To be honest with you, we didn't take the time to look into AO Tennis when he showed up on the court five months ago. Well, it's true that we preferred to bet everything on Tennis World Tour, supposedly "the new game from the creators of Top Spin 4"; we failed miserably. That said, AO International Tennis doesn't send the dream either, but unlike the Breakpoint title, there's the timing, ie when you release the button when you're on the point of kicking the racket. A slider lets you know if you are in the right tempo (green) or not (red), shades (goose poop green, orange-red) between the two offering a chance to return the ball to the court if you half magnifying glass. This obsession of AO International Tennis for timing is such that even when you slam a shot from an impossible angle but with accuracy, you will catch the line at worst. So yes, against someone who knows how to play, it gives spectacular matches and we go blow for blow. On the other hand, we are far from the simulation aspect promised by the Australian studio. However, certain mechanics supposed to make the game realistic – the fatigue gauge, in particular – are there, but it is still far too risky for their impact to be real. And then, before the exchanges look like anything, you have to hang on, AO International Tennis being anything but intuitive. While in most tennis games, you should first focus on the timing and the power of the shot before choosing an angle, it's quite the opposite this time; you must first know where you are going to send the ball before opting for a precise or powerful shot. It's against nature and the brain takes a lot of money as long as you can't get the trick. It took us a while to be consistent, the best way – in our eyes – to achieve this being to abuse powerful shots. Indeed, the delay is noticeably longer, which makes it possible to organize a little more serenely.
Today, what tennis game can sit in front of Top Spin 4 and say it's better than it? None, and especially not AO International Tennis which, despite its 17 updates, continues to show serious shortcomings in terms of gameplay.
Certainly aware that its approach required a period of adaptation, Big Ant Studios semi-automated the movements of the players. Suddenly, when we start to be dropped during an exchange to manage both the timing, the power of the strike and the angle of it, if the ball is not too far from our character, we can let the AI position it correctly while we focus on the rest. Afterwards, this assistance can be vicious when it comes to attempting a volley at the net, not to mention the counter-foots that put nerves, surreal smashes or even suspicious runs. Ditto for the amortizations which tend to all look alike, the fault of these small adjustment steps which are sorely lacking. Where we can also reproach AO International Tennis, it is at the level of the different effects that it is possible to print on the ball – lift, flat, slice. Unlike Top Spin 4 where they are useful for setting up a real strategy, they have no influence here; finally, almost none, because we must however remain vigilant with regard to the timing. This lack of finesse is also noticeable when changing the type of surface: whether on hard, grass or clay, the physics of the ball remains the same. That's pretty mind-blowing for a tennis sim coming out in 2018. Unable to break that monotonous pace, Big Ant Studios' game just piles on the clones. Understand by this that choosing Rafael Nadal, David Goffin, John Isner or Karolína Plíšková will not change anything in terms of sensations. They all hit the same way, and the Spaniard's famous topspin that usually squirts the ball was ignored. In short, only the physical condition makes it possible to distinguish the players.
DOUBLE FAULT
Speaking of the roster, AO International Tennis includes only about twenty licensed stars, including our national Caroline Garcia. We do not know the budget Big Ant Studios had for the casting, but fans of the little yellow ball will regret the absence of essentials such as Roger Federer, the Williams sisters, Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Stanislas Wawrinka, or even Andy Murray. Instead, we are entitled to a gaggle of unknowns from the imagination of the developers, which kills the atmosphere a bit. We would have preferred a limited but more authentic selection, even if it means getting stuck with DLCs. Anyway, the Academy allows you to create your own players from head to toe, including logos. A trick that is reminiscent of PES for which the community strips each year by creating kits based on real teams. But where Konami does half the job by taking care of the faces of the players, you have to reproduce everything yourself in AO International Tennis, with more or less success it must be admitted. Nevertheless, given the weak animations (the one where you wait to receive the opposing service is just magic), it would have been messy to see a handsome Roger Federer with a one-handed backhand all pissed off. Even the ambassadors of the game have not been given special treatment, and we are still looking for Nadal's famous lasso. Fortunately, their heads are doing quite well. The courts are just as tasteless, except the Rod Laver Arena, an Australian studio requires. When entering the grounds of the Australian Open, players thus benefit from an almost neat entrance before discovering the public modeled by a trainee, a court devoid of textures, and an atmosphere of death. Whether it's the linesmen, the referee or the ball boys, they look like Playmobil. And to think that we dared to quibble with Top Spin 4… Our apologies to 2K.
Whether it's the linesmen, the referee or the ball boys, they look like Playmobil. And to think that we dared to quibble with Top Spin 4… Our apologies to 2K.
Despite all these flaws, we wanted to see what the "Career" mode looked like which, as you might expect, requires you to climb the ladder to reach the top of world tennis. The progression is ultra soporific in the sense that we only accumulate money and XP to improve the skills of our foal. For example, we would have liked AO International Tennis to take into account what happens outside the courts (social networks, the organization of promotional operations, etc.) to vary the pleasures. At worst, if the developers did not want to scatter, it would have been wise to bring in different coaches to work on this or that area. There, it's basic from basic, and even when the fatigue gauge is filled by chaining tournaments, the gameplay is so permissive that its interest is non-existent. Fortunately, we can simulate the meetings when we are seriously starting to get bored. Unsurprisingly, a mode allows you to participate directly in the Australian Open, without forgetting the online game that we have not had the opportunity to test at the time of writing these lines. On the other hand, we were able to try our hand at the double which does not really exude mastery. Not only does the volley deserve to be adjusted (we have already pointed this out above), but we realize that the timing still needs to be fine-tuned so that we can find angles with a strike that is not necessarily powerful. As it stands, when you're at the net, you're mostly content to watch the rockets go by without being able to intervene. Frustrating. Finally, if the developers could add in the specifications "to review the interface which is austere", it would not be a luxury.
