Big Ant has been carrying the tennis simulation torch with their World Tour series but unfortunately hit another fault straight into the net. Animations look and feel better compared to its predecessor but are still too stiff to replicate the high-octane action and fluidity of real life tennis.Other than Mario Tennis Aces and AO Tennis, there have not been many tennis titles of note released this console generation. Tennis World Tour 2 is certainly passable but it doesn’t quite match other modern sports videogames in this respect. Given the smaller scope of a sports game compared to other genres, you often expect them to excel in this area. Graphically, Tennis World Tour 2 is a far way off pushing the boundaries of what is visually possible. The new feature allowing you to play in Doubles is most welcome, though the AI is not very intuitive. Ranked Match is a more competitive mode with leagues and the sort to climb and rank up. Tournaments let you set-up a custom tournament.
Quick Match and Online play work without issue and generally the online experience runs without fault. The rest of the modes are rather self-explanatory. In the end, it makes for a rather unexceptional time. It has the basic foundations of a Career mode but lacks anything to make it stand out from the crowd. Naturally, you’ll be competing in tournaments and upgrading your character along the way. The Career mode does not live up to the heights of Career modes in other sports videogames. These include Career, Quick Match, Online, Tournament, and Ranked Match. Like any sports game, Tennis World Tour 2 features multiple game modes. In the end, it comes across as a game that’s confused about what it wants to be and not settling on either leaves both unfulfilled. Pointedly, the inclusion of a card system whereby equipping cards provide temporary boosts contradicts the realistic simulation gameplay. Nevertheless, Tennis World Tour 2 is a game that seems unable to make up its mind between realistic simulation and arcade gameplay.
I would be more understanding of the game including a tricky timing mechanic were it a means of staying true to being a realistic simulator. My ego urges me to blame it solely on a poor design choice and even objectively I consider that mostly true. I won’t hide the fact that I struggled with this system even after hours of practice. Even during the opening tutorial section, there’s no real explanation of how it works. Put simply, it’s mostly left to guesswork and the eye test. In Tennis World Tour 2, however, that’s not the case. You see, usually when games require you to time a shot, there’s some sort of bar or the like to gauge your shot. Personally, I’m really not a fan of how this is implemented. Whereas tennis videogames like Virtua Tennis favoured a more pick-up-and-play style, Tennis World Tour 2 instead focuses on a strategic style.
The shot timing mechanic is pivotal to the entire gameplay experience. In terms of new features, Tennis World Tour 2 adds the ability to play doubles matches with up to four players locally and online, a competitive mode, an improved serve system and a new shot timing mechanic. With new features, modes, courts, more realism and boasting a roster of 38 top tennis players, it's a more comprehensive sequel without a doubt. Tennis World Tour 2 makes a slew of improvements over its disappointing predecessor.
With their pedigree in tennis videogames, can they turn this franchise around? It’s certainly a promising start. That being said, gone are old developers Breakpoint Studios and in comes Big Ant Studios a familiar name to fans of the AO Tennis games. In other worlds, it would take a lot of effort for this sequel to do even worse than its predecessor. Critics and consumers alike largely blasted the game with an average score of 4.5 and 3.1 respectively on review aggregate website Metacritic. Unfortunately, that’s not what tennis fans got with the first Tennis World Tour game. Tennis videogames aren’t exactly known for being the pinnacle of sports games but fans of the sport should at least expect a serviceable game. Reviews // 4th Oct 2020 - 1 year ago // By Charles Oakley Tennis World Tour 2 Review