Davis Cup Tennis

~ DAVIS CUP TENNIS ~

Loriciel / NEC

HuCard

1991

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed watching and playing tennis, so I made sure to pick up both this and World Court. I've never liked WC, as I absolutely hate its gameplay, but DC was good fun right from the start, and I still enjoy it today. I like the relatively realistic feel and presentation that it offers. I also get a kick out of ascending through the ranks, improving my attributes, and playing at Grand Slam events against "real" players of the time. (It doesn't take a genius to figure out whom "Ivan," "Boris," "Mats," "John," and "Jimmy" are meant to represent, and even lesser players from the era, like "Aaron," are included.)

I've read numerous complaints about this game over the years, and most of them concern the alleged infallibility of the computer-controlled players and describe situations where points go on forever because the opposition rarely blunders. I think that most of the folks who voice these complaints haven't read the instruction manual. It's true that if you play a lower-ranked opponent and simply swat the ball back and forth with him, the points can go on forever. But DC allows you to use so many different shots and techniques that points should never degenerate into such ridiculous affairs. And as you rise through the ranks, the computer-controlled players begin utilizing different techniques and strategies as well.

If anything, it's a bit too easy to march through tournaments and climb to #1. But two-player mode offers plenty of fun once that point is reached.

You can partake in various training exercises to work on certain skills, but your player's abilities are actually adequate right at the beginning.

Plenty of options involving court surface, number of players, and other such things are available.

Some players, like "John," love to charge the net and try to serve-and-volley you to death. Lob the ball over their heads.

Other bums hang back by the base line and play conservatively. Charge the net yourself and surprise them with a drop shot.

IvaNEC meets Ivan... and wins in convincing fashion.