#321 – Jimmy Connors Tennis

This is Jimmy Connors’ tennis, not yours.

PLAYERS: 1-2 simultaneous

PUBLISHER: Ubisoft

DEVELOPER: NMS Software

GENRE: Sports

RELEASE DATE: November 1993

It’s not my tennis. It’s not your tennis. It’s Jimmy Connors’ and you best recognize. Well, as far as this jaded gamer is concerned, he can keep his half-assed approach to tennis. He might be one of the most famous and best tennis players of all time, but that doesn’t mean he has the right to inflict his licensed products on us common folk. At least he keeps it simple from the get go. You either choose to “play” or “practice” the game of tennis, and if neither of those options are to your liking, go take it up with Big Jim. I chose to “play” because you shouldn’t have to practice the game of tennis. What’s not to understand about two under-dressed individuals hitting a ball back and forth with rackets? Get into the game, and you soon realize that a) your shots are made by using the ‘A’ button and the directional pad and b) the game’s incredibly boring. The former is annoying as (tennis) balls because you never feel like you have complete control of your swing. Even Nintendo’s original Tennis got the controls right. As for the game’s lack-of-fun-factor, this is no-frills tennis we’re talking about here. Even the music makes the game sound livelier than it really is. If you can boogie with some trembly back-and-forth serves, then you’re a person willing to overlook more in their tennis game than I.

D