Fore!!!! I Mean Deuce!

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Camelot Buy Now

Not only does Mario like meatballs but he likes

them tennis balls as well. Hey, Mario just flat 

out likes balls. Mario Tennis probably amounts

to the biggest all star cast of any Mario game

to date with such greats as Shy Guy, Birdo, 

Boo and Koopa Troopa. The games easy interface

is a nice way to get things started, especially for

keggers. 

Control

Is this any surprise? The controls in this game

are spot on perfect rivaled only by all of the

other Nintendo greats. The game uses the A

and B buttons to deliver a variety of tennis 

maneuvers such as slices, top spin and lobs. 

Shots can also be charged up for extra power

by holding either A or B. Each character has his

or her own strengths and weaknesses. Mario and Luigi

are all around characters, Peach and Daisy possess great

technique, Bowser and DK rock in the strength area and

so on. 

Gameplay

It's hard to make an interesting tennis game that

can keep a players interest for a long period 

of time. Mario Tennis adds replay value by throwing in 

various gameplay modes. In one game players 

must hit the tennis balls through each set of rings

in order to accumulate points. The best feature

of this gem is the 4 player mode which will be the 

real draw of this game. I can't remember having 

this much fun since Mario Kart 64. Matches are fast

and furious and very balanced. Make no mistake, Mario

Tennis is multiplayer through and through. 

Sound

Mario's latest outing includes the typical upbeat 

music that we have all grown to love. Some old

favorites make reappearances this time around such

as the DK theme and the original Mario theme.

Graphics

Compared to it's rival, Virtua Tennis, MT falls a little

short due to the  speed and details in the game.

The game doesn't have great character polygon

counts but the visual effects are quite astounding.

It would have been hard for the N64 to have highly

detailed characters AND move at the pure speed

it does. I rarely noticed the game drop below

30 frames a second even in multiplayer mode.

Great Nintendo-esque graphics that provide

that fantastic Nintendo appeal.

Overall: 80%

-Evil Romero