Pros: Superbly playable and realistic tennis simulation which is a lot of fun.
Cons: Not enough players to compete against.
The bottom line: This game has a great deal of depth for a simply tennis simulation and is a lot of fun especially when four get together.
Tennis is a game which seems difficult to recreate in pixelated form, there haven't been many great tennis games in the past which is strange as the first ever computer game was a tennis simulation if that isn't too grand a term. Of course I am talking about PONG!

Sega's new game oozes quality from the moment you first clap eyes on it. The initial menu is nothing special with simply "Tournament", "Exhibition" and "World Tour" options but the intro music is nice, sort of a rip-off of "Push the Tempo" by Fatboy Slim.

I will be concentrating on the World Tour option which I have been playing hard for the past 10 days or so, it really is addictive. Choosing this option brings you into a screen where you need to create your players. You need to have both a male and female player to take on the world stage.

As you would expect you can name your players but a nice touch is the option to design what they look like. You choose their facial appearance, hair colour and style and even what they wear. Finally you need to pick their height and body weight. A tip here is not to make them too small or they will be lobbed easily and not be able to reach very wide shots. The level of customisation is such that you can make your player look quite similar to yourself if you so wish.

Then you have to decide where to place your home, on a world map which can rotate around to show all the worlds countries. The position of your home is really academic as it is only used to check the status of the player and equipment.

The first job is to train your players so they improve their skills so they can compete in the tournaments. Around the globe are several "tests" which the player can try out and if completed skill levels improve. Each "test" takes up a week in game time to complete as do tournaments and rest periods. You will need to rest the players as the stamina level goes down if you keep them slogging out in the training areas.

The tests are split into four main areas, two in each area. For the service game there is "Pin Crasher", which is one of my favourites and also "Prize Sniper". On both these test you have to serve at targets and try to knock them down to score points. On "Pin Crasher" it is like ten-pin bowling, try to knock down all ten pins with one shot and beat the target score to move to the next level. Each time you succeed the next level will be more difficult with a higher target and the reward is a more accurate and powerful service game.

The other tests relate to ground strokes and also volleys. The tests are a bit bizarre to say the least but entertaining. My other favourite is "Tank Attack" where there are two tanks firing balls at you and you have to return the balls to hit the tanks to wipe them out. Each level beaten results in more tanks to defeat next time around.

At the start of the world tour the tests are at level one and they progress up to level 4 as they get harder. All the players statistics start at level one and go up to around level 20 when they achieve world class status but this takes years practise as there are about 16 different skills to brush up on. It is not really viable to excel in all areas so you need to concentrate on what you think are the important areas, will you decide to be a big server or more of a baseline player with good ground strokes?

The early tournaments are quite easy (level 1) and this is my first complaint about the game. There are only about 16 opponents to play against (both male and female) and you meet the same players at level one as you will do at level 4, the grand slam events. So you might find you easily beat Tim Henman (no surprise there then) at level one but he stuffs you at Wimbledon. I would like to have seen more lesser known players rather than just the top seeds.

Your quest is to eventually try to become world number one and win all the tournaments in the world. This will take some time as I am now number 8 in the world in my 10th year of my career, with over $2M in the bank.

Money is earned from progressing in tournaments and can be spent at the shops dotted around the world. New rackets are very important as they allow your player to hit the ball harder with more accuracy and also allow more control over the ball. Different rackets have different attributes, some are very powerful and others allow greater control.

In these shops you can also buy clothing and shoes, some of which are just for show others allow the player better manoeuvrability. You can get special shoes for different surfaces, grass, clay, hard and carpeted depending on the location of tournament. Also you can sign a deal with another player to play in doubles contests. If you are wanting to play mixed doubles then you just play with both players you created at the start of the game.

As you progress up from a lowly 300 ranking in the world new shops open with better equipment. You need higher rankings to enter the later tournaments which is just as well because at the start of the game your player is so poor he would be murdered at Wimbledon.

The tournaments are a little disappointing in that they tend to only have at most three rounds and then only a maximum of six games. There are tiebreakers when needed but you are not going to have mammoth 5 set epic games on this which is maybe a good thing as life is too short!

Graphically the game is stunning as you instantly recognise the players even when you are like me and not a big fan of the sport. The mannerisms are also caught well and even the sounds accurate. I could tell Monica Seles was playing just by her grunt when I was in the other room and the demo playing!

All manner of shots can be recreated by simply using the three buttons for lobs, ground strokes and drop shots and pressing the joystick in the required direction. The length of time the button is held down will decide how the hard the ball is struck. By positioning your player and timing the shot you can choose what kind of shot will occur. It is even possible to play the ball between your legs if you are a show off!

The detail is superb as chalk dust flies up when the ball lands on the line, John McEnroe would be pleased with this feature. Also good shots are rewarded with action replays which focus on the relevant area. I found it quite satisfying after putting away a smash against Kafelnikov and Enqvist when Tim Henman came over and congratulated me. Sad aren't I! Play a bad shot or make a mistake and your player will shake his racket or mouth off some naughty words in disgust, win and they will raise arms in triumph.

The level of realism is such that if you lose concentration on the harder levels you will be beaten, you really have to be focussed as things get faster later on. You have to anticipate what the opponents will do and the artificial intelligence is so good that they learn your style of play and react accordingly. It is quite a good tip to mix things up occasionally as this will sometimes wrong foot the opponents.

You will learn that each player has their own little foibles and special shots which they like to employ. One gripe is that they almost never hit the net with a shot and it is almost impossible to serve an ace. My serves are up to 125 mph but I have yet to achieve this honour, I can win Wimbledon but not serve an ace!

The Exhibition mode lets you play any player in the world on any court in the world while the Tournament mode simulates a six round contest with each stage getting harder.

A really good option is four players can play doubles in teams of two, mixed doubles is quite amusing. You can even use your saved players on this version to see who really has the best all round player, quite entertaining I imagine as I have yet to try it out.

Overall this is a brilliant tennis game which combines the arcade playability with the realism of a simulation. They could make it even better if they took up some of my ideas but still it is well worth getting even if tennis isn't your favourite sport.