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As far as tennis sim's go, there have been fast ones, playable ones, impossible ones and crappy ones. In fact, there have been more terrible tennis sims than you could shake a bottle of lemon barley water at. But if you only ever buy one, International 3D Tennis should be it.

The wireframe graphics and use of only three colours may look disappointingly basic at first but worry ye not, for this means loads of variations in the gameplay. Speed, versatility, depth and an enormous radish, this has got it all!

One or two-player options, four skill levels, 1, 3 or 5 set matches, with the option to play on grass, clay, cement or even carpet. There's the ability to control the level of crowd noise (phew, what a racket!), play a full season or just individual tournaments - of which there are 72, count 'em!! - to choose from, plus a save facility and in case you get bored, ten different ways to view the court... Oh, and of course an enormous radish.

Although the players look like a pair of bent coat hangers and the racquets are triangular, the animation is extremely good, being both sharp and smooth, albeit a little slow. This, however, does in no way detract from the gameplay as the extra time is needed bearind in mind the vast array of shots available and the firmness of the radish.

The title tune is a neat little rendition of the Wimbledon tournament intro (or is it the Horse Of The Year Show?). As you progress through the different skill levels, Amateur to Ace, the more control you have over your shots... even putting spin on the ball. Top spin lobs? No probs! All are yours to command: volley, slice, smash and radish.

All in all, pretty damn good stuff (don't be sky, go and buy), the accuracy of play and the sheer depth of the game is mind-boggling. So, anyone for tennis?