Activision Tennis

[ewomack]

Ok, it's more or less glorified pong with more compicated rules, but I CAN'T STOP PLAYING IT!!!

 

WHY!?!? WHY!?!!? HOW CAN I GET ADDICTED TO A GAME I PLAYED BEFORE I HAD FACIAL HAIR!?!?!?

 

Whoa... I'm freakin' out!

[Gregory DG]

Can't stop playing it? Is that because the frickin' point never ends?! Grrr....

[rockman_x_2002]

Personally, I've always preferred Realsports Tennis, although I never owned the Activision Tennis game back when. I have played it on emulation and recent Atari collections and whatnot... just seems like Realsports Tennis has better graphics and is slightly more polished and it seems like I'm able to get my bearing a bit better in that game, thanks to the wider court perspective.

[StanJr]

You can't stop playing because it is wonderful simple fun. I can recall a particularly joyous snow day I spent in the sixth grade playing nothing but Tennis and Armor Ambush.

 

Good for you. Good for Tennis

[jpfalcon2003]

Realsports tennis is definitely the better of the two. Better graphics and you can even put your own name.

[Lord Thag]

I like 'em both. Fun is fun, even when it's simple.

[Foxsolo2000]

Ok, it's more or less glorified pong with more compicated rules, but I CAN'T STOP PLAYING IT!!!

 

WHY!?!? WHY!?!!? HOW CAN I GET ADDICTED TO A GAME I PLAYED BEFORE I HAD FACIAL HAIR!?!?!?

 

Whoa... I'm freakin' out!

 

Beats me

[skylarking]

I love simple tennis games. I'm also a big fan of 'Tennis' on the NES. I have 'Andre Agassi Tennis' for the Sega Master System, but that's a bit too complicated.

[RJ]

I've neever played the actual Activision cart, but it's one of a few games on PS2 Activision Anthology I knowI'll never get the patch for.

[godzillajoe]

While it's no Tennis 2K2 for the Dreamcast, it's still a fun game to break out when a friend comes over. And unlike T2K2, there's no learning curve so anyone can play it right away. But I gotta say, RealSports gets the nod because it's essentially the same game but better looking. Still, for its time, it was a great game and being a huge tennis fan and player as a kid, I played the hell out of it.

[D.Yancey]

Diff A makes it pretty challenging against the computer if you let the player 2 switch stay on B. You cannot hit the really sharp angles. Who can beat the computer using this setup and how long did it take you approximately? I'm writing about Activision Tennis, not realsports version.

Edited November 11, 2006 by D.Yancey

[ewomack]

Hm. I haven't tried the more dificult setting. I assume the games would sprawl on forever.

 

I'll need to check out Realsports Tennis and nurture another retro addiction (I do remember liking volleyball quite a bit). Thanks for the suggestion!

 

By the way, I played Activision Tennis again today and beat the (easy) computer 6-0. I'll have to increase the difficulty settings and watch my blood pressure rise.

[Crazy Climber]

I have to admit that 2600 sports titles have not aged well for me, tennis included. I loved playng them when I was younger with other kids in the neighborhood but now I'll play a round or two purely for nostalgia. Kind of like Pac-Man

[Foxsolo2000]

Diff A makes it pretty challenging against the computer if you let the player 2 switch stay on B. You cannot hit the really sharp angles. Who can beat the computer using this setup and how long did it take you approximately? I'm writing about Activision Tennis, not realsports version.

 

 

I had forgotten all about that. Tried it out and it really does make a difference

[D.Yancey]

I have to admit that 2600 sports titles have not aged well for me, tennis included. I loved playng them when I was younger with other kids in the neighborhood but now I'll play a round or two purely for nostalgia. Kind of like Pac-Man

 

But one ingriedient for fun is missing---the second live player to challenge you.

[Foxsolo2000]

I have to admit that 2600 sports titles have not aged well for me, tennis included. I loved playng them when I was younger with other kids in the neighborhood but now I'll play a round or two purely for nostalgia. Kind of like Pac-Man

 

But one ingriedient for fun is missing---the second live player to challenge you.

 

 

I agree, in all games the unpredicability of the second player is half the fun alone

[Crazy Climber]

I have to admit that 2600 sports titles have not aged well for me, tennis included. I loved playng them when I was younger with other kids in the neighborhood but now I'll play a round or two purely for nostalgia. Kind of like Pac-Man

 

But one ingriedient for fun is missing---the second live player to challenge you.

You are absolutly correct!

I had a party a little while ago and one of my friends I used to play RS Baseball was there. We popped it in and played for hours, he still couldn't beat me, just like the old days Even people who were not familiar with the game were playing it and enjoying it. Two players makes all the difference, looking back I don't think I ever played any of the Sports titles solo anyways. I try to get my girlfriend to play Atari but she doesn't get it.............she owned a ColecoVision growing up so I guess thats why she's all screwed up in the head when it comes to what's cool with classic games Hope she doesn't read this

[Room 34]

RealSports Tennis may look better, but I think Activision Tennis plays better, and c'mon, it's Atari, so that's what really counts. (Who cares if you can enter your initials?)

 

I've always prefered Activision Tennis, mainly because I actually owned it as a kid (and remember, it came out first). It was one of the very few sports games that I actually liked playing and still do.

[+Psionic]

I've neever played the actual Activision cart, but it's one of a few games on PS2 Activision Anthology I knowI'll never get the patch for.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Boo.

[D.Yancey]

I've neever played the actual Activision cart, but it's one of a few games on PS2 Activision Anthology I knowI'll never get the patch for.

 

I think it is set to diff A by default on PS2 and it's also easy to switch it back to A while you're playing without noticing. This makes it extremely difficult. Barnstorming was the same way, IIRC.

[128bytes]

I have loved the gameplay of Activision Tennis since it first came out. I remember hearing an interview with the game designer on the radio, and as soon as I heard how much care went in to making it play realistically, and that the game even had a drop shadow, I was hooked.

 

I think the gameplay on Activision Tennis is just as good as on Virtua Tennis for the PSP (both are very fun). I don't think the gameplay has aged poorly at all - possibly the least of any 2600 sports game! And I agree that Activision Tennis has better gameplay mechanics than RealSports tennis.

Edited November 14, 2006 by 128bytes

[Room 34]

Well, the shadow is the only way you have any sense of where the ball actually is, so I'm sure it was more of a necessity than "eye candy." (Still... it's cool they were able to do it, and regardless of WHY it's there, it DOES look cool.)

[Foxsolo2000]

Well, the shadow is the only way you have any sense of where the ball actually is, so I'm sure it was more of a necessity than "eye candy." (Still... it's cool they were able to do it, and regardless of WHY it's there, it DOES look cool.)

 

I agree. The shadow on the ball was way ahead of its time and I always remember watching it with something akin to awe. The designers at Activision certainly knew how to pull that little bit more out of the humble 2600

[godzillajoe]

OK after playing both of them today, I gotta give the nod to RealSports.

 

Not only does it play better with the ability to hit lobs and smashes along with just plain old forehand and backhand volleying but you get to play 3 sets instead of just one with Activision AND enter your name.

 

No comparison really.

 

Activision it's all the same shot and the only thing that changes is the angle.