AO International Tennis Reviews

There are a lot of things to like about AO Tennis, unfortunately, the gameplay isn't one of those things. It has no vibration function, this alone makes the gameplay inferior to TS4, the only time the controller vibrates is when you have really bad timing, it should be the other way around. The reach animations are awful net play is awful and player movement is average at best, you use the same stick to move your player AND aim your shots, this makes it very difficult to hit certain shots from certain positions. The timing window is erratic and inconsistent, especially on higher difficulty levels, the light flashes on and off every split second, making it virtually impossible to time the ball consistently, this makes the gameplay on higher difficulty levels extremely frustrating, they managed to copy TS4's crappy replay system, so I can't understand why they couldn't copy the timing system also. Graphics aren't bad, but they aren't great either, the lighting is good, the colors are vivid but the players and courts are lacking in detail. Every player looks the same from the neck down, there are no wrinkles in clothes, no dirt on shoes, no slide marks on clay courts, The male players kinda look like bobbleheads, with large heads and small bodies. Customization options are good, You can create your own stadiums and tournaments, there are no licensed outfits to choose from when creating a player, just a couple of generic styles that you can design any way you want, AO Tennis really gives you a lot of freedom in the customization dept, for this reason, it's currrent price and the fact that there are no other viable options on this platform, I recommend only to the biggest tennis fans.

player control is difficult to manage ...Virtua tennis is a lot better with more control on the players shots. don't recommend this game...can i get a refund?

I agree, the gameplay is diferent, but with a little time you wil be ok, and the fun will come, believe me. I play Top Spin 4, 3 and 2. The visual is very good, the editor is ok. If you want to win, use the drop shot and Lob, they are amazing. I give 8/10.

Waiting for so long for a tennis game I began pretty easy enthusiastic about my first feelings with this game. I streamed more than ten hours thinking that I already need to readjust my way of play from all the classic oldies and thought that I would need to play from lower difficult level to learn. I must say I like to play always at maximum difficult while I'm learning. So after one litle touch on legend, I tried the rookie mode. Thought that I was catched the gameplay tricks so I upgraded my level to amateur,it was fun, I was begining to enjoy it but soon this level got boring me a lot. I jumped to veteran in competition mode and my gameplay was succesfull. Started a career mode in veteran and I began to get frustrated when I understood that it wasn't the difficulty level, it was not about me being exahusted after the first ten hours of gameplay. No guys, I began to notice that was my hype flying away from the reality. In career mode you will notice soon that the game it's not well documented, not so well designed as you think at a first sight, you notice that you can not aim your shots correctly, that the point shot never helps and never means anything close to accurate, you aim in green and the ball goes out the line, you get red point and the ball get's inside, sometimes far to the left other to the right of the point shot. All that you thought to get learned playing in veteran or legend in competition mode got you crazy when you start a career mode with the same player. Then you get into the training label (Usually I don't like the trainers) and you found a boring timemachine bomb training system where your players starts always in the worst position in the arena (this happens for example training your drop shots), you have a limited time to complete the trainings and you really got the idea that you never played a tennis game before. You cannot point correctly your services shots if you don get your pointer shot after you have been taking care about your stamina, less than a second before you drop the ball. Your player simply cannot run and get the ball if you don't use the power shot and when you think your player runs you are just simply snaping where the game lets you to snap. The game decides for you when you don't have any option to get a ball, it's like saying to you: "Hey guy, this shot it's gonna be a wining, just don't move". You don't have any option to try to respond to an ace ball, if its just an ace you will be snaped like an idiot in a far position. The other bad point in this game it's the controls, you have unrealistic options preconfigured that you can not change, you can not use like for example using RS for your shoots. When you move your player (when you snap your player in fact) and get in a good position to get the ball you won't have time to aim in most of the situations, you'll be restricted to use RB+x or RB+B, if you don't you won't ever get the ball. The graphics looks good, good optimization, but when you play in night got bad and worst framerates. You cannot change graphics settings when you are playing so gameover with bad fps. I don't see the point about personalizing your player and being able to set all of your skills at 100%! That's ridiculous if you are going to play online. About career mode I would understand that you would have to improve some of your skils when you choose a player with a poor ranking position, but when you want to start a career with a number 3 with the skills really deprecated you'll waste your time if you play the career in veteran or legend mode. Finally, twenty hours later I have found this game is unplayable for enjoy it if you like career mode and maximum dificulty, down from veteran you will think you are learning the tricks but in fact you've been helped by the iA for play. You will get some fun at pro, amateur and rookie, but soon your opponents will got you bored in the arena. I don't think this could be fixed in following updates, I am a quiet sure it's about a bad desing of the gameplay and that is really sad. I will finish saying that I really believe the developers has put a lot of love and efforts designing this game, but the mechanics I'm so sorry guys, but are pretty pretty wrong for playing a tennis game. I began to play tennis games in 1998 and was waiting for a new game too badly. ;-)

This is so, so, so much better than Tennis World Tour (45/100), it plays in a different league. AO really captures the essence of tennis. Rallies feel close to reality (I'm a real world player). Presentation is nice with good atmosphere, sound and decent graphics. Of course its not perfect (net play needs improvement) but really if you are into tennis, buy this game. Bigger community is needed because its hard to find players online, guess its due to bad initial reviews but this game has come pretty far since release. Developers are listening and constantly improving. It's already very good and might become a classic. 79/100

I have been waiting for a good tennis game since topspin 4 and when this came out I heard awful things about it. After reading up and seeing that it had many large updates changing the game nearly entirely I decided to buy it. After a small learning curve which was probably due to me being used to Topspin 4 all these years I can say that this game plays better than topspin, the only element I didn't like was the fatigue system but you can simply turn it off. Some parts here and there seem a little janky but it plays very well, the service system is nearly identical to topspin 4, rallying is a bit different due to the aiming system but I think it's better. The backhand animations are good (especially one-handed backhands) and the animation will change depending on the height of the ball. generic forehand animations could use a little work for example when a player needs to load up and flatten out a high bouncing ball for a winner it still looks the same (unlike topspin 4) but it doesn't effect gameplay. Unlike topspin 4 you don't get punished for volleying but I have found the player will often volley with two hands which is annoying, Rare shots like the Backhand smash and skyhook smashes look very good although the transition animation into the smashes could use some work. I also found that after rushing the net my player got jammed and had to play a half volley between the legs, the animation was seemless and impressed me and I was able to replay it using the replay system that functions nearly the same as nba2k which is great if you want to replay a sweet shot. There's plenty of game modes and although there aren't many current players you can download community made ones that look great and even have their branded kit which is cool. You can run around the ball for an inside out (or inside in) forehand using LT which is great and it works better than it does in Topspin 4. The challenge system is cool and works pretty well. I could not for the life of me figure out how to use the PlayFace feature, everytime I put a face on my character the photo would be sideways or really streached, there's probably a way to fix it but I couldn't find a tutorial. if I rated topspin 4 at 80/100 then AO International Tennis would get 85/100

Gameplay It feels pretty smooth and direct, Stops and Lobs are not complicated to achieve with a bit of training, only the Power-Topspin seems a bit too strong, but the AI also seems sometimes too flawless on higher difficulties so it evens it out a little. Content The name-giving Australian Open is one the Highlights of the game, featuring 3 real life tennis courts and trophies, playable with a Pro or custom player. The standard career mode, which you can start with either a custom character and work up the 1000 Ranks to the top or play with a Pro, lets you do training sessions and exhibition matches, complete with a little fatigue system which might force you to rest for a week. As with most Tennis Games, you only get a select few Pros, but in AO you actually have an integrated Mod Community where People upload there own Players, Stadiums and Logos, making it probably the most comprehensive player roster of any tennis game if you so choose. Graphics the player models look pretty good in motion, with smooth animations and good textures, with maybe the final touch lacking to realism. The original Courts look as you would expect, with crowds, ballboys, referees included and even cameramen, with some of the community courts going all out with details. the game also runs super smooth at the highest settings. Conclusion If you thirst for a Tennis Game with modern visuals and accessible gameplay this is the game for you. Even the now regular price is now fine.Enjoy

Looked forward to this game, as a really good Tennis game hasn't been released for PC in years, the development team looked professional, put a lot of work into this, the concept, ideas, all great, the gameplay itself is god awful. Movement of your player is the worst in any tennis game ive played, its so slow, sluggish and you can't play the game properly, the aim circle is the worst mechanical part of the game. Maybe put more effort into the game play itself rather than features and you might have a winner, features can be added later, gameplay is everything, and for the price tag on this game i expect much better. For those reasons alone i can't recommend it and cant play on.

I'm going to tell you why AO International Tennis is an awesome game, and why it's had so many bad reviews that no longer apply. As a big fan of Top Spin 4, I'm also going to make a number of comparisons with that game. I bought this game a few days ago after doing a lot of research and it was apparent to me as to why the game had so many bad reviews, but IS NOW a game worth buying; the game at launch was bad, but over the past year has been patched up and is now good. It's as simple as that. Any issues with the game that still exist, just aren't dramatic enough to steer you away from it. Gameplay: At first I didn't feel the gameplay was as natural as TS4. I needed the visual targeting to hit the ball in and it just didn't feel as nice as TS4. However, after a few days of practice, I've turned targeting off and now I find the rhythm is much more natural. You just need practice. It's more challenging than TS4 but I find that makes it more realistic. I even know when my shot is going out because I can just sense that I overdid it with power, or angle. You can just "feel" it. The animations are more varied than TS4, but less fluid. TS4 wins in that department but overall it doesn't ruin the game. I do have one minor complaint that on the very rare occasion, my player may not respond, or even swing at the ball when I want. Career: AO is far more challenging and has more depth than TS4. Money is earned through winning and sponsorship deals, and it's used to level up your player. It takes more work than in TS4, but it's not too draining. Initially your low rank stops you from competing in major tournaments. You'll need to earn the right to qualify for them. Your skills (eg. backhand slice) will have a maximum cap on them, but you can increase that cap through "Training", which is much like doing tutorials in TS4, but it's not a drag to do and you can retry if you fail the objective. Fatigue is more relevant in AO as it not only contributes to your match performances, but can also carry over to following tournaments. Each week you will need to decide if your player will Rest, Train or Compete in a tournament (or exhibition match for rewards). You can begin Career mode with a freshly created player with low skills, or start with a Pre-Made player (either made by you or pre-set) with high skills. A Pre-Made player will enter with an appropriately higher rank. Pre-set and Player Creation: Whilst the game has a lot of present players, only Nadal and Osaka are included as far as big names go, but don't be alarmed if you want to be Federer. AO has an in-game community sharing feature that allows you to download players that other people have created, and trust me; all the famous players are available and it only takes a few seconds to search and download. You can also insert those downloaded players into all game modes as opponents... so you can kick Federer's butt. You can also modify downloaded players so if the user that made your Federer made him too invincible, make him weaker. If you hate Serena and you want her to lose a lot... make her crap. Customisation: The Player Creator is as good as it gets. Facial features match TS4 but also allows for using face capture... or something... I don't really know how that part works but people have put it to good use as user made versions of real players are amazing in regards to the likeness. There's not a lot of outfit shapes, but the real beauty with making outfits comes from using decals/logos to create original prints. These decals can be created in-game, imported from .svg files, or downloaded from the community and there are thousands of them. Besides the obvious outfit options, you can also customise your racquets and racquet bags. If you want to be decked out in Adidas gear, go ahead. If you prefer to have a Run DMC logo, go for it. How about some cutesy animal logo? Why not. Let your imagination run free (or download other peoples imagination). Just don't turn an Adidas logo into a Cannabis logo. It'll get censored. I know from experience. My bad. You can also create your own stadiums and plaster Cannabis sponsorship all over the place. So overall I love this game. I've wanted a new tennis game for years but all the options out there seemed crap, until I found AO. Soooo glad with my purchase. ★★★★★★★★★✰

Sigh, as a frequent player of tennis games and a lover of the sport (check my record for Tennis Elbow, I have had similar playtimes for Top Spin 3,4 and the Virtua Tennis and Smash Court Tennis series) I was really hoping that both AO Tennis and Tennis World Tour were finally going to bring tennis to the next gen. Alas sadly Ao Tennis falls incredibly short on a number of fronts and I cannot recommend the game in it's current state. Starting with the most crucial element, gameplay. It's janky and frustrating and bemusing at times to control. You want to feel that you have control over the limbs of the player, that when you prepare for whatever shot you're about to play that your in control of the preparation of leading up to that shot. AO Tennis doesn't afford you this, it's very much snapping you into position consistently, it's very much rushed uncontrolled movements to the ball and then there's little difference over the type of shot that's hit. There's no distinction, there's no tacticity in the ball you play and how that affects your opponent. It's all just a bit samey and with the other gameplay "authentic" tennis games such as Full Ace and Tennis Elbow, the distinction in the shot is why those games look and play more like real tennis rallies. Graphics wise, models are decently detailed on the highest settings and there's an appreciation around the detail in the stadiums and the crowds. However, I guess what you are going to be judged on in a sports game, especially tennis is the representation of the characters you are simulating. The animation is lacking a lot of polish, instead of stretching for a ball, the player just teleports and really kills the immersion as well as make the gameplay that more frustrating. Addtionally, the actual pro animations themselves I think are lacking as well. Yeah it's Rafa making his trademark forehand but there's no nuances between the different types of shots that he plays or any sort of variety whatsoever. I do however, commend the devs for putting the tools in place allowing players to mod the game in terms of the creation of players, stadiums and logos and for actually implementing this eco-system into the core game itself making it reusable in a majority of modes on offer. I believe if they opened this up to animations and being able to tweak and modify the gameplay then there could be significant improvements made to this game if the community backs it hard enough. As it currently stands however, the gameplay and partly the presentation is what let's this game down. There is enough variety in the modes offered and a pretty deep career mode supplemented by a rocking eco system that really makes this game interesting from the outside. But the gameplay ultimately is too jerky, too clunky and is way too frustrating to ultimately see past to recommend this game. With more fluidty in the way that it plays would go an incredibly long way in terms of making it an ideal purchase. (See Tennis Elbow if you want to see a mix between fludity, realism and simulation, it marries this perfectly)