David Crane's Amazing Tennis
Encyclopedia
David Crane's Amazing Tennis is a tennis
simulation video game developed and published by Absolute Entertainment
for the Super Nintendo
and Mega Drive consoles in 1992
. The game was also made available for the Nintendo Super System
.
, grass
and hard courts are available, and the player can specify handedness
. There are a selection of fictional computer controlled opponents available, each with different strengths, and a two player local multiplayer option is available. Players can perform various shots, such as topspin
, backspin
, lob
and drop shot
s.
. Nintendo Power had similar thoughts on the sounds, and found that the "digitized voice of the scorekeeper and excellent sound effects added to the realism". N-Force praised the large and detailed sprites
as well as the quality of animation.
Rob Millichamp of N-Force described the perspective as "innovative and awesome", but it was a point of contention between critics. Mega felt the viewpoint made play confusing and difficult, while Super Play felt it made seeing where the ball was being served tricky. Both described it as the biggest detriment to the game. A concern shared by many of the critics, was the difficulty in controlling the player on the far side of the court. Due to the viewpoint and perspective of the game, the far side player sprite is significantly smaller compared to the near side player. N-Force felt this made hitting the ball a nightmare, and Super Play stated that "serving and receiving from that end is far too tricky."
Despite the criticism, reviews generally found the game enjoyable. Ed Semrad of EGM suggested that the game was "easily one of the best" tennis games, and N-Force called it "an amazing leap forward in tennis sims". Super Play concluded that although polished and enjoyable, it was not as good as Super Tennis
, a previously released tennis game.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
simulation video game developed and published by Absolute Entertainment
Absolute Entertainment
Absolute Entertainment was a video game publisher based in Glen Rock, New Jersey and later in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Through its development house Imagineering, Absolute Entertainment produced titles for the Amiga, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Sega Game Gear, Sega Mega Drive, Mega-CD, Game Boy,...
for the Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and Mega Drive consoles in 1992
1992 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:* Gremlin Graphics releases Zool, Amiga's answer to Mario and Sonic. It goes on to become the best selling Commodore Amiga game, boosting the already popular computer to be the leading gaming machine in Europe....
. The game was also made available for the Nintendo Super System
Nintendo Super System
The Nintendo Super System is an arcade system used to preview Super NES games in the U.S. It was essentially the Super NES hardware with a menu interface that—similar to Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 hardware for NES games—allowed players to play select SNES games for a certain amount of time depending...
.
Gameplay
David Crane's Amazing Tennis simulates the mens singles game across three set matches, the game is viewed from behind the player. ClayClay court
A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is slower than the green, or Har-Tru "American" clay. The French Open uses clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.Clay courts are more common...
, grass
Grass court
A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Grass courts are made of rye grass in different compositions depending on the tournament...
and hard courts are available, and the player can specify handedness
Handedness
Handedness is a human attribute defined by unequal distribution of fine motor skills between the left and right hands. An individual who is more dexterous with the right hand is called right-handed and one who is more skilled with the left is said to be left-handed...
. There are a selection of fictional computer controlled opponents available, each with different strengths, and a two player local multiplayer option is available. Players can perform various shots, such as topspin
Topspin
In ball sports, topspin is a property of a ball that rotates as if rolling in the same direction as it is moving. Topspin on a shot imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air . It can be generated by hitting the ball with an up-and-forward swing, with...
, backspin
Backspin
In racquet sports, backspin , is a shot such that the ball rotates backwards after it is hit. The trajectory of the shot involves an upward force that lifts the ball...
, lob
Lob (tennis)
A lob in tennis is hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court. It can be used as an offensive or defensive weapon depending on the situation.-History:...
and drop shot
Drop shot
A drop shot in tennis is slicing, putting a backspin on the ball just over the net. A good drop shot travels such that the opponent is unable to run fast enough to retrieve it....
s.
Reception
The game enjoyed a positive critical reception. The presentation was lauded, Super Play described the impression of a 3D court as "the most realistic yet for this type of game", the sound effects as tremendous, and praised the inclusion of slow motion replaysInstant replay
Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
. Nintendo Power had similar thoughts on the sounds, and found that the "digitized voice of the scorekeeper and excellent sound effects added to the realism". N-Force praised the large and detailed sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
as well as the quality of animation.
Rob Millichamp of N-Force described the perspective as "innovative and awesome", but it was a point of contention between critics. Mega felt the viewpoint made play confusing and difficult, while Super Play felt it made seeing where the ball was being served tricky. Both described it as the biggest detriment to the game. A concern shared by many of the critics, was the difficulty in controlling the player on the far side of the court. Due to the viewpoint and perspective of the game, the far side player sprite is significantly smaller compared to the near side player. N-Force felt this made hitting the ball a nightmare, and Super Play stated that "serving and receiving from that end is far too tricky."
Despite the criticism, reviews generally found the game enjoyable. Ed Semrad of EGM suggested that the game was "easily one of the best" tennis games, and N-Force called it "an amazing leap forward in tennis sims". Super Play concluded that although polished and enjoyable, it was not as good as Super Tennis
Super Tennis
Super Tennis is a 1991 tennis video game for the Super NES.-Summary:The game itself features three different modes, Singles mode, in which the player can compete against a human or chosen computer opponent, doubles mode, in which he and a human team-mate can face the CPU, or he can each pair with a...
, a previously released tennis game.