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Decked out in tennis whites, surrounded by buckets of strawberries and cream and several gallons of Robinson's Barley Water, Big Al' and I sat down to put International Tennis through it's paces. Several days and some very runny bottys later the result was decided...

International Tennis gives you the choice of playing a single game, a match or a whole tournament without ever leaving the comfort of your living room chair. There are single player or two player options with singles or doubles matches and keyboard or joystick control, though in two player mode one player has to use a 'stick and the other the keyboard.

Unfortunately the standard keyboard control layout is a little awkward, with the left and right keys underneath the keys for up and down and 'M' controlling the shot. But this is only a small gripe. It makes play more difficult but it doesn't really detract from the overall quality of International Tennis.

The game really starts to get palm sweatingly good when you get the knack of spinning, lobbing and slicing balls (oo-er!) all over the place. By pressing left or right as you hit the ball, it spins in that direction, pressing up and down as you hit gives the ball top or bottom spin - just what you need to catch your opponent off his guard (as Big Al' discovered to his consternation).

The two (or four in doubles) sprites are about as accurate as you are going to get. They bounce up and down and sway over and back as only tennis players or Zebedees do. The only real fault I detected was their lack of a diving move, which leads to missed balls and frustration.

The game is also surprisingly fast in two player mode and the ball shadow and whacking sound greatly contribute to accuracy and playability. It's slightly slower with four players on court but this is not noticeably a problem.

Overall, International Tennis is a playable, addictive and accurate game Apart from one or two annoying glitches (like the players' magnetism for the net when changing sides) this is an excellent Tennis Simulation for the money and you should jolly well go out and buy it.

This is one of the best original budget sports simulations I've seen recently, its simple but thankfully solid white and green only graphics belie its delightful playability.

Definitely well worth the cash.