Full Ace Tennis Simulator Review - Serving Up A Cross-Court Winner

[ChaseB]

In comparison to some other sports, tennis fans may appear to be downright spoiled at...

Written By: Kevin Scott

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[Dirkk1974]

I have played Full Ace Tennis Simulator, but when I compare it with Tennis Elbow 2013 + mods then this game is clearly inferior. From my point of view, TE2013 + Mods is by far the best tennis game ever created. In addition, the developer also communicates extremely well with the community. Even after 8 years since its release, I still play the game regularly. I think that says a lot about how good this game is.

- 2D real tennis courts
- 60 levels of difficulty
- Real ATP Tour with all its real top players
- Most of the game is easily moddable
- Very good AI

The menu graphics are pure horror, but in the end it's the gameplay that matters. No other tennis game even comes close.

[JBulls]

First, a few corrections: The developer is Galactic Gaming Guild not Galactic Gaming Cloud.


Secondly the game was officially released in April of 2010. An updated & advanced version was subsequently released on Steam in early 2018.



I'd also like to touch on a few aspects of the game that was either not mentioned in the review or leaves out some details.


When it comes to having to choose which side you want to hit the ball with, you can configure the preparation to be automatic or manual like most other tennis games, the option to manually prepare gives it some extra depth not found elsewhere (as far as I'm aware).


Now for the big feature; you mentioned not having licensed players in the game, indeed as a small time indie developer including them would be cost prohibitive. BUT, you can edit the name of the players using EDITOR mode just like you can edit attributes.


If the above isn't enough then you can do more; much more. This game is designed to allow somewhat extensive modifications of characters by allowing custom textures for the clothes and racket plus you can create custom shot animations and grunts to match the real life counterparts. Utilize all these inbuilt mod friendly features and you can arguably achieve a closer likeness to real players than other titles, and indeed as the game gained popularity, the userbase has continued to grow and some of those avid users have banded together to create a mod package that emulates an exhaustive roster of everyone's favorite real life players and even retired legends, and more. The most recent available mod is version 1.3 which can be found here.



What really sets the game apart from every other game is the ball physics. If you've played tennis games over the years you may have noticed that in a lot of them the ball appears the float through the air or travel in seemingly straight lines at an oddly consistent pace. This problem seems to plague even modern tennis games and causes the gameplay to be dull and undynamic, basically making you feel like you're playing a game of the first ever video game: Pong. In contrast Full Ace nails this aspect, the physics are leaps and bounds more accurate than everything else in the market and thus allows for various different spins and trajectories giving you many more options for play style and tactics etc owing to that feeling of "fun". It even accounts for the various court surfaces. Clay feels like clay, grass feels like grass and of course, hardcourt feels like hardcourt. You can even adjust various aspects of it manually by court surface and per venue.


This is an otherwise excellent review but if one wants to experience this game to its fullest potential they'd be crazy not to try the community made mod.

[opium788]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

In comparison to some other sports, tennis fans may appear to be downright spoiled at... Written By: Kevin Scott Click here to view the article.

Tennis world 2 is far better than this simulator.

[rotcar]

This game definitely feels the most realistic I have ever played, its variations in height and power of the ball allow you to have to position yourself well to land better shots. You have a learning curve trying to improve your technique.
Really feel playing like a real tennis player, when you miss a shot you know it's your fault, when you land a winning shot you feel satisfaction. You can build plays during the rally, it is not as fast as the TE game, where in that game the reaction matters more.

Keep getting updates regularly.
Above all, the Mod that the community creates allows us to see how realistic it can be, with its animations to emulate tennis players and court textures.

For me it is the best tennis that currently exists on the market.

[capa]

Does this game have over extended rallies? The 2 games out disappoint me since there seem to be few unforced errors. If I watch a cpu vs cpu match, I can see 20-25 hit rallies...it's crazy...same thing if I play the cpu.

C

[MJ200]

Quote: Originally Posted by capa

Does this game have over extended rallies? The 2 games out disappoint me since there seem to be few unforced errors. If I watch a cpu vs cpu match, I can see 20-25 hit rallies...it's crazy...same thing if I play the cpu. C

No it doesnt. Which is why I want it on consoles. Ive watched youtube videos of this game and its the only game with any type of unforced errors.
I also like the backspin drop shots ive seen in videos.

[Pappy Knuckles]

I've been playing this game for about a year and I love it. My only real issue with it is that the running animations look kind of strange, but everything about how it plays feels great. I'm glad to see this getting an OS review.