4D Sports Tennis is a wonderfully done tennis game that is part of a series of 4D sports games from Mindscape. Developed by Distinctive Software Incorporated and released in the very early nineties for play on the personal computer. It features both first and third person perspective views, depending on the action happening on the screen, and is overall a good play. It is mainly played as a single player game, with numerous options to beef it up and make it more entertaining as such, but it can also be played as a multiplayer game from a single computer.
4D Sports Tennis is technically a three-dimensional tennis game, but the fourth dimension is considered as the game’s rather unique ability to view advanced replays in some nicely captured animations. It features simplistic polygon graphics in three dimensions. 4D Sports Tennis does a really good job of recreating the game of tennis. The game provides two angles. The first is from a positionable fixed camera which appears to be mounted on the sidelines of the court. This is the third person perspective. The second perspective is a first person view where the player only sees his own racket and the view is across the court. The view always follows the ball.
The user
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is able to select from several options at the beginning of play. He can play an exhibition match and practice up on his skills. He can even go into a full practice mode if he is first learning the controls or is unsure of himself. Beyond that, there is a tournament mode, which will comprise of a few games. There is also a full career mode, if the gamer is interested in something a little bit more in depth and lengthy. The user has the choice of playing as several different characters, each with their own unique abilities. It is also possible to create your own custom character and allow his stats to grow and change with his games, giving 4D Sports Tennis a type of sports role playing game feel. The gamer is also able to change his character’s looks in many different ways, which is actually quite fun. There are tons of statistics that the game will show you about your character, ranging from speed and acceleration to overall endurance and stamina. There are also several different courts on which to play.
Overall, this is a great realistic tennis game that may have been overshadowed by more mainstream sports plays during the era of its release. This is certainly worth looking at, whether you tend to gravitate towards action games or simulations. It is a sure winner.
