I'm going to tell you why AO International Tennis is an awesome game, and why it's had so many bad reviews that no longer apply. As a big fan of Top Spin 4, I'm also going to make a number of comparisons with that game.

I bought this game a few days ago after doing a lot of research and it was apparent to me as to why the game had so many bad reviews, but IS NOW a game worth buying; the game at launch was bad, but over the past year has been patched up and is now good. It's as simple as that. Any issues with the game that still exist, just aren't dramatic enough to steer you away from it.

Gameplay: At first I didn't feel the gameplay was as natural as TS4. I needed the visual targeting to hit the ball in and it just didn't feel as nice as TS4. However, after a few days of practice, I've turned targeting off and now I find the rhythm is much more natural. You just need practice. It's more challenging than TS4 but I find that makes it more realistic. I even know when my shot is going out because I can just sense that I overdid it with power, or angle. You can just "feel" it. The animations are more varied than TS4, but less fluid. TS4 wins in that department but overall it doesn't ruin the game. I do have one minor complaint that on the very rare occasion, my player may not respond, or even swing at the ball when I want.

Career: AO is far more challenging and has more depth than TS4. Money is earned through winning and sponsorship deals, and it's used to level up your player. It takes more work than in TS4, but it's not too draining. Initially your low rank stops you from competing in major tournaments. You'll need to earn the right to qualify for them. Your skills (eg. backhand slice) will have a maximum cap on them, but you can increase that cap through "Training", which is much like doing tutorials in TS4, but it's not a drag to do and you can retry if you fail the objective. Fatigue is more relevant in AO as it not only contributes to your match performances, but can also carry over to following tournaments. Each week you will need to decide if your player will Rest, Train or Compete in a tournament (or exhibition match for rewards). You can begin Career mode with a freshly created player with low skills, or start with a Pre-Made player (either made by you or pre-set) with high skills. A Pre-Made player will enter with an appropriately higher rank.

Pre-set and Player Creation: Whilst the game has a lot of present players, only Nadal and Osaka are included as far as big names go, but don't be alarmed if you want to be Federer. AO has an in-game community sharing feature that allows you to download players that other people have created, and trust me; all the famous players are available and it only takes a few seconds to search and download. You can also insert those downloaded players into all game modes as opponents... so you can kick Federer's butt. You can also modify downloaded players so if the user that made your Federer made him too invincible, make him weaker. If you hate Serena and you want her to lose a lot... make her crap.

Customisation: The Player Creator is as good as it gets. Facial features match TS4 but also allows for using face capture... or something... I don't really know how that part works but people have put it to good use as user made versions of real players are amazing in regards to the likeness. There's not a lot of outfit shapes, but the real beauty with making outfits comes from using decals/logos to create original prints. These decals can be created in-game, imported from .svg files, or downloaded from the community and there are thousands of them. Besides the obvious outfit options, you can also customise your racquets and racquet bags. If you want to be decked out in Adidas gear, go ahead. If you prefer to have a Run DMC logo, go for it. How about some cutesy animal logo? Why not. Let your imagination run free (or download other peoples imagination). Just don't turn an Adidas logo into a Cannabis logo. It'll get censored. I know from experience. My bad.

You can also create your own stadiums and plaster Cannabis sponsorship all over the place.

So overall I love this game. I've wanted a new tennis game for years but all the options out there seemed crap, until I found AO. Soooo glad with my purchase.

★★★★★★★★★✰

I'm going to tell you why AO International Tennis is an awesome game, and why it's had so many bad reviews that no longer apply. As a big fan of Top Spin 4, I'm also going to make a number of comparisons with that game. I bought this game a few days ago after doing a lot of research and it was apparent to me as to why the game had so many bad reviews, but IS NOW a game worth buying; the game at launch was bad, but over the past year has been patched up and is now good. It's as simple as that. Any issues with the game that still exist, just aren't dramatic enough to steer you away from it. Gameplay: At first I didn't feel the gameplay was as natural as TS4. I needed the visual targeting to hit the ball in and it just didn't feel as nice as TS4. However, after a few days of practice, I've turned targeting off and now I find the rhythm is much more natural. You just need practice. It's more challenging than TS4 but I find that makes it more realistic. I even know when my shot is going out because I can just sense that I overdid it with power, or angle. You can just "feel" it. The animations are more varied than TS4, but less fluid. TS4 wins in that department but overall it doesn't ruin the game. I do have one minor complaint that on the very rare occasion, my player may not respond, or even swing at the ball when I want. Career: AO is far more challenging and has more depth than TS4. Money is earned through winning and sponsorship deals, and it's used to level up your player. It takes more work than in TS4, but it's not too draining. Initially your low rank stops you from competing in major tournaments. You'll need to earn the right to qualify for them. Your skills (eg. backhand slice) will have a maximum cap on them, but you can increase that cap through "Training", which is much like doing tutorials in TS4, but it's not a drag to do and you can retry if you fail the objective. Fatigue is more relevant in AO as it not only contributes to your match performances, but can also carry over to following tournaments. Each week you will need to decide if your player will Rest, Train or Compete in a tournament (or exhibition match for rewards). You can begin Career mode with a freshly created player with low skills, or start with a Pre-Made player (either made by you or pre-set) with high skills. A Pre-Made player will enter with an appropriately higher rank. Pre-set and Player Creation: Whilst the game has a lot of present players, only Nadal and Osaka are included as far as big names go, but don't be alarmed if you want to be Federer. AO has an in-game community sharing feature that allows you to download players that other people have created, and trust me; all the famous players are available and it only takes a few seconds to search and download. You can also insert those downloaded players into all game modes as opponents... so you can kick Federer's butt. You can also modify downloaded players so if the user that made your Federer made him too invincible, make him weaker. If you hate Serena and you want her to lose a lot... make her crap. Customisation: The Player Creator is as good as it gets. Facial features match TS4 but also allows for using face capture... or something... I don't really know how that part works but people have put it to good use as user made versions of real players are amazing in regards to the likeness. There's not a lot of outfit shapes, but the real beauty with making outfits comes from using decals/logos to create original prints. These decals can be created in-game, imported from .svg files, or downloaded from the community and there are thousands of them. Besides the obvious outfit options, you can also customise your racquets and racquet bags. If you want to be decked out in Adidas gear, go ahead. If you prefer to have a Run DMC logo, go for it. How about some cutesy animal logo? Why not. Let your imagination run free (or download other peoples imagination). Just don't turn an Adidas logo into a Cannabis logo. It'll get censored. I know from experience. My bad. You can also create your own stadiums and plaster Cannabis sponsorship all over the place. So overall I love this game. I've wanted a new tennis game for years but all the options out there seemed crap, until I found AO. Soooo glad with my purchase. ★★★★★★★★★✰