Become the best in the ranks in Matchpoint – Tennis Championships.
We had just finished the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. It was a great tournament, and ironically, the final featured one of the cover athletes, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios. He had a great run, but unfortunately, he lost in the final to the iconic tennis star, Novak Djokovic. While this happened, wouldn’t it be great to be able to recreate your own Wimbledon? Perhaps Matchpoint – Tennis Championships has an answer to that.
If you are a tennis fanatic, you would surely enjoy the idea of playing a tennis game, especially near the actual tournament. It’s usually a good idea to release sports games when it’s nearing, during, or even after a sports tournament or season. It gets players into a mood where they’d want to play it even more because of the motivation from watching the real-life athletes perform.
Matchpoint – Tennis Championships invites you to play as some of your favourite tennis stars. Even if you are a casual or not much of a tennis fan, this is a game you could at least give a go. Do not worry about paying for it; this game is one of the games you can download on Xbox Game Pass, so there will be no feeling of regret if you end up not liking the game.
Tennis is a trendy sport. It is one of the most popular sports in the world. However, when it comes to the games, the execution in recent years has a lot to be desired. Here’s the thing: Is there a tennis game that can make this sports gaming category somewhat more interesting? With the arrival of this game, you will hope the answer is yes, with the assistance of some improvements or some originality to the other related games.
Arguably, the toughest challenge for any simulation developer is for their game to be as realistic as possible. Meaning having the sensation of what the professionals go through and the experience of playing in real-life tennis matches. Matchpoint – Tennis Championships also had to cope with such a challenge. With the level of hype this game had gotten before the release on a next-gen console, one would hope this one lives up to the task.
Matchpoint – Tennis Championships only has two playable offline modes and an online section where you can play ranked or unranked. There’s a quick play mode where you have exhibition matches and enjoy yourself freely with the roster, and you can either play by yourself or with a friend. Then there’s the career mode where you can have your own Wimbledon-like experience.
You will need to create your star and move up the ranks. The better you play, the better your rank. The career mode in Matchpoint – Tennis Championships is arguably the best aspect of the game, which sadly isn’t saying much. You go through several intense matches and improve your rank. The lack of game modes is worrying and takes this game down a few notches. If there is a lack of content, chances are that you will lose interest in a game. At this time, this isn’t the case, but I expect that it will be soon.
Matchpoint – Tennis Championships‘ gameplay is the most authentic I have experienced. We are getting closer to experiencing actual tennis matches. When playing, I felt I needed to pay closer attention to my opponent to orchestrate my next move and do it properly and quickly. By saying this, I couldn’t just strike the ball carelessly; I would need to place it accurately or risk gifting points to my opponent. You would see a red dot if you did not hit the ball properly. This is a good feature because it cautions you to play efficiently.
The controls take some time to learn in Matchpoint – Tennis Championships. It isn’t too complicated, but it isn’t very simple either. It would be best if you got used to the button layout eventually. The tutorial is pretty standard, and especially, you cannot proceed until you succeed in the steps. One thing you probably do not know is that you can study your opponent’s moves and tactics to your advantage.
It is a cool feature; it makes you feel like you’re in a real-life match and have to work hard to beat your opponent. However, sometimes they can change things up a bit, so you must pay close attention and expect the unexpected at all times.
Matchpoint – Tennis Championships’ graphics leave a lot to be desired. Sadly, there isn’t much I can say about them because I am not too impressed by them. When I am on this game, it does not feel like I am playing on a next-gen console. Although the gameplay is decent, I cannot say the same for the visuals. You would expect more detail, but this isn’t the case.
The models don’t look too impressive and need a lot of work. Some of them don’t look similar to the actual figures. The positives I can think of are the designs of the tennis courts. Stunning views, but the spectators look stiff.
Matchpoint – Tennis Championships’ audio is mixed. When you are in a match, you can feel like you are playing a tennis match. In real-life tennis games, you have to be silent during play as a spectator. But if a play stops or if, during play, it’s intense, you can hear the audience cheering or oohing.
As well as hearing the expressive screaming from the players as the plays get crazier. Good job from the developer on implementing these into the game to improve the gamer’s experience. Unfortunately, there are no soundtracks I could vibe to. You may as well lower the volume of the music; it won’t have any effect whatsoever.
Ultimately, Matchpoint – Tennis Championships is on the right track. The gameplay is probably the best tennis experience you can get in a game. You enjoy vigorous matches and have the joy of the new ranking system based on how well you play.
However, there are too many holes for me to consider grinding out the game. Plus, having just two offline game modes is one of the reasons why I feel this game will have players getting bored sooner or later. And the online mode isn’t better. A game that has great potential shouldn’t go to waste. It would help a lot if there were to be more with an update.
Matchpoint – Tennis Championships is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Microsoft Windows. Also, follow our website for the latest gaming reviews.
