"A truly superb game of video Tennis for the Master System."

WIMBLEDON II (SEGA MASTER SYSTEM)

This is a fantastic little video tennis game that was released late in the Master System's life.
It's really easy to just pick up and play, and the control system has a zilch learning curve. Just move around the court with the old D-PAD and the two buttons volley and lob. It's really that simple folks.

The break-neck speed makes for some palm-sweating competitions against the CPU or a friend. The incredible angles you can get on a ball is just like the real thing, and the player's will leap for those seemingly unreachable balls. The ball physics are spot on, and the collision is perfect. This is the Zen of 8-bit Tennis.

The graphics are very nice, as you would expect for a MS game released in 93'. The player's bounce on their toes while waiting in anticipating the next hit. Even sweat drops sort of protrude in and out to show how flustered the players are. A funny touch is how they clutch at their groin with a below the belt shot. The ball boys are present, but aren't very animated. They seem like part of the background, really.

You can choose to play on the usual assortment of different surfaces, such as grass, clay, hard-court etc, technically it should just be grass, since it's Wimbledon, but who cares when a game plays this good.

The crowd is detailed and looks good. Between sets, you get the score table and two thumb pictures of the players. Everything is solid here.

The music here suits the game fine, and the sound of the ball impacting with the racquet is perfectly acceptable. There no speech or anything like that for the score, but that's no hurt.

The marrying of great pace, fluid control and lightning speed make this a real winner. This is loads more fun than that old clunker Tennis that was around when the Master System first came out. If you only play one 8-bit Tennis game this year, make it Wimbledon II.

Playability 8/10
Graphics 8/10
Sound 7/10
Overall 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/04/06