Review: Tennis Slam

Overview Serve and volley to victory with a flick of the wrist or a tap on the screen in this Wii-like tennis time killer. While it has several limitations, Tennis Slam’s graphics and simplicity make it fun for quick down-time relief.

Gameplay

By either tilting the iPhone or tapping on its screen, users control a doubles team of bouncing, bean-like characters who react simultaneously to controls. To volley with the net player, users can swing early, or swing later when the ball is closer to the other pill-shaped drone for a baseline return. Controlling gameplay with motion can be a little challenging, especially since you’re trying to employ a pseudo-hand-eye coordination to time your movements, but then are suddenly moving the device that you’re basing the timing on. Tricky indeed (although not impossible).

Tap controls prove much easier. There are only three game modes: single game, best of three, or best of five. The longest match I played lasted about 5 minutes. There are absolutely no game sounds, although this allows users to listen to their iPod music during play.

Review

While gameplay is smooth and enjoyable, this is a mediocre product overall. There are no options for any kind of campaign, tournament, online or multiplayer modes. This makes the game pretty one-dimensional, especially since there are no settings to increase its difficulty. It’s an easy game to master and after minutes I was launching ace after ace at the computer opponent, using either motion or tap controls (which was especially amusing since the aces bounce right off of the computer opponent’s face every time).

But although I enjoy routing the computer as much as anyone else, that didn't keep me entertained for long. Any kind of multiplayer or extended play adjustment would make this game a huge hit, especially with its great gameplay, but, as is, Tennis Slam is definitely lacking depth. If there was just an option to increase the difficulty or speed of the game, it would be much more dynamic, but right now it’s just too simple. Also, while the aesthetics are there, in terms of graphics quality, there are no options to select or dress up your characters or change game venues. What if I want to play on a Roland Garros clay court and add a Rafael Nadal head wrap? And then there’s the game's eerie silence. For such a simple game, basic sound effects and game noises can’t be too much to ask for. At the very least, the sound of a ball drilling the computer opponent in the face should have been a no-brainer.

Summary

Tennis Slam has the smooth and enjoyable basic gameplay to give it great potential, but it is missing a variety of possible additions that would each add some depth and move it closer to being a hit. It’s fun, but it’s currently too easy and simple.

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