Re: Various impressions obscure Saturn games Continued

OK, this next game, I have NEVER EVER once seen on eBay or for sell
ANYWHERE on the net, period. I have looked like since 2002, maybe 2001
it's been so long I forgot. Geez, this game must be pretty hard to come
by...

So what game is it, and did it turn out to be dud or stud?

Let's examine...

it's...


TENNIS ARENA


*gasp* it's a tennis game, but with a touch of "extreme"... there are
10 total characters, 5 male 5 female, 2 of which are hidden. There are
6 courts based around outlandish locations, 1 court is hidden. You have
your regular tennis players, then some bizarre players like a sumo
wearing a 5 pound heavy chainset... and the courts... they're all
pretty cool, from a wooden court on an ocean cruise (my favorite, it
actually slightly tilts too! SWEET!) to a clay court suspended in an
ancient coliseum akin to the Greek period.

Yeah... Ubi Soft kinda tried to dub this "Tennis with Attitude" and in
some ways, it is. It still plays like regular tennis however, so don't
expect an EA-style "TENNIS STREET" game, but it does have some cool
"out-there" characters and court locations, not to mention a power shot
that scorches the ball across the court at a blistering rate, only
rallied back by the most anticipated and readied players. This special
shot is really cool and adds to the fun of the game.

My first match ever was one of those "wow, that's one for the books"
types. So that put TA on my good side immediately, heh heh. I selected
Pierre Seguin and faced off against African American Dave Woodward.
Dave was crushing me 4 to 1... then I came roaring back, winning 3
straight to tie it 4 to 4!

Dave won the next set, making 5 to 4, if he won one more he'd win it
all.

But I tied it 5 to 5.... and then won the next two sets to win 7-5! It
was a great comeback and filled with drama all around... good stuff.

Yup, Tennis Arena is the best tennis title on Saturn by a LONG SHOT,
but it doesn't have much competition since Breakpoint was mediocre and
meh, and Virtual Open Tennis, which is flat out terrible, especially
playing it after Tennis Arena.

I love the volleys you can get into. For example, I was on the upper
court, and the CPU started hitting the ball just barely over the reach
of the net, so I had to come charging in to hit it back, this quickly
went back and forth for several plays -- he eventually got me on the
far left... I hit the ball to him and IMMEDIATELY pushed "right" on the
d-pad... sensing he would send the ball to the right. Sure enough, not
only DID he, but it was his special POWER shot... the ball came
screaming toward the right end of the upper court, but thanks in due
part to my anticipation I was able to get there in the nick of time and
responded with a POWER shot of my own, scorching the ball over his
reach and far in the backcourt for the victory... man that was so
sweet!

I set up the Action Replay feature and just sat there in awe of the
beauty of it all... the back and forth up close volleys, followed by
two straight power shots that saw me get the best of him... with the
sweet sound effects of the power shot and the glow trail it leaves
behind... what a thing of beauty! And keep in mind this game has no
slowdown or really, any control flaws, so it was utterly satisfying to
watch and control. DAMN.

Speaking of the upper court, in most tennis games I absolutely HATE
being in the upper court, as it's hard to see and judge properly. Here
in Tennis Arena, Ubi Soft did a hell of a job evening the playing
field... I don't mind being upper court so much as in other tennis
games. This amazed me and definitely added to my enjoyment of the game
immensely.

Controls -- responsive and pretty damn good... what more could you
want.

So I was playing this and my brother walked in and made his comments,
as usual. I was playing on the ocean cruise stage. He said "Hey the
playing field is tilting!" I grinned and said "hell yeah, it's on an
ocean cruise" and he was like "cool" lol.


EGM was right in issue #101 calling "Tennis Arena a souped up
modification of PONG"... back and forth til one cracks. It's so simple
and addicting... anyone can pick it up. Oh yeah, and before I forget to
mention, there's an 8 player mode (8 player tournament!), and a 4
player simultaneous option -- obviously found in DOUBLES mode. Simply
ace! I love it. 1, 3 or 5 sets, you can play a quick game if you want,
or just waste a couple hours with this game if you're playing with
like-minded buds. I just dig simple, fun multiplayer
easy-to-pick-up-hard-to-put-down games.

Oh sure, you could easily pick up the PS1 version, but the whole point
is to have a playable tennis game on Saturn. But then you could be
saying "It's still not better than Virtua Tennis on Dreamcast, why
bother with the search and an inferior tennis game?" Well that's a good
point, why bother? Bother coz you want a tennis game on Saturn you can
proudly bust out and have fun with, Dreamcast notwithstanding... that's
why.


SSM thought "fairly decently" of Tennis Arena themselves. Here's their
review in issue #34

---

Not exactly known for its amazing sport sims, Ubi Soft ventures into
the world of nets, rackets and strawberries and cream with Tennis
Arena. Receiving a glowing recommendation from none other than Lee
Nutter himself last issue, the game arrives in import shops just in
time for this Summer's lawn-based event and proves to be a solid sports
title.

With a wealth of options and playability, Tennis Arena looks to be a
surprise Saturn hit during the hot and sticky few months ahead. Players
have access to a handful of polygon-constructed tennis pros and
detailed courts before play commences, each of which affects the
outcome of forthcoming matches. Pick indoor and outdoor courts and even
play on the deck of a ship! Gameplay is as you'd expect spot-on, being
both an accurate representation of the sport and fun for lengthy bouts
of ball-bashing. With 'Super Shots' that blast their way across the
court, Tennis Arena proves itself to be a real winner in our eyes.

GRAPHICS - 81%
SOUND - 83%
PLAYABILITY - 89%
LASTABILITY - 86%

OVERALL - 86%

There are hardly a wealth of quality bat 'n' ball titles on the Saturn
and as such Tennis Arena is a smashing sports sim

---

SSM pretty much summed it up. Recommended? Oh hell yeah. I'm surprised
at how playable this game is... in fact, it's jump into my top 10
favorite Saturn games list, quite frankly. I paid only $12 for my copy,
but gladly would have plunked down 50 with no regret, seeing as how
I'll be playing this one a lot. Oh yeah, it's practically in 100%
english, including the funky character profiles at the selection
screen. And here's the code to crack the 2 hidden characters and extra
court:

at the Smart Dog logo screen press Up, Down, Left, Right, Start. There
ya go!

With multiple viewpoints to select from (I recommend TV) and a cool
replay system to boot, Tennis Arena is ACE!

for front and back shots go here:

http://vgrebirth.org/games/game.asp?id=17261

.

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