|
Compared to football or basketball, tennis has never had quite the same video game following. Yet, the sport persists on showing up in a number of titles on just about every platform. Konami is the first to take the tennis dip on the Game Boy Advance, enlisting the help of the WTA to craft a half decent portable tennis title that takes itself seriously enough to be considered a simulation, but obviously aiming to a slightly younger demographic with its cartoonish depiction of the sport. Konami obviously didn’t have taking advantage of the GBA hardware in mind when they were developing WTA Tour Tennis; as while the visuals are more than adequate, the only reason they look improved over anything the Game Boy Color could handle is because of an increased color palette. The overall look of the game is acceptable, though, with the most lacking areas falling under the tennis courts that look exactly the same, no matter what country you select to be in. Japan, US, UK – it makes no difference; the only change is a simple color swap.
Control over gameplay is basic enough, but the game allows players to mix things up with four different shots, not counting the several that the game automatically determines when you press B. Varying up your shots (done by hitting the L and R buttons in conjunction with A or B) is a bit awkward to do with the way you hold the GBA, however, and their affect on gameplay is minimal, at best. The only shots that are really all that useful are the “SMASH” shots that appear on the court as flashing red icons when a player hits a ball far into the air. Unfortunately, actually pulling off “SMASH” shots seems to be more about luck than anything else. Despite taking the time to enlist a license for their portable effort, WTA Tour Tennis really skimps out in the features department. There is a tour mode, but it’s more or less a glorified set of otherwise exhibition matches that offers nothing new to gameplay. Multiplayer support is included – catch is, each player needs his or her own cartridge to become involved. WTA Tour Tennis’ action is the opposite of complicated, yet poor programming on Konami’s part means more money to play your friends. The GBA’s life is still very early. There are bound to be plenty more tennis titles released for the machine. Hold onto your money, pick up a copy of Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast for a few bucks and wait for something better than WTA Tour Tennis to come along.
|
