Arnold-KatayevHot Shots Tennis is nothing new for the PlayStation 2, it's been out in Japan for quite some time, and only now are we getting it here in the states. It was on display at Sony's arcade lounge, and while I haven't heard great things about it, I still decided to give it a whirl. The serving is more like Hot Shots than Virtua Tennis, so there are no meters to fill. You double tap the X button, once to start the serve, and the other to connect the racquet with the ball. Also, unlike Virtua Tennis, you have to aim your ball as you serve it, otherwise it'll hit the net.
What I didn't like was that the gameplay seemed pre-determined. In other words, I felt like I had very little control over where the ball goes. On top of that, characters run and react very slowly, so it's very easy to score in the game. There isn't enough fluidity, and that hampers the smoothness of the game.
Visually, it has the Hot Shots style, so that's not a surprise. Other than that, it's nothing great. Don't expect to see any changes made to the game from now to release, seeing as how the game is practically complete at this point. Give the game a rental first before you think about buying it.
Related Game(s): Hot Shots Tennis
