Tennis 2K2

"Anna! Anna! Anna! Anna! Navratilova? Fine, DJosef, you can have Martina, and I’ll have Anna!"

Anna Kournikova has the crowd cheering when she bends over to pick up a ball. Anna Kournikova has the crowd cheering when she stands up again. She’s the Russian version of Kathie Lee Gifford, except for infinitely more attractive; The tabloids still can’t get enough of her in spite of her inability to win a tournament. (Kind of like Tim Henman, except for his coverage is directly correlated to his inability to win.) Anna Kournikova, referred to by some with outlandish nicknames like Pornikova, pursued by dueling NHL greats Pavel Bure and Sergei Fedorov, and the most downloaded athlete on the internet . . . is not in this game.

I know what you’re thinking. Why the hell should you play a tennis game without Anna Kournikova in it? Well, that’s a good question indeed, but don’t worry. When you create your World Tour character you can build a very close facsimile, name her ‘Kournikova’ and be on your way. You can even dress her up in stylish, revealing tennis skirts and dresses. For one time in your life, you can control reasonable-fascimle Anna. Besides, Jelena Dokic isn’t bad looking.

And think of how the other players would feel. Think about it: Mary Pierce is ugly when standing alone, but think how hideous she’d look next to virtual temptress Anna. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario is ten years older than her -- and she looks it too. Jealousy prevented Anna from participating in Tennis 2k2 (though strangely not from Namco’s competing tennis game). If Sega tells you it’s because she wanted exorbitant amounts of money, or it’s because she’s never won a tournament, don’t believe them for an instant. You now know the truth.

Besides, look at some of the ‘prizes’ in Sega’s lineup. Let’s take Alexandra Stevenson -- who fared well at exactly one tournament -- as an example. We all know the only reason she made it in is because she costs little or nothing for endorsements, and she’s the bastard child of Julius Erving. And not only did they have the audacity to include her over far more deserving players like Justine Henin and Martina Hingis, but when controlled by the computer she is superior to all other female players other than Venus Williams. Lucky Alexandra Stevenson being better than Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, and Monica Seles? Give me a break. The questionable AI extends to the other sex too. The top three male competitors are the fellow fluke Tommy Haas, the washed-up Patrick Rafter, and the absolutely ancient Cedric Pioline. The only two legitimate current contenders in the mix, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Tim Henman, get outclassed by these clowns unfairly.

Setting out to prove my theories of lineup conspiracy, I took virtual Anna Kournikova, and fellow created-because-they-left-him-out-player Goran Ivanisevic, and headed to the World Tour Mode, in which I was to display my dominance to the world. The only tennis game I’ve played before Tennis 2k2 was Mario Tennis, so it was a bad idea to waltz into a World Tour without practicing a bit first. The entire first year was a waste of time, with limited training thrown in between me getting my ass handed to me every tournament. By year two I -- the coach of Anna and Goran -- began to get the hang of the training exercises, and the statistics began rising. Anna mastered the footwork so well that she got the designation of ‘Fast Runner.’

In the third year, Anna and fellow Russian Goran, cracked the top two hundred, both finishing ranking at 180th. Now they could enter all level one and two tournaments, as well as the occasional level three, with a low ranking requirement. They bought extra racquets, membership passes for courts spanning the globe so that they could train there in other modes whenever they wanted, and Anna got shopping sprees at the stores spanning the globe, from Nomad to Equator, where she bought many revealing outfits that became progressively moreso.

The coach made some bold realizations while teaching Goran and Anna the latest serve techniques one day. This was the only sports game I had ever played in which I felt as if the players could actually kick my ass at the sport. I’ve always felt that I could barrel through defensive linemen in Madden, score over even Manute Bol in NBA 2k, and race circles around everyone in Gran Turismo. Well, I wouldn’t even face wimpy Magnus Norman in real life here. The technique, the form, hearing Serena Williams’ trademark grunts resonating through the room -- Tennis 2k2 had a ferocity that few games have.

The coach also realized that some clown in the press box had been playing the same crappy techno song for the past three years. It was always the same four measure bit, repeating over and over again. Why, if he weren’t too lazy to climb up the stairs and rip out the plug, that guy would pay. Instead, our resourceful educator just settled for turning the volume of the monotonous music way down, and giving that fiend headphones, so not to disturb Anna’s match with Jelena Dokic. Yes, this is a match I’d like to watch in peace.

He also realized that all of the tournaments left in the world were cheap knockoffs of Wimbledon, the U. S., French, and Australian Opens, as well as other major tournaments around the world. Naturally, Coach felt that Sega’s obsession with their bottom line was to blame, and he wanted to take the real Centre Court, and without Martina Navratilova’s petty whining on the TNT broadcasts at that. Alas, those dreams were ruined, but he could cart his players to various exotic locales around the world to compete and win money for the fold.

And, well, for Anna the more exotic the better. In fact, traditional practice routines bored Anna and Goran so much that Coach Matt had to utilize some edgy new ideas to raise their game. Anna had to volley to defeat invading alien forces and powerful tanks, while Goran had to dodge bombs to collect flags, and bowl using only his racquet and a ten tennis balls. The Russian duo proved receptive to this training regimen and soon their games were rapidly improving. Yet the coach desperately wanted some more training options: He wanted to improve their endurance for lengthy matches, improve their flexibility to stretch for balls that they might not otherwise be able to hit, and improve their aerial game to get the most out of those meaty lobs that Thomas Enqvist likes to heave up there, just waiting for them to get smashed down his throat. Still, Coach Matt found the eight included training exercises to be very worthwhile for the players.

But even as their talents improved, the coach noticed some odd inconsistencies in tournaments -- both performed ever so much better at doubles tournaments, winning almost every one. However, Single’s tournaments were much more of a hit or miss affair with them. After one especially disheartening lost to Venus Williams in the final of the Bridgestone Cup, he inquired of Anna why she fared so much better in Doubles than Singles. “She {Serena Williams, Kournikova’s doubles partner} does most of the work,” Anna replied with a laugh.

The jovial nature of the response concerned the coach, and he began reviewing tape. He soon noticed that both of his players had developed a rapport with their partners, and tended to feed off what each other was doing. When one played the net, the other stayed baseline. When Tim Henman had to chase down a ball, Goran was always in place for the return volley. He then watched the AI players, and their utter lack of chemistry. Quite often both players would tend to play the “You got it!” “No, you got it!” routine, and the ball would drop harmlessly in-between the two, when both could have easily returned it. Also, both tended to stack one side of a court, leaving the other wide open for a well-placed volley. He determined that the AI coaches were not doing an adequate job, and Coach Matt sincerely hopes that they fix these chemistry issues in the future. When his players win doubles tournaments, he wants them to win fairly, darn it.

He knew that most of the drive for Anna and Goran came from their love for the casual competition. When not furthering their exploits over time on their World Tour, they loved to enter casual tournaments, and even meaningless exhibitions, just to have fun with other players. The couldn’t get enough, and they constantly worked on winning tournaments so that they could gain access to more worldly courts, more fashionable outfits, and better equipment to further their collection. Both had an affinity for collecting even the most meaningless tennis gear, figuring that somehow, somewhere it would be of use to them.

Coach Matt knew that his players were in a virtual realm. And sure, their realistic tendencies tended to blur those lines, but nothing could blur them if the players looked like the stick figures that first graders draw on their desks. Well, despite their budget paranoia, Sega knew how to accurately render these ATP members accurately, so all look exactly like their real life counterparts. You can see Mary Pierce’s famously pointing chin (I’ll let you decide if that’s a good or a bad thing), Alexandra Stevenson’s obsession with clothing from the eighties, and Tommy Haas’ unwillingness to get a haircut in perfect detail.

The coach was also impressed with the detail in the stadiums, from ever seat being filled with an individually created fan, to marks left on the grass courts, to the flawlessly animated forehands and backhands, creating an amazing atmosphere for a tennis fan. He liked the detail touches in the audio, like fans seeming to have favorites, and the male/female judges, depending on the sex of the competitors. But he knows that Anna and Goran would have preferred some more players to compete against -- playing against the same sixteen foes for tournament upon tournament can get rather monotonous. But with the bottom line obsession, the coach feels that Sega did an admirable job getting even this many players to sign on board.

Coach Matt ended up highly impressed with Sega’s take on the sport of kings. He liked how the variety in the courts affected the games, and how there was an almost limitless plethora of possibilities for him to coach his players with. So, Coach Matt signs out, with Anna Kournikova in his arm and Goran Ivanisevic, well, who cares where he is, heading back to the tennis school, and wholeheartedly recommending Tennis 2k2 to any aspiring coach around.

PROS
*Great, realistic tennis gameplay.
*Very in-depth World Tour Mode.
*Can create a very realistic faux-Anna Kournikova!

CONS
*Repetitive, useless, and mindless music.
*No commentary track.
*Questionable player lineup.

SCORE SUMMARY

GAMEPLAY--9
GRAPHICS--9
MUSIC--2
SOUND--5
CONTROL--7
FUN--9
CHALLENGE--MEDIUM TO HIGH
REPLAY VALUE--HIGH

OVERALL--9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/27/02, Updated 07/27/02