As its name suggest, Everybody’s Tennis is a game that almost anyone can pick up and play. It features a basic control scheme where players simply tap the X button to perform a basic stroke, circle button for a slice or the triangle button for a lob. The left analog stick not only controls the movements of your character but also allows you to give your swing a bit of extra power or bring the ball closer to the net to take advantage an opponent who’s towards back of the court. However, the game’s real initiative comes from the need to time your shots accordingly, otherwise the ball will loose the crucial speed required to win points. The system is well implemented into the game and even includes symbols that appear above the player’s head to indicate if their swing was too early, late or just right. Adding to this, each character has their individual strengths and weaknesses, allowing for different tactics to defeat them such as hitting the ball to the sides of the court, taking advantage a character’s slow footwork.
Remember, the next time your opponent wins a match, use a lightning bolt to even the score.
The game consists of three modes: Training, Challenge and Tennis with Everybody. Training mode is what you would expect from any tennis title, an opportunity to hone your skills in the fields of General Practice (rallying), Service, Volley and Smash. In each field, you have to hit the ball into a highlighted square on the opposition’s side of the court a various amount of times in order to extend a time limit which is represented by a coloured bar to the right of your screen. After a while, the difficulty level will increase and continues to do so until you either quit or run out of time. General Practice however, has a slightly different setup from the other training modes in that you also have to hit a series of sequenced shots. These correspond to the button icons displayed in the corner of your screen. In an attempt to entice you to come back and try again, at the end of each training session you’ll be awarded a score but let's face it, if you’ve mastered the techniques, chances are you’d sooner do other things. It would have particularly been good if a few different training games had been included but unfortunately, what you see is what you get – a basic routine.
Challenge mode is the main meat of the single player experience and is essentially where you unlock new characters, costumes, tennis courts and umpires. Your main objective is to win a set amount of matches so you can progress to the next higher class level. Obviously, playing match after match would be completing boring. However, the developers have added some variety to the game by implementing different conditions for each match. For example, if you were playing a match to unlock a new character, occasionally you will only be able to play as a beginner class character giving your opponent a distinct advantage. Other times, shot markers may be disabled requiring you to pay closer attention to where the ball goes on the court and sometimes, you’ll even be treated to a doubles match. It works well and adds that little bit of variety, which helps in the long run.
The Tennis with Everybody mode serves (no pun intended) as both a multiplayer and free play mode. Here you can select a match for up to four players via the PlayStation 2 multi-tap device and determine the basics (characters, singles/doubles, sets, court etc) as well as selecting the self-explanatory options of slow motion and irregular bounce. During a multiplayer sessions though, whoever has the top half of the court will have to play with their character(s) facing back towards them with reversed directional controls which feels very uncomfortable.
We wonder if she's been getting tips from Sonic.
Like other tennis games, there are several different themed courts for you to play on including a mountainside, beach, school, suburban town and the Wild West. Each court has it’s own bounce strength and ball speed based on its terrain however, their charm comes from simple, yet effective, elements. These include a train whistling in the background of the suburban town or the occasional basketball bouncing on side of the court. Also, they never interfere when the ball is in play, instead reserved for when a character performs a stance after winning a set or before serves are made. There are even few obstacles that fall when the ball slams into them – it’s just nice to see the extra mile has been taken for a little extra enjoyment.
Sadly, one of Everybody’s Tennis’ major drawbacks is the AI. The game is simply too easy to complete and most of the time, you won’t feel challenged. The game actually becomes repetitive this way because your opponent tends to react and move the same way in each rally. All you have to do to win is identify your opponent’s weakness and game strategy, then hit the ball in a fashion best suited to the situation over and over again. Not once do the opponents adapt to your tactics.
Visually for the most part, the game looks dated and doesn’t stand up against other titles available on the market. Ironically, the first thing that that will likely grab your attention is the tennis ball itself. It looks more like a 2D shadow puppet rather than something you would be able to hit. The courts also appear barren much of the time due to the camera being positioned above player’s heads leaving much of the surrounding scenery unnoticed. There even appears to be an invisible crowd cheering as there are only a few noticeable people standing in the corners of the court.
...And 2, and 3, and stretch, and...
The game’s soundtrack isn’t going to be winning awards anytime soon but it still manages to have suitably toned music which creates a claim and enjoyable atmosphere. Each court also comes complete with a complementary tune that suits its theme accordingly and never feels out of place. The voice acting, while nothing special, adds appeal to each character and makes their personality easily established from one another.
While Everybody’s Tennis is by no means a bad game, it lacks in a few key features which would make it stand out among other top sellers already available on the market. The game’s AI is less desirable and the graphics are somewhat dated. It will likely appeal to younger gamers due to its simplicity but otherwise, more experienced players would likely prefer something with more challenge. If you happen to be bored over a weekend however, it’s worth a rent.
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