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Which is better AO tennis 2 or Tennis World Tour 2?

Tennis is one of the most popular sports on the planet. It’s a great way to exercise, stay fit, and have fun. Over the years, video game developers have tried to bring the thrill of tennis to the digital world. The two most popular tennis games are AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2. Both offer a realistic experience of what it’s like to play tennis and have their own unique features.

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are both excellent games. They both have realistic physics and controls, as well as beautiful graphics. The only difference between the two games is the gameplay.

AO Tennis 2 is a fast-paced game that focuses on quick reactions and accuracy. It has a wide range of difficulty levels, which makes it suitable for players of all skill levels. The game also features a career mode that allows players to create their own players and compete against the pros.

Tennis World Tour 2, on the other hand, is a more realistic game. It emphasizes strategy and timing, as well as accuracy and skill. The game has a wide range of courts, players, and tournaments, which makes it a great choice for tennis fans. The game also features a career mode, as well as online and offline tournaments.

Both AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 have excellent graphics. AO Tennis 2 has more vibrant colors and smoother textures, while Tennis World Tour 2 has a more realistic look and feel. The animation is also very good in both games.

The sound in AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 is also very good. Both games feature realistic sound effects, such as the sound of balls hitting the court and players grunting as they hit the ball. The background music is also good in both games.

Customization

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 both offer a wide range of customization options. In AO Tennis 2, players can customize their players’ appearance, as well as their abilities and equipment. The game also allows players to create their own courts and tournaments.

Tennis World Tour 2 also offers a wide range of customization options. Players can customize their players’ appearance and abilities, as well as the courts and tournaments. The game also has an online store where players can purchase new equipment and clothing.

Online Play

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 both offer an online mode where players can compete against each other. In AO Tennis 2, players can compete in tournaments and challenge other players to one-on-one matches. They can also create their own tournaments and join others’ tournaments.

Tennis World Tour 2 also offers an online mode where players can compete against each other. The game has an online ranking system, as well as leaderboards, tournaments, and challenges. Players can also create their own tournaments and join others’ tournaments.

Replayability

Both AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are very replayable games. AO Tennis 2 has a career mode where players can create their own players and compete against the pros. The game also has online tournaments and challenges, as well as a wide range of customization options.

Tennis World Tour 2 also has a career mode, as well as online tournaments and challenges. The game also has a wide range of customization options, as well as an online store where players can purchase new equipment and clothing.

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are both reasonably priced games. AO Tennis 2 is available for $39.99, while Tennis World Tour 2 is available for $49.99. Both games offer great value for money and are a great choice for tennis fans.

Both AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are excellent games. They both offer a realistic experience of what it’s like to play tennis. AO Tennis 2 has a faster pace and is more suitable for players of all skill levels, while Tennis World Tour 2 is more realistic and emphasizes strategy and timing.

The two games also offer a wide range of customization options and online play. AO Tennis 2 is slightly cheaper than Tennis World Tour 2, but both games offer great value for money. In the end, it comes down to personal preference. If you’re looking for a fast-paced game, then AO Tennis 2 is the way to go. If you prefer a more realistic experience, then Tennis World Tour 2 is the better choice.

AO Tennis 2 and Tennis World Tour 2 are both excellent tennis games. They both offer a realistic experience of what it’s like to play tennis and have a wide range of customization options. AO Tennis 2 is a faster-paced game that is more suitable for players of all skill levels, while Tennis World Tour 2 is more realistic and emphasizes strategy and timing. In the end, it comes down to personal preference.

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Tennis World Tour 2 Review - What the Original Should Have Been

Sometimes low expectations are the best thing that can happen to a game. Consider Tennis World Tour 2, for example, the follow-up to the disappointing original that can’t help but benefit from avoiding any comparison to that sub-par release. With a new developer on board in Big Ant Studios (oddly enough, the same studio behind the gaming world’s other big tennis title, AO Tennis 2 ), it has to be considered monumental progress that TWT2 simply feels like a finished game this time around.

Aside from that, the improved graphics and mechanics on the court — alongside a renewed focus on making online play an enjoyable experience — leads to the game being a respectable, if not exactly superlative, entry for all fans of the sport.

With that said, let’s venture into the weeds a bit more in this Tennis World Tour 2 review and take a closer look at what aspects of the game are winners and which others sail wide of the boundaries.

Tennis World Tour 2 Review – What I Like

Tennis school.

For anyone who recalls my initial impressions piece on Tennis World Tour 2 after spending some time with a preview build of the game, my opinions couldn’t help but be heavily influenced by the fact that there was no tutorial available to help explain how to actually, you know, play the game. This predictably led to a lot of confusion about how to hit the ball as much of it didn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason.

Thankfully, access to the tennis school that’s included in the game clarified most, though not quite everything, about how to swing a racket. Without question, the biggest aspect of the game that was completely lost on me (because, again, it wasn’t explained) before tennis school is that there are precision shots, which you use by tapping a button, and power shots, which you use by holding down a button for longer. I had no idea precision shots even existed when playing the preview build, which goes a long way towards explaining why I didn’t feel like I had all that much control of any of my shots.

The tennis school does a nice job of walking you through the various controls by having you hit the ball at targets on the other side of the court. It did still take a little while to grasp how to properly direct your shots, which is partially a byproduct of having to use the left stick to both run for the ball and select where to hit — something that can feel like a bit of a conflict of interest at times.

There also isn’t a great explanation within tennis school of a fundamental component of the game, which is how to properly time your shots. With every ball you hit, there will be a message on the screen displaying feedback for your timing on a spectrum ranging from “too soon” to “good” to “perfect” to “too late.” But the tennis school doesn’t ever really tell you when is the ideal time to release a button, whether it’s a precision or power shot, leading to a lot of trial and error. (Hint: get yourself in position to hit the ball first and then release a button right around the time your player starts winding up.)

How to serve has been completely reworked in TWT2 , and the new system is an adequate mini-game that’s mildly challenging and allows for myriad outcomes. Consisting of the toss and then the actual contact with the ball, both components involve properly timing a button push or release to achieve the best possible power and accuracy. It can be a little tricky to pinpoint where you want the ball to go as holding down any direction too long is likely to end up as a fault. For the second serve, it’s usually best to stick to a safe serve by tapping a button instead of holding it down, which will sacrifice some power but at least won’t cost you a point with a double fault.

Depending on your input, you can see balls get painted down the lines, go long and wide or into the net (even lets that strike the net and land in the service zone), and it feels rewarding when you do deliver a serve exactly how you desired. But even when I’ve been able to unleash a serve with maximum power right on a line, I’ve still yet to get an ace against a CPU opponent. It’s unclear whether this means the AI is perhaps just not quite tuned properly (they also do tend to hit the ball out a lot) or there’s another layer of serving that’s still eluding me.

Graphics & Presentation

With the likenesses of so many professional tennis players in the game (nearly 40 at launch), they all resemble their real-life counterparts closely enough for the most part, but they do tend to get a little waxy in close-ups. Still, it’s nice to see how they can get expressive after points, whether in celebration or disgust. And the differences between the skills of elite players like Federer and Nadal and the lower-ranked players are evident on the court.

One of the biggest reasons that the gameplay in TWT was so mediocre was that there were a limited number of animations, and it was not uncommon to have the wrong animation trigger — or even no animation trigger at all — when you went to hit a shot. Thankfully, the animations in this game are more fluid across the board, but there are still some awkward moments here and there where players warp to the ball a bit or contort themselves strangely while returning a ball.

The environments and stadiums in the game with all of their various surfaces and conditions allow for plenty of variety, and they are immersive enough without being spectacularly detailed re-creations or anything. The addition of disputes adds another enjoyable element — where the flyover camera reveals whether a ball was in or out — and I find myself challenging calls that were obvious just for the fun of using this new feature.

Online Play

Anyone who played TWT remembers how the developers touted online play prior to release, only to not be able to deliver on that promise until well after the game had come out. Even when it finally was implemented, the game was a frustrating mess in online matches thanks to unavoidable and unplayable lag bogging down every attempt.

Thankfully, this follow-up has vastly improved the online play to the point where there was no noticeable lag in the matches that I played. In fact, the game even plays pretty well when going head-to-head against someone, especially when you become engaged in a long rally against the opponent who can see you sprinting from one side of the court to the other, or to the net to retrieve a drop shot before the ball bounces a second time.

However, there are still a few noticeable bugs in online matches. I’ve seen multiple shots from opponents that looked way out but were somehow called in, and then they were awarded the point when I didn’t play it back.

It must say something about the matchmaking that for my very first online match I was pitted against the player who was at the very top of the leaderboards. This probably isn’t exactly the best way to initiate people into the online experience. For what it’s worth, I may have been beaten pretty soundly by the top-ranked player in the video game equivalent of Federer facing off against a 10-year-old child, but I did get a couple of points against said player and was still able to get involved in a number of fun rallies.

There’s also the new option of being able to play doubles both locally and online, which is nice if you’re hanging out at home with someone and want to take on other duos, but it can’t help but limit potential matchups when you’re only able to team up locally and not online with a partner.

Career Mode

It probably should be said up front that the career mode in TWT2 isn’t all that different than the one in TWT , but it does an admirable job of giving you a variety of things to do over the course of a year while you grind away at improving your player’s attributes during your climb to be the best in the world.

The main thing that you’ll probably want to do is enter and play in tournaments where you’ll face off against CPU opponents and attempt to proceed through the bracket to the finals. It’s nice to see that as a scrub just starting out you’re not necessarily expected to go toe-to-toe against the elite players of the world. Instead, you can test your mettle against lesser players with similar attributes as yours until you’ve become a little more established.

It’s hard to beat the allure of hoisting some sort of trophy, but there are other things to do besides compete in events and there are times when the best thing to do might be nothing at all in order to recover your stamina. There are charity and exhibition matches that can generate you some coins, training that gives you some fun challenges to complete in exchange for XP, or you can hire and fire your coaches and agents if you feel like different ones can give you bonuses that align more with your priorities.

As you do various activities, you’ll be able to level up and decide how you want to spend your attribute points and all of the coins you’ve accumulated. By choosing how you want to allocate those attribute points, you essentially are deciding what you want the strengths and weaknesses of your character to be. As for the coins, you can put those towards equipment and clothes or on packs of cards (more on that shortly).

Tennis World Tour 2 Review – What I Don’t Like

Card System

In theory, there’s perhaps some merit to how the card system works in TWT2 , but in execution it kind of feels like it belongs in more of an arcade game and is at odds with the tennis simulation this game is attempting to be elsewhere. The worst part is that you’ll need to regularly spend your coins in order replenish your hand of five cards that can be played because they all have a limited duration, whether that’s one match, one set, one game or even one point.

This wouldn’t be so bad if the cards actually gave better upgrades and if so many of them were not so lame. While you might have a somewhat useful Support card that can help you for a full match and give your player a boost on something like your precision volley, the majority of the cards you get from packs will instead give a small decrease to something like your opponent’s underhand serve ability for a game, which they’ll probably never use in a whole match (let alone a whole game).

Though there was some attempt in the preview event to argue that the cards are meant to simulate moments of a match when a player is particularly locked in, this doesn’t really hold up under closer scrutiny. It’s not all realistic to think that players can get themselves into some sort of mysterious zone where they’re really seeing the ball well but only when their opponent is serving ball underhand to them. Even then, how is it that someone’s own abilities somehow transfer to making your opponent worse instead of simply making you better?

Suffice to say, there’s a lot here that doesn’t have much logic to it. Perhaps there’s a way to make a card system like this work but it would need a pretty substantial overhaul in order to make it feel more organic.

Creation Suite

Once again, the creation suite for your player in TWT2 might initially look decent but that’s only because the one in TWT was so atrocious. Where you previously had to choose between a handful of pre-made characters so that you’d invariably end up playing against your doppelganger, at least you can create someone who looks unique now.

However, it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed when comparing the creation suite to similar games like NBA 2K or even the recent PGA Tour 2K21 . Rather than feel like you’re sculpting the features of your player to look exactly how you want, it’s more as if you’re only able to choose between a handful of options, swapping out different mouths and noses as if your player was some sort of human Mr. Potato Head.

This is progress to be sure, but it still needs more customization to belong in the same conversation as other modern sports games.

Bottom Line

It’s true that the bar may have been set pretty low by TWT, but TWT2 still deserves plenty of credit for righting the course of this franchise and pointing it towards potentially becoming a top-notch tennis simulation. Still, it’s not quite there yet because the developers need to either refine — or lose entirely — the bonuses of its card system and allow for more individuality from its creation suite.

Regardless, when you’re engaged in long rallies against opponents online and trying to outfox them with the variety of shots at your disposal, it all begins to feel like real tennis in a way that was sorely lacking the first time around, particularly online.

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Tennis World Tour 2 Review - This Is Game the Original Should Have Been

This is a discussion on Tennis World Tour 2 Review - This Is Game the Original Should Have Been within the Tennis forums.

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Tennis World Tour 2 Review

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I’m not really sure what’s happened with tennis world tour 2 ..

After the first title in the series failed to impress, it seemed as though Nacon was doing all it could to make up for it. At least on paper, anyway. Big Ant Studios was brought in to develop this sequel, and its last title, AO Tennis 2 , actually impressed us a fair bit. Tennis World Tour 2 , however, seems like a step back for the studio. It’s an improvement over the first game, sure, but it still falls short of being a good tennis game.

So, what’s new? How about a new game engine that allows for improved animations and physics? That’s certainly welcome. Doubles is in, too, which many players will appreciate. You can even play in doubles online. And court surfaces now have an effect on play, adding another layer of challenge and/or strategy to each and every match. There are so many improvements in Tennis World Tour 2, big and small, that make sense, and that make it a clear step up from its predecessor. But they’re all nullified by two major changes that do the game no favours at all.

The first is a new timing-based shot system. You can tap one of the various shot buttons to perform a precision shot, or hold one to charge a shot up for more power, but get the timing wrong, and chances are the ball won’t go where you wanted it to. It’s meant to make play more skilful, but the system’s so hard to gauge that it effectively ruins the game. AO Tennis 2 has a similar system, but it also has a useful indicator to help you along. Tennis World Tour 2 doesn’t, and the timing of shots feels horribly inconsistent.

The place where the new timing-based shot system really makes its mark is in career mode. Take a professional such as Roger Federer for a spin in an exhibition match, and you might find yourself actually having a decent time thanks to his high stats. Even if your timing isn’t perfect, there’s a good chance your shot will still be good. Create your own character in career mode, however, and their pitiful starting stats will mean that unless you get good or better timing on a shot, chances are it will go out or hit the net. And getting good or better shots is made all the harder because of their poor starting stats. It’s just not fun.

The second of Tennis World Tour 2 ‘s major mistakes is a revamp of its cards system. Where cards could be equipped to players in the first game to boost their abilities in the long-term, here, they mostly provide boosts that last as little as one hit and as long as one match when activated during gameplay. Some of them even reduce your opponent’s abilities. You can reduce your opponent’s serving strength for, example, increase the precision of a slice shot, or restore a portion of your stamina. The trouble is, it feels largely ineffectual and superfluous.

Cards are purchased in packs from a store on the game’s main menu – currently, only in-game money can be used. You can then assign five of your cards to a deck, one of which providing a passive ability, and the other four active abilities that you activate during play by double-tapping a direction on the d-pad. After so many uses, a card expires and disappears from your deck. With effects being so precise and a game of tennis being so dynamic, however, using them effectively is a hit-and-miss affair. It’s also at odds with the game’s serious tone – it’s a very arcade-like feature in conception.

There are other issues with Tennis World Tour 2 as well. You’ll find the AI of your computer-controlled opponents to be a bit all over the place. Sometimes they’re magnificently dumb, other times they run rings around you. And while the game’s animations are improved, there are still times where they’re not particularly impressive. Finally, you’ll find the game’s character creator to be a let-down too; in career mode, be prepared to play as, and against, lots of unfortunate-looking souls.

Ultimately, Tennis World Tour 2 ‘s new timing-based shot system ruins what could have been a decent or even good tennis game. It makes gameplay so unpredictable, and not in a good way. If you plan on buying Tennis World Tour 2 just to play exhibition matches as your favourite professional players, you might get some fun out of it thanks to their boosted stats making things more lenient. But career mode will be unbearable for most, requiring either an obscene amount of skill or an inhuman amount of patience. AO Tennis 2 remains the best tennis game available right now, so just stick to that.

Tennis World Tour 2 is available on PS4, Xbox One and PC. We reviewed it on Xbox One X with a code provided by the game’s publisher.

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Tennis World Tour 2 review

September 24, 2020

After a lacklustre entry into the series with Tennis World Tour , Nancon has looked towards the development team behind AO Tennis to bring a sequel that is much better than its predecessor. Whilst there’s much more in terms of content, Tennis World Tour 2 does have its issues, but once you get past the steep learning curve, it’s a rather good tennis sim. If you ignore the modes, the Skill Cards, and everything in between to focus on the gameplay, there’s a lot of improvement. Reading your opponent has become easier to do due to double the animations as before, but slight touches can affect where your shot lands.

Even after spending a lot of time playing, holding your shot button for too long will send it out the perimeters of the court. Timing is everything, and whilst it takes a bit of time getting used to exactly when you’re supposed to hit the ball, it’s the direction of your shot that never seems to accurately go where you need it to. Power and accuracy are key to any match, and when you struggle to get it right, then matches become more of a grind than a challenge. Another problem I encountered was that my player wouldn’t swing for the ball even though I was trying to slice it. This often happened when I was moving, and for a sport that requires quick movements to meet the ball after an opponent’s delivery, it became frustrating when my player wouldn’t react.

I eventually found my rhythm, and when you do, things are much smoother than the original, and winning a rally is about as satisfying as putting on pants straight out the tumble dryer. Serving can be tough to get your head around. The way in which you serve and add power comes in the form of a gauge that has a moving icon on. Get it in the centre, then hold in the your preferred shot button delivers a fast serve, but the amount of faults and double faults I picked up became far too frequent. Add into this the sensitivity of the left stick and I almost always hit it outside of the required zone. You can serve safely, and this was what I often opted for.

There were times when I enjoyed Tennis World Tour 2. The use of Skill Cards is actually a great thing to include. The more you play the game throughout the various modes, the more coins you get. These coins can be used to buy new gear, including rackets, shorts, and tops, but they can also be used to buy card packs. Before each match, you can equip a certain amount of these Skill Cards, and throughout the match you can use them to give you temporary boosts. Everything from adding an improvement to your top spin power and serving, to decreasing your opponent’s abilities can be used. There’re a lot of options here, and it adds a layer of strategy to each performance.

The Career Mode is relatively basic, offering your created character a chance to rise the rankings and take part in a multitude of tournaments across some of the different courts that are included in Tennis World Tour 2. Even though there isn’t tons to do, I enjoyed taking myself from zero to almost hero across the globe, facing a multitude of tennis players as I tried to become the best in the world.

One new feature is the ability to play doubles matches locally or online. This makes for some interesting gameplay, and allows you to play tactically with a friend as you try and take down the opposition. It’s feels like a different type of match, solely because you aren’t hitting every ball and are relying on your teammate a lot of the time. I enjoyed playing doubles as it provided a nice step away from being on my own, and allowed me more options when playing my shots.

The roster on offer is a healthy one, letting you play as famous tennis players such as Roger Federer, Grigor Dimitrov, and Caroline Garcia, and stadiums and courts such as the ones included in the Ace Edition boasts the locations seen in the French Open tournament Roland-Garros. If you’re only buying the standard edition, there are still a great selection of courts from across the world. Visually, the courts are fantastic, it’s just the crowds, ball boys/girls, and umpires that all feel static. Player animations tend to have the same actions in the transitional moments between gameplay, but in the matches, they move and look pretty well.

Tennis World Tour 2 is a definite step up from Breakpoint’s attempt, with more animations, a bigger roster, and some decent gameplay. The stadiums look good, but much of the movement of everyone other than the actual athletes is very stiff, with some not moving at all. If you’re a tennis fan, I believe you’ll enjoy playing as some of the world’s best in some of the greatest locations. With gameplay that has a satisfying result after a pretty steep learning curve, it may put a lot of people off early on, but it’s a solid tennis game that lays the foundations for a solid future.

Plenty of game modes Courses and stadiums look great Skill Cards are a nice inclusion

Gameplay has a steep learning curve Playing an accurate shot and serving can be frustrating Crowd animation is lacklustre

Tennis World Tour 2 has gameplay that takes a while to master, but the healthy roster and well-designed courts offers a lot for tennis fans.

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Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition Review — A Mid-Level Contender

Big Ant Studios found their audience with niche sporting simulators this last decade. Between Ashes Cricket and Rugby League Live , recent years have seen a greater focus on tennis, with the team offering the enjoyable AO Tennis 2 early last year.

In September 2020, they were back at it, this time launching Tennis World Tour 2 in collaboration with Nacon. Releasing to mixed reviews , Tour 2’s found a second lease on life with a next-gen “Complete Edition” for PS5 and Xbox Series X, which makes for a vast improvement over the original release, even if that improvement is relative.

Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition Review — A Mid-Level Contender

If you’re simply after a quick tennis fix, Exhibition Mode is your go-to here, letting you play with up to three other players locally in singles and doubles matches. In this mode, there are 48 different Tennis players to choose from, including Grand Slam winners Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Maria Sharapova. Sadly, a few notable icons, like the Williams sisters and Novak Djokovic, are missing, but the line-up remains impressive despite their absences.

Online multiplayer is also available, as are several pre-set and player-hosted tournaments. There’s also Tennis School, a training area filled with tests to keep your skills sharp.

However, the real focus lies in Career Mode, creating an original character in your journey to win a Grand Slam. You complete different events – including exhibition matches and tournaments. Those come with an entry fee, and higher fees mean higher winnings, should you succeed.

Gradually, you increase your career level, building up a reputation and signing with new agents, who offer performance buffs like greater strength or increased XP. Just be careful of your fatigue meter, which builds up after taking on events and impacts performance. Taking timely breaks to keep yourself in peak condition is a must.

Once you’re on the court, you have two shot options: precision and power. Providing you’re near the ball, racket swings occur automatically, but a good precision shot requires tapping a button as the ball gets closer. For power, you must hold that button down, releasing at the right moment for a devastating volley.

It sounds straightforward, but Tour 2 gets surprisingly challenging, and that difficulty can spike between matches. Even if you force your opponent into errors, moving them to the other side of the court, misjudging your shot timing can undo your hard work. Those seconds are key to taking a point or landing out of bounds.

That’s not to understate the surprisingly technical level of gameplay depth here, a depth that forces you to consider your strategy seriously. It’s not as arcade-like as more notable games like Mario Tennis – and it replicates real tennis to a decent extent.

Of course, that precise, realistic approach won’t sit well with everyone. To help you out, Tour 2 also includes a Cards system, allowing you to boost your own skills during matches – improving endurance, power, precision, and agility, for example – or reduce an opponent’s. You can hold five cards at once and save preset decks, buying them from a Card Shop for coins earned in career mode. Cards can even be sold for extra currency.

Since they’re best used in a pinch, they add a good layer of strategy to the gameplay.

Tennis World Tour 2: Complete Edition — The Bottom Line

• Captures the feeling of tennis well.
• Plenty of players and courts to choose from.
• Smooth performance.
• Numerous upgrades over the previous edition.
• Difficulty level is uneven.
• Some character models need improvements.
• Gameplay is quite technical.

As for next-gen improvements, Nacon has done an impressive job, and owners of last-gen’s Ace Edition can upgrade to the Complete Edition for free. Running at 60 frames-per-second in 4K, the Complete Edition also benefits from faster loading times, ray tracing, and enhanced particle effects.

It looks great, and that presentation’s only let down by a few off-base character models, which could’ve used some extra detail. Otherwise, all previous DLC is included with six new characters (including Murray and Sharapova), four additional stadiums, new cosmetics, and additional animations, too.

If you weren’t sold on Tennis World Tour 2 previously, Nacon’s next-gen upgrade won’t change your mind, but there’s an enjoyable simulator here and the Complete Edition is the best way to play. If you’re a serious tennis fan, this one comes recommended.

[Note: Nacon provided the copy of Tennis World Tour 2 used for this review.]

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Review: ‘tennis world tour 2’ is a big step back for big ant.

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'Tennis World Tour 2' returns to PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch on September 24.

It’s been over two years since the disastrous launch of Tennis World Tour – a game so poorly received , it’s quite the surprise to see publisher Nacon take the license for another spin. However, it’s now in much better hands: Big Ant Studios, the Australian-based developer behind AO Tennis 2 , takes the reins for its second racquet release of 2020.

Big Ant’s surprisingly enjoyable AO Tennis 2 certainly had its faults when it was released back in January, but it arguably set the bar for modern tennis simulation games, helped by the fact there are so few of them these days. This bar still remains. Tennis World Tour 2 may be better than its own prequel, but it doesn’t come close to AO 2 , even with the studio’s expertise behind it.

It’s not that Tennis World Tour 2 is disastrously bad; it just doesn’t excel at anything. Between its average presentation, uninspiring gameplay, weird career mode, plus dozens of minor annoyances, it’s hard to really understand what gamers will get from it, even with its lower price tag of $40. Casual players don’t get an approachable, easy-to-learn experience, while tennis fans are getting a stripped-back affair that lacks realism, authenticity, and depth.

Graphically, textures are simple, players look animatronic, and the combination of color and lighting can be migraine-inducing; shadows indicating the ball’s trajectory are often hard to see, while brighter locations make the ball all but disappear. Often-repetitive character animations immediately become apparent, taking further shine off the visuals.

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Mechanically, the game’s core gameplay is confusing and hard to understand. Tennis World Tour 2 ’s new serving system is unnecessarily complicated and not well explained, even in Tennis School; the press-and-hold power approach, alongside throwing balance and directional placement, never feels intuitive. 

Similarly, the act of making a shot uses a timing system based on either speed or power, and neither option seems to click, even after repetitive attempts in tutorials. When it works, it’s usually not how you want it to. Occasionally, the game’s tough timing doesn’t even register your intention to make a shot, so as you go to place your return, you see your player running away in the chosen direction.

'Tennis World Tour 2' takes a lot of getting used to.

The core elements of the game are exacerbated in career mode, as your fledgling character attempts to build on a generally poor set of base skills. As a lower-ability player at the start of career mode, these problems are ramped up to the extreme, to the point you find yourself playing it safe and waiting for your opponents to mess up instead.

Compared to AO Tennis 2 , Tennis World Tour 2 ’s core career mode is incredibly pared down. Character creation takes the early brunt of this simpler approach: you’re restricted to preset facial features and a whopping choice of two body types; customization sections are littered with duplicate moves under different names; there’s no control over your skills; equipment is mostly unlicensed and wholly ugly.

It doesn’t hold your hand from here on in. There’s little-to-no tutorial explaining how you progress, upgrade yourself, or strategize; soon, you’ll find yourself getting repeatedly trounced by up-and-coming Armenian tennis stars. I would have stuck with it for longer than eight events, but having lost all but one, and learning nothing to improve myself along the way, I lost the will to live–not least because I was controlling a self-named, gormless-looking avatar in a hideous rookie T-shirt I couldn’t muster the money to replace. 

Pictured: Matt Gardner, the worst player to ever step into Tennis World Tour 2.

The most annoying inclusion in Tennis World Tour 2 is its unnecessary booster card system, which makes its presence known everywhere, even career mode. You and your opponent are given the ability to play cards that affect the endurance, power, precision, and agility, whether it’s boosting yourself or undermining the person on the other side of the net. 

You’re given 30 cards for free to get you started, and packs are mercifully bought using in-game currency–not real money, though that’s probably because there’s no way in hell people would spend actual money on them. In real terms, the cards feel completely pointless. Not only do they emphasize that skill is not the sole factor at play, but you don't know what’s being used against you, and the effects of the cards themselves often seem completely minimal: why would you give a toss about boosting your stamina by 7% for slice shots over the course of one game?

Booster cards add an unwanted dimension to Tennis World Tour 2.

While I wish there were some charming elements of Tennis World Tour 2 to share, it all just feels so clinical, and the overall experience is riddled with tiny issues that make no sense, making everything feel that little bit less polished.

Most loading screens give way to a “press button to continue” splash screen for no apparent reason, stunting the game’s flow. The venue selection map, covered in largely-invisible transparent circles for stadium locations, is pointless. Created characters are given black shadow outlines ahead of matches. And once the game runs out of licensed tennis players, the top 100 is far from plausible; my top 60 included no fewer than eight Puerto Rican stars with such authentic names as Adam Nelson, Silas Henry, and Nathaniel White. 

Ultimately, Tennis World Tour 2 is a serviceable game, but it’s not particularly enjoyable. Casual players may find it hard to comfortably jump in and out of it, while fans of the sport don’t get the wealth of gameplay and customization options offered by the likes of AO Tennis 2 .

There’s no doubt that Nacon and Big Ant Studios’ relationship will continue to flourish in the coming years, but it’s difficult to understand why the publisher has asked Big Ant to keep two tennis franchises going at once. This will hopefully prove to be a learning experience–one where AO Tennis 3 builds on greatness, while the Tennis World Tour franchise is quietly shelved.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of Tennis World Cup 2 in exchange for a fair and honest review. The Xbox One X version as played for the purposes of this article.

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Nadal sets sights on Roland-Garros 

Having returned to competitive action in Barcelona, Rafael Nadal now has Roland-Garros firmly in his thoughts.

All eyes were on Spain and Barcelona in particular this week, and not just because Paris Saint-Germain were in town for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie. What was capturing the attention of tennis fans around the world was the eagerly awaited return of Rafael Nadal following a three-month layoff. And while his army of fans were not totally convinced by the King of Clay’s comeback, it nevertheless yielded some encouraging signs. 

His first-round straight-sets win over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli (6-2 6-3) was the man from Mallorca’s first on the Tour since he beat Jason Kubler in Brisbane on 4 January. Delivering a commanding performance, the Spaniard produced some clean hitting but looked tentative at times on serve and in his movements around court.

Though defeated 7-5 6-1 in the second round by world No. 11 Alex de Minaur , "Rafa" was keen to accentuate the positive at the end of his week in Barcelona.  

“I feel much more comfortable and happier today than one week and a half ago,” he said. “I was able to play two matches and played against a great player. I was not very far away, without a doubt. I feel if I’m able to keep practising days on the Tour, and my body allows me to spend hours on court and have practices the way that I need, I hope to be competitive. I hope and believe I can be competitive in a few weeks. That’s the way that I need to proceed today, and to give me a chance to be ready at least to compete at Roland-Garros.”

All or nothing in Paris

Having now bid farewell to Barcelona and a tournament close to his heart after 12 titles there, Nadal is now focusing on Roland-Garros, where he has lifted the trophy 14 times . 

“The main thing today was not necessarily to win but to come out feeling good from this tournament, and that’s what happened,” he added. “Sometimes it’s difficult to play when you know that you maybe can’t fight all the way to the end of the match, which was the case today. But I hope to be able to do that in a few weeks. After everything that’s happened to me these last few weeks, it wasn’t the time to try and be a hero. Today was about being careful and doing things in the most intelligent way possible. I knew when I lost the first set that the match was over. 

“On a personal level, for what is to come, the 6-1 in the second set is what had to happen today. That’s the way that I need to proceed today, and to give me a chance to be ready at least to compete at Roland-Garros . I will try to take a step further in Madrid, then another one in Rome and, in Paris. There is the moment to do it, whatever happens. There is no better place to . ”

And so, on to Paris in May, when Nadal will hope to step out for the 19th Roland-Garros of his glittering career. 

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