the Speccy!) But you do need to persevere and the initial difficulties may put some people off. If you like sport sims in general, and tennis sims in particular, this one will give you a very good run for your money.

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REVIEW BY: Linda Barker

Blurb: Tennis - a player's guide Ye olde English tennis dance Lay the crossed racquets on the court and skip around them. Make sure you don't tread on a racquet, this means instant disqualification. Ye olde English beer dance In which the cup is filled with mead and passed around the court. Make sure you don't fall over, this means instant disqualification. Ye olde English lie-down In which all those who haven't yet fallen over have a nice quiet lie-down on the court. Make sure you don't forget to wake up, this means instant disqualification. Ye olde English arm wrestle In which players flex their muscles in preparaion for the game. Do not attempt to break anyone's fingers. This leads to instant disqualification. Ye olde English joystick icon Choose your weapon. Try not to be too violent as this is a very peaceful, English-villagey game. Choose a sword and you'll be disqualified. Ye great English game Are you ready? Are you steady? Then put racket to ball and go go go! (At last!)

Label: Zeppelin
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: Philip Lindy

Decked out in tennis whites, surrounded by buckets of strawberries and cream and several gallons of Robinson's Barley Water, Big Al' and I sat down to put International Tennis through it's paces. Several days and some very runny bottys later the result was decided...

International Tennis gives you the choice of playing a single game, a match or a whole tournament without ever leaving the comfort of your living room chair. There are single player or two player options with singles or doubles matches and keyboard or joystick control, though in two player mode one player has to use a 'stick and the other the keyboard.

Unfortunately the standard keyboard control layout is a little awkward, with the left and right keys underneath the keys for up and down and 'M' controlling the shot. But this is only a small gripe. It makes play more difficult but it doesn't really detract from the overall quality of International Tennis.

The game really starts to get palm sweatingly good when you get the knack of spinning, lobbing and slicing balls (oo-er!) all over the place. By pressing left or right as you hit the ball, it spins in that direction, pressing up and down as you hit gives the ball top or bottom spin - just what you need to catch your opponent off his guard (as Big Al' discovered to his consternation).

The two (or four in doubles) sprites are about as accurate as you are going to get. They bounce up and down and sway over and back as only tennis players or Zebedees do. The only real fault I detected was their lack of a diving move, which leads to missed balls and frustration.

The game is also surprisingly fast in two player mode and the ball shadow and whacking sound greatly contribute to accuracy and playability. It's slightly slower with four players on court but this is not noticeably a problem.

Overall, International Tennis is a playable, addictive and accurate game Apart from one or two annoying glitches (like the players' magnetism for the net when changing sides) this is an excellent Tennis Simulation for the money and you should jolly well go out and buy it.

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ALAN:
With most other tennis sims being conversions from another format, they have often been far too complicated for their own, or your Spectrum good. International Tennis may be simple but it oozes fun and gets my vote.

REVIEW BY: Philip Lindy

Blurb: WHAT A RACKET! The game of tennis dates back to the eleventh century when it was all the rage in French monasteries. King Philippe IV is mentioned as having a tennis court in 1308. Imagine! Question. Do female tennis players get cold bums while playing outdoor tournaments wearing those tiny white regulation tennis skirts? Answer. It's none of your business mate. Tina.