GENRE
	Sports
	DEVELOPER
	Camelot
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-4
	CONTROLLER PAK
	no
	RUMBLE PAK
	yes
	RAM PAK
	no
	BUY NOW AT

Camelot has done something really special with their sports line up for the N64. As it turns out, Mario Tennis and Mario Golf are perfect representations of two different styles of gameplay. Of course, the sports that they simulate obviously affect the gameplay. However, it's amazing to see that Mario Golf is one of the best single player games I've ever played with incredible depth, learning curve and so much more. At the same time, Mario Tennis is one of the most addictive 4 player multiplayer games to grace the N64. I find it to be an incredible achievement that this software house has managed to expertly craft two games with two different philosophies in mind.

While I found the single player mode a little light on depth when compared to Mario Golf, if you enjoy party games and more of a "pick-up-and-play" attitude than Mario Tennis is for you. There's something for beginners to experts here and as I mentioned before, Mario Tennis is a killer party game.

visuals

Camelot has Eurocom's NFL Blitz philosophy in mind here. They don't overdo the polys in the interest of framerate speed and functionality. Don't get me wrong, there's enough detail that you can distinguish Mario from Donkey Kong, but don't expect Acclaim-stylized hi res detail.

Having said that, the graphics serve a solid, functional purpose as well. With different colored ball streaks indicating if you've hit a slice or volley, and stars to guide your smashes, you simply can't get anything visually confused in this game. You'll find all of the in-game menus easy to read and helpful during gameplay and the instant replays are well-crafted with some dynamic shots as well.

One of the disappointing graphical points was the lack of really varied camera angles. It would have been nice to dial in some sideline cams or a kind of angle from the crowd. Something to think about for Mario Cube Tennis I guess.

audio

It's cool to hear the little grunts of the players as they play away. Some of the players are a tad annoying, though. You can only hear a grunt so many times before you turn up your Led Zepplin albums to 11 while playing. The music is typical mascot fanfare and is nice and fluffy like a good roll of toilet paper. I wish the game had some cool taunts like in Mario Golf. This would have really added to the experience. I could picture Wario saying something to the effect of "69 to love." Too bad there wasn't enough dev time to add this feature.

gameplay

The meat of the matter. Anybody can pick up this game and play away. But like most Nintendo games, it takes time to master the intricacies of the game as well. For instance, certain combinations of the A and B buttons make different shots.

By the way, you only use the A and B buttons through the whole game. While I agree that this makes the gameplay rather functional and easy to pick up on, I have to admit that there is one button missing in this game. The DIVE button. I would imagine that the Z trigger would have made an excellent reach or Dive button. After all, what's tennis without a good dive here and there?

Despite this, there are some neat additions, like the power shot, in which you hold down the button to fire up a harder blast at your opponent. Very nice. All in all, the gameplay was designed to faclitate multiplayer play where anyone can pick up the game and play. Camelot succeeded at this and added enough control depth for the hardcore gamer.

The play modes include exhibition, tournament, ring, bowser, plant shooter thingies and some special matches. I believe that this is where the sinlge player mode suffers. Where Mario Golf had a VARIETY of different games, Mario Tennis seems a tad shallow in comparison. Now I don't expect a Mini Golf circuit in this game, but something unique would have been cool. Like volleying the ball into different areas of the court to spell a word or something?

The one mode that really doesn't come off well is the Bowser mode. There's just too much going on at once for the cout to make sense. Perhaps if there were just one power up at a time to fight for it would have worked better.

Another thing that I enjoyed about Mario Golf was the challenge of unlocking the players in head to head competition. The challenge mode or get character mode was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Camelot pretty much gives you all of the players except for a few. This also limits the replay and "gotta play it" feel of the game.

Regardless, the normal tennis action is outstanding.

multiplayer

Put simply, outstanding. This game competes with games solely designed for multiplayer. You've got to pick this thing up and invite some friends over. It is seriously as addictive as Goldeneye.

overall

Outstanding game. I wish there was a little more depth in the single player game, but hey, the multiplayer action is totally unstoppable. A dive button would have been nice as well but nothing's perfect. Not even Mario. In the meantime, Camelot has proved once again that it is a premiere developer of incredibly fun sports titles. I can't wait for the GB version of this bad boy!

9.1/10