Whether you are playing solo or with three others for some four player Tennis action, Wii Sports: Tennis offers some great fun for you and your friends. Never before has the game of Tennis been so interactive, tactile, and flat out fun. Read along and see why I think the Tennis game inside Wii Sports is my number two favorite game on the disk!

Much like the Bowling game on the Sports game disk as well, the Tennis game loads up very quickly and has some nice presentation in both the graphics and sound department. Getting into the game boils down to deciding how many people will be playing then selecting how many total games you would like to play. You can play a single game, best out of three, or best out of five against the CPU or against up to three other friends. The matches are always 2 on 2 so you will actually be playing with a friend in four player multiplayer action against your two other friends. When playing single against the computer, you control both players on your side of the court. When playing one player versus a friend, you control two characters and your friend (your opponent) controls his two as well. This may sound a bit much at first, but in Wii Sports: Tennis, you don’t control the characters movements, you only control their swing. No longer do you have to worry so much about getting the player to the ball, you simply have to swing the remote in time to volley the ball back across the net. This allows you to focus less on certain aspects of the normal tennis game and tosses some new gameplay elements at you given the fact the computer will always run to the ball accordingly.

The game allows you to use one of your Mii’s you have created as a player on screen and uses only the Wii Remote without the nunchuck. Once the number of players has been selected as well as the number of games, the match is on! To serve the ball, you can hit the A button or make the motions of tossing up a ball with the Wii Remote in your hand. You will then need to swing the remote again while the ball is up in the air at it’s apex to actually strike and serve the ball. If the ball is coming towards your character, you will need to swing the remote to volley the ball back to your opponents as well. This is harder than it sounds as you have forehands and backhands that you must carry out the motions for and since you don’t run the character to the incoming ball yourself, which one you will need to use is up to the computer. You will sometimes arrive at the ball in position to return the ball with a backhand swing while other times you may need to use a forehand swing. You will also need to take the angle of your remote into account as this will determine things like rise, spin, and angle when you are returning the ball. Swing too early or late and you just may send the ball into a wild direction you didn’t intend. Don’t get under the ball enough when you return it and you may send the ball straight into the net. The gameplay mechanics force you to focus on these factors when playing the game instead of worrying so much about running your character to the ball. You will need to first decide between a forehand and backhand return, then ensure you hit the ball properly and not send it out of bounds. This continues until someone makes a mistake and a point is scored.

Wii Sports: Tennis plays by standard tennis rules and the game is over once one person or team scores the 15, 30, 40, and then final point over your opponent. Games can sometimes go on for a good while stuck with one team trying to score that final point. When it comes to four player action, Tennis on the Sports disk has all other games beat with Bowling in a close second place. All four of you standing and playing virtual tennis in you or your friends living room has proven to be very exiting and fun, creating some intense and action filled moments as the players work on perfecting their returns and serves. One wrong return can ruin it for you and your team and it’s always a blast to see a long volley between the teams going on. We played the Tennis game with our friends and had an absolute blast and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun single player tennis game or to a group of 2-4 people looking for some great multiplayer action. Don’t forget to give this one a look when you pop the Sports disk into your Wii and be sure to fasten those wrist straps!

See Also:My Thoughts on Wii Sports: Bowling