Crash


Tennis

Author:
Publisher: Imagine
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Crash #33

Konami's Tennis

Did you thrill to Wimbledon this year? Do you dream that one day you too will beat Boris Becker or thrash Martina Navratilova in three straight sets? Well, Tennis, IMAGINE's conversion of the Konami arcade game might help realise your dreams to some extent.

In this version of tennis, the computer can play singles with one player or doubles against two players fighting for keyboard space. Alternatively, two humans can fight it out, head to head. The scoring and rules are taken from real tennis, except the computer acts as umpire too, flashing decisions onto a central screen at the back of the court. There's no room of argument: if the ball lands on a line then the shot is 'in'; if it lands outside a boundary line the shot is 'out'.

Players take it in turns to serve, with the service changing after each game. To serve, press fire to lob the ball into the air, and fire again to send the ball flying over the net. The timing of the second press of the fire button is crucial as it determines where the ball lands. If the ball lands 'out', the computer flashes a message onto the umpire screen and the server gets a second go. If you muck the second serve up as well then the point goes to your opponent.

Konami's Tennis

The screen shows a tennis court as seen from the stands at one end. The direction keys or joystick control the movement of the player(s) on the court, and a prod of the fire button at the appropriate moment makes a shot the stroke played depends on the direction in which the volleying player is facing.

During each game the score for each player or team is shown on the right of the court, and at the end of game the score is transferred to the main score board.

The audience watches anxiously from the very top of the screen. You must play your best as they're all rooting for you in amongst the bottles of bubbly and strawberries and cream.

Comments

Control keys: redefinable: up, down, left, right, fire
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor
Keyboard play: responsive
Use of colour mainly monochromatic
Graphics: not wonderfully detailed
Sound: burbly tunelet and spot beeps
Skill levels: one
Screens: just the court

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