Zoe teams up with Conchita to take on the Coetzer/Novotna combo in front of some adverts at Wimbledon

Much more "Oh what a pity!" than "Ooh I say!" this so-called '3D motion-captured simulation' languishes in the outer courts, where it fails to make any impression on the competition.
Jon Palmer

By rights, the console games market should be awash with impressive tennis games. The slew of top-notch driving games that line the retail shelves are there because the winning formula was easy to copy once developers got hold of a decent engine to power the things. Get this vital component in place and you can create as many new games as you have ideas for. There is no excuse for tennis simulation being to sports sims what the British game is to the WTA.

During this Wimbledon fortnight, in between matches on the telly, we've been struggling with All Star Tennis '99, trying to emulate on the Nintendo the performances of our heroes in SW19. This title is billed as a '3D simulation' with 'motion capture' but that's bending the meaning of these words, rudely. It isn't a 'simulation' as such either; it's another Nintendo party game, albeit not a very good one.

If All Star has any merit, it is as a multiplayer game without computer-controlled players, (its most obvious fault is that computer players will consistently try to reach volleys that are going out). You can hit the ball with whatever spin you want, you can lob it over your opponent's head and you can increase any effect by holding down the relevant button for longer. Each character then has their very own brightly coloured special move in addition to the standard 'special' (hitting a cross-court return with such venom that their opponent has very little chance of reaching it) but that's about it - hardly ground-breaking stuff. It could do with some commentary too.