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Back in the old days when the thing to have was a Vic 20, there existed a games machine called Intellivision, horrendously overpriced, but a brilliant piece of kit all the same. So what, you might ask, does that have to do with an Amiga tennis game? Well, one of the most popular cartridges for the Intellivision console was the tennis game, a graphically pleasing and surprisingly playable little number.

At the risk of upsetting half the known universe, I still reckon that no tennis game since, with the possible exception of Psion's Game, Set And Match has come close to bettering the Intellivision effort which is now seven years old; a surprising fact considering how many attempts there have been, and how popular the game of tennis has become.

But wait, a new tennis game appears on the horizon, and what's more it's on the Amiga. Surely this one must be worth netting for your Xmas software collection. Unfortunately, no. In fact to compare Grand Slam with the state of British tennis today is being unfair to British tennis.

Purporting to be 'the definitive tennis game', it features the four major Grand Slam events of the international tennis calendar - Wimbledon, the French, Australian and U.S. Opens. As far as I can see, the only difference between the four is the colour of the court as grass changes to clay or concrete.

The court is viewed from behind the service line, and your player is always at the near end, and is moved about the court using the mouse. As the ball comes vaguely within range, you press the button to play a stroke. If you're lucky enough to make contact, the direction of your shot is determined by your relative position to the ball, together with the timing of your stroke.

This method of play and control would be OK if you could follow the ball clearly. Unfortunately, the movement of both the ball and the players is less than smooth, indeed both disappear completely with alarming regularity.

You try hitting an invisible ball with any degree of accuracy.

Infinity Software has made some kind of attempt to beef up the atmosphere of the game by adding digitised sound effects, but even this falls short of the standard one expects from an Amiga game.

If I was John McEnroe, the world famour temper tantrum of the tennis courts, I would say that this game is the pits. But I'm not and I don't want to get into any long legal battles either.