Chris InglisMatchpoint – Tennis Championships, by local Australian developers Torus Games and global publisher Kalypso Media, is set for release on July 7, 2022. Thanks to Koch Media ANZ, we have been able to get some hands-on time on and off the virtual court, playing the game on Steam, and it’s one of the best Tennis games I have played. It boasts realistic player models and clothing physics, authentic ball physics and enhanced player control to replicate the realistic rhythm of the game. I did notice some graphical degradation in the replays, but the main gameplay is challenging and a lot of fun.
Starting a new career, you can opt to play the tutorial which I highly recommend. You are placed onto a practice court with a ball machine in the opposite half of the court. The court itself is well illustrated, right down to showing scuff marks from players’ shoes. You are guided by a narrator who explains actions using controller references only. I was on PC using keyboard and mouse and thankfully the visual representation of the correct key presses was there despite the narrator telling me to press a relevant controller button.
You are taught the basics of movement, the five shot types of flat, top spin, slice, drop shot and lob, power control, aiming the ball once you have selected your shot, volley shots, and the four serve types of flat, kick spin, slice and underarm. It’s a lot to learn but is explained and demonstrated well. Lastly, we get to put all of that into practice against another player. It was a great in-depth tutorial that gave me confidence to start my career in Matchpoint – Tennis Championships.
Once you start a new career, you first must customise the look of your player. The character customisation options are reasonable with 16 facial presets for both males and females as well as options for hair style and colour, and eye colour. You then get to choose your t-shirt, shorts/skirt, and shoes, and can customise some of their colour panels. Part of me would have liked to have more options here; however, I also wouldn’t want to see players with Hawaiian shirts and thongs as an example. I understand the clothing style limitations as we will be playing as professional tennis athletes.
Speaking of professional athletes, Matchpoint – Tennis Championships features 16 real-life international tennis stars from the professional circuit, including Nick Kyrgios, Kei Nishikori, and Amanda Anisimova. I haven’t played against any of them yet, but it will be exciting to see them in-game. Once I completed making my character, I was put straight into a tennis match on a clay court at the end of what would have been a gruelling five sets, meaning we were playing a Grand Slam match.
Here we can see the various umpires, player chairs, cameras, and the crowd. The two player models look outstanding from the camera’s viewpoint, and the umpires look realistic but slightly lesser quality than the players, and the people in the crowd even less detailed. While the initial player animations were fantastic, I found the quality lessened noticeably when we got in close during replays. The lighting and shadows were sometimes off and some of the facial expressions were a little strange. Still, the sounds of the racquet, ball and grunts from the player were fantastic, as were the physics of the ball. It really sounded like you were either there watching in the stands or watching a proper televised game of Tennis.
After a few more games, a prompt popped up saying you have discovered a weakness in your opponent. In this instance, his third consecutive backhand received power and accuracy penalties. In Matchpoint – Tennis Championships, discovering weaknesses and strengths of your opponent through gameplay gives you knowledge about how to defeat them or at least to counter their skills. After this practice match, I was seeded at MPT Rank 276. From here you are then given a calendar of events, of which you can skip some of them if you want, and as you complete matches you will earn MPT points and unlock new racquets, shoes, and gain access to different coaches to improve your playstyle and ranking.
My first proper match was against an opponent ranked 267, so being not that far ahead of my own rank, I thought we would be relatively evenly matched. I was so wrong. He would take advantage if I was out of position and one of his strengths I found was, he got stronger the longer the game went on. I have a lot of work to do to master the controls, especially my hit placement and player positioning. It was quite interesting remembering some of the lessons from my old Tennis coach coming through as I played more, trying to maintain control of the T on the court and managing the baseline position giving yourself enough time to run back if needed.
I like the fact that there are replays, allowing you to see your mistakes or look for opportunities next play. Eventually you’ll be able to use a coach which has individual skill modules, allowing you to work on your weaknesses. It’s a great system that, whether you have played Tennis before or not, you can still learn something about the game that you didn’t know before. You can then see that play out in real time as you play in different matches and on different surfaces, as well as exhibition matches.
From what I have played so far, Matchpoint – Tennis Championships is fantastic and almost feels like the real thing. It took me a while to get a handle of the controls, managing swing type, hit strength and direction, and trying to pre-empt where your opponent will hit the ball next. If you have played Tennis before, it certainly bought back memories of training and playing as you moved around the court. The opposition player AI won’t let your mistakes slide, taking advantage of you being out of position and you feel mistakes as they happen. It’s a heck of a lot of fun and I look forward to the full release.
This preview utilised a Steam key provided by Koch Media ANZ. Matchpoint – Tennis Championships will release on July 7, 2022 on PC, Xbox and PlayStation.
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