Flick Your Way To Victory In Pro Tennis Volley
Pro Tennis Volley ($0.99) by Neon Play is a tennis volley game for your iPhone where you simply hit balls with a racket.
With the touch controls, the iPhone is really a great device for simple, casual sports games. And that is shown with Pro Tennis Volley.
In this game, you simply control a racket on the screen with your finger. Move your finger left and right to move the racket, and flick it up to hit a ball with it. These controls are simple and work well for the game.
There's a tutorial mode that will teach you the basics or if you need some practice. There are three real game modes: Three Lives, Pro, and Multiball. Each of these modes has the same objective - hit the ball into the target to score points. There are in-game boundaries, so if you hit the ball too hard or too off, then it's an Out.
In Three Lives, you're given just that - three lives. You're objective is to hit the ball in the target, but you won't lose lives if you are off the target or close to it. However, you will lose lives if you miss the ball or go out of bounds.
In Pro mode, you are given three lives, but you must hit the target. Even if you are "close" or get "off-target," you will lose a life. This is more strict than Three Lives mode, so only play this if you have built enough skill for it!
Multiball will have three machines on the court. These machines will take turns shooting the tennis ball at you, and there is a target on the court. However, unlike the other modes, the target in Multiball is always moving back and forth on the court, so it's your job to try and hit it from all directions.
Every now and then in Three Lives and Pro mode, there will be a target that will offer you a bonus life, so it's important to try and hit those whenever you can! You'll rack up points for each successful hit in the target, and if you score consecutive shots, a multiplier will increase your total points.
I noticed in Three Lives (my favorite mode to play) that the longer you're in the game, the longer it takes for the target to show up after the ball has been deployed. It gets tougher to get target shots, so you better have good reflexes! This adds a good challenge to the game, making it worth playing.
Pro Tennis Volley also features Game Center integration for achievements and leaderboards. There are a total of 30 achievements to get, so there's plenty of replay value. Leaderboards will show you the top scores for each mode, and you can switch between Today, This Week, and All Time.
Your scores can also be shared via email, Twitter, or Facebook.
The graphics in the game look great, there's a catchy song to play along to, though you can also listen to your own music while playing (you'll have to turn the sound off in the game though, as it doesn't silence itself).
The controls are mostly responsive, though some times I did miss, but I would assume that it was my screen's fault (all the swiping can make the screen a bit gross). Pro Tennis Volley reminds me of Wii Sports, in a way.
If you're a fan of sports games on your iPhone, or just a tennis fan, give Pro Tennis Volley a try. It'll easily be one of the better tennis games you can pick in the App Store.
