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Intro
Sometimes
life just isn't fair. Prime example of this argument: US Open 2002 had
to be released after Virtua Tennis. Being released in such a sparse genre
would almost guarantee it a success and status as a benchmark title, but Sega
just had to unleash their highly addictive version on the gaming world. For the
uninitiated, it isn't just that Virtua Tennis was good, it was that it
was damn near perfect, and that leaves any other title that tries to challenge
its claim as "King O' Tennis" to come under scrutinizing that can border
on unfair. But, even without VT as a means of comparison, the great possibility
in US Open isn't fully tapped and the end result falls a bit short of both
its console predecessors and its own potential.
Gameplay:
5/10
As stated, US Open 2002 is
out of its league with its console counterpart. It's a shadow of Sega's opus,
but unless you live in Europe or own a Dreamcast - which you should, I think a
law was passed a few months back requiring all gamers to pick up a used one -
you'll be out of luck and being told it's no VT is absolutely no help to
you. With that in mind, let's approach Carapace's attempt at cornering the PC
tennis market from a fresh perspective.
So, what does US Open 2002
offer to the adventurous gamer that is interested in tasting the sensual tennis
delights on his or her PC? Well, they can look forward to a basic training mode
that has the player practice using a ball machine or against a wall, the ability
to create their own tournament, a race to defeat as many opponents as possible
by either a single game or single shot rule, the standard arcade and exhibition
modes that allow for singles or doubles in either a single or successive matches,
respectively; lastly there is a career mode that leaves a bit desired as it isn't
really a rookie to pro type of situation, but rather a compete for 10 seasons
type of situation. It felt more like an endurance mode than an actual career.
What US Open 2002 fails to do is take full advantage of the simplicity,
and underlying complexity, of tennis. While it may look like a pretty version
of pong, there's the unseen variables that the player must adapt and respond to,
with varying shots and how best to take advantage of an opportune situation. Sure,
US Open may have the official license, A.I. developed with the help of
a professional trainer, four main shots, and authentic courts, but it never seems
to completely come together. No matter how hard I tried, what shot was used, and
where the shot was returned from, my returns always seem to land within a few
inches of each other, which, needless to say, made the computer's day. The shots
also seemed to have little to no difference, whether it was a lob or a slice,
they all landed in the same area, in the same manner, and the computer had no
difficulties returning them in the manner that I intended to.
There was
also this level of difficulty where the computer saw fit to not let me win. This
'ceiling of pain' made most matches drag on and on, as it would happen sporadically
and do little more than wear out an opponent's welcome. Now, don't get this confused
with intelligent A.I. and the computer providing a challenge, it would actually
go from a stiff pole to this jaguar with a racket that had incredible aim and
an insatiable appetite for my failure. With nothing all that different from the
various opponents and options, it all just felt like this one long painful experience.
This isn't to say that the game was horrible, it certainly had its moments when
everything came together and was very enjoyable, but those instances where far
too rare.
The partners I had in doubles would also act in the same odd
manner. They would do unleash the racket of doom on our opponents and right when
we were about to when, it was like they forgot how to swing as ball after ball
rolled past them. However, for the most part, they did put up a decent fight and
I did enjoy playing with a partner much more over singles. Also, for those wanting
a solid multiplayer experience might want to look elsewhere as online play is
limited to LAN, so those seeking global fame on the courts need not apply.
Graphics: 5.5/10
Adequate best
sums up the graphic detail in US Open; while the characters sport minimal
detail from the normal view of the court, their mugshots fair better and do a
great job of representing the players. The courts look good, but the crowd is
a bit thin at matches and is displayed using the standard bitmap images of people
meshed together. The lightening was alright, but could have done more to make
the world seem more alive with varying degrees of sunlight. The animations tend
to look well, but there seems to be a limited number of movements and there's
nothing to give the players any personality, like ego shots or nonchalant returns.
As said earlier, the graphics are adequate; sure, they get the job done, but with
little means of giving any personality to the title. Sound:
8.5/10
Carapace did a great job here as the matches could easily pass as
games on TV. The crowds have a great range of roars, the announcers, despite being
a bit generic, are crisp with a bit of an echo for authenticity. The action is
also well with the standard grunts, thops of the ball as it bounces off the racket,
and the different thuds from bouncing on the different kinds of courts. A great
job all around and the audio department should rest well knowing they did their
part in bringing the US Open experience home.
Control: 4.5/10
First off, change the default settings immediately,
that is, unless you enjoy your fingers twitching into a pretzel formation. With
the numerical keys set as the action keys, things get complicated and painful
very fast. Using an external configuration panel the keys can be altered, but,
even when going with the recommended gamepad as the means of control, the results
are the same. Often, players seem to disregard commands, react late, or do their
own thing. Whenever everything does click, the experience is enjoyable, but more
often than not, the controls are just faulty. Overall:
5/10
At the end of the day, the real question of a review is if the game
provided a good time and a fun experience, but no matter how hard I tried, I just
didn't enjoy my time with US Open 2002. From the lack of personality to
the frustrating controls, everything felt more like a port of a poor console title
rather than a PC title. Either it was the menu being navigable using only arrow
keys or having to alter options in an external utility, nothing seemed right;
even the menu graphics looked washed out like they were being stretched for a
larger resolution. I would rather spend the $29.99 to pick up a Dreamcast and
a copy of Virtua Tennis, both of which would total about $10 more than
US Open's MSRP, but if you simply have to have a tennis title on your PC,
US Open is your best bet. [
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