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.
Gameplay[ | ]
David Crane's Amazing Tennis simulates the mens singles game across three set matches, the game is viewed from behind the player. Clay, 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 shots.[1]
Reception[ | ]
The player prepares to serve
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Mega | 71/100[2] |
| N-Force | 86/100[1] |
| Nintendo Power | 3.6/5[3] |
| Super Play | 80/100[4] |
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 replays.[4] 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".[3] N-Force praised the large and detailed sprites as well as the quality of animation.[1]
Rob Millichamp of N-Force described the perspective as "innovative and awesome", but it was a point of contention between critics.[1] 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.[2][4] 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."[1][4]
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".[1][5] Super Play concluded that although polished and enjoyable, it was not as good as Super Tennis, a previously released tennis game.[4]
References[ | ]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Carl Rowley, Rob Millichamp (1993-02). "David Crane's Amazing Tennis Review". N-Force (8): 84–85.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Amanda Dyson (1993-07). "David Crane's Amazing Tennis Review". Mega (10): 42.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 George and Rob (1992-10). "Now Playing: Amazing Tennis". Nintendo Power (42): 104–105.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Jason Brookes (1993-01). "Amazing Tennis Review". Super Play (3): 80.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Steve Harris, Ed Semrad, Martin Alessi, Sushi-X (1992-11). "Amazing Tennis Review". EGM 5 (11): 24.