Reviewed: November 4, 2002
Reviewed by: Loki

Publisher
Ubisoft

Developer
Hokus-Pokus

Released: October 15, 2002
Genre: Sports
Players: 4
ESRB: Everyone

5
6
6
5
5.2

Supported Features:
GBA Link Cable

I haven’t played tennis since high school, but you will often find me annihilating anyone who dares challenge me to a ping-pong game. There’s a little less running and I can actually play ping-pong with a beer in one hand and a paddle in the other.

Since no one has seen fit to release a ping-pong game for the GBA I recently had the opportunity to play and review Davis Cup Tennis; the next best thing…sorta. The last tennis game I played was Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast and while I enjoyed that game tremendously, this title paled in comparison to it’s big-screen predecessor.

One would think the GBA would be the perfect platform for tennis; after all, tennis is basically an advanced form of “pong” suitable for handheld game devices. And with the linking cable support you can challenge up to three friends (or strangers if you will) to a rousing singles or doubles match.

Davis Cup Tennis is an easy-to-pick-up, arcade-style tennis game that recreates the thrill of tennis and the 2002 Davis Cup Tournament. Enter a battle among tennis legends - where only one country can claim the sport's most coveted prize of all - the Davis Cup. With over 140 nations battling to possess the Silver Trophy, the biggest war of the tennis world is now in your hands.

Davis Cup Tennis Features:

  • Tennis Dream Teams - Handpick, train, and captain your own national team of tennis all-stars from over 142 countries
  • Build Tennis Legends - Gain experience points for your players' serve, speed, return, and accuracy - then pit your best players against your friends
  • Easy-to-pick-up gameplay for both casual and hardcore gamers
  • 3 different game modes including Quick Game and Davis Cup Tournament
  • 1-4 player multiplayer via the Game Boy Advance Game Link cable
  • Realistic court surfaces including clay, carpet, and grass, each with their own characteristics
  • Based on the official 2002 Davis Cup rules, regulations, and tournament structure
  • The only tennis game on the Game Boy Advance system endorsed by the International Tennis Federation
Davis Cup Tennis falls victim to the limitations of its very own title. Aside from the actual tournament there is very little gameplay or features to be found in this title. Sure, you have the Quick Play mode for instant one-on-on single game action, and there are the multiplayer modes. The only problem there is that this game is so “light” that you will have trouble finding others to invest in their own copy, which is required for link-play.

Aside from the Davis Cup name there is no other recognizable names to be found. No players were licensed for this title and there is a glaring omission of any female players, real or fictional. I’m sorry, but Anna Kournikova has become synonymous with tennis (at least for me and a few hundred thousand other healthy males).

The biggest problem with Davis Cup is its simplistic gameplay that borders on being incredibly boring. The only requirement for you successfully returning the ball is having your player in the right place at the right time. You can control the aim and type of shot (hard or lob) but advanced moves like “spiking” the ball if you are close enough to the net have been omitted.

There is also some notable physics issues regarding the ball and how it travels. Sure, it reacts differently based on the type of court, but regardless of clay, grass, carpet, or whatever, the ball just never “feels” right.

Despite the poor physics the game looks quite nice and features some 3D visuals that capture the court in perspective and includes nicely animated tennis players that scale according to their distance to the camera.

The Mode 7 engine is used to combine the 3D courts with an abundance of courtside objects, and each object features realistic shadows creating some very pleasing visuals. The various court surfaces are accurately reproduced with appropriate colors and shading, but in the grand picture, the graphics are merely as stale as the gameplay.

There is some synthesized music that resembles some whacked out blend of jazz and obscure techno riffs. I found it terribly annoying after my third game and tuned it out to appreciate the excellent sound effects. There is some very nice speech included, mainly with the judge making the various calls as the game progresses. These samples are the highlight of the audio portion of Davis Cup.

The core of this title is the Davis Cup mode, which can be rather time consuming. There is a nice cartridge save feature, but you are still required to finish an entire match before you can take advantage of it. Since matches consist of several games each you may find yourself having to quit the game before you are at a place where you can save.

If you are a hardcore tennis lover and don’t have another system to play tennis on then this might be an acceptable option, and if you have friends who are willing to get their own copy the multiplayer doubles or singles game modes are a welcome addition that extends the life of this sports title.

Davis Cup Tennis fails to innovate or take tennis anywhere beyond the very basics of the sport. Sports fans looking for a simple approach to tennis may appreciate this title but all others will probably want to pass on this one.