Previous Next

ANYONE FOR TENNIS?

WIMBLEDON has gone and strawberries are out of season but the Psion Match Point tennis game for the 48K Spectrum will be popular all the year round.

The simulation has more than the classic quality and style of Chequered Flag, the Psion racing game, and provides some of the most spectacular graphics for the Spectrum.

The screen display shows Centre Court at Wimbledon. The panorama provides a view of the net, umpire, crowds moving their heads, and even the benches on which the players sit after a game.

You can play either a quarter-final or semi-final if you are inexperienced, or a final if you want to be thrashed soundly by the other player. If you have no human friend with whom you can play, the computer will always be on hand for a game.

When you start to play you may have difficulty distinguishing between the ball and its shadow. Once you have played a few games, however, the effect falls into place and adds a three-dimensional quality to the game. The shadow of the ball is the only unrealistic feature of the display as, in real life, the players cast the shadows and not the ball.

Psion can be forgiven for introducing the shadow, as the game outclasses most other sports programs for the computer. Unlike most of the other games available it can be described as a true simulation.

It is a game for all the family and not only for the sports enthusiast. Although it does not replace the real thing it is a worthwhile program, as it is a simulation which provides an exhibition mode which you can sit and watch while two computer-generated players go through the motions. It might even teach the beginner something about the skills required in the game.

John Gilbert

Memory: 48K Price: £7.95 Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston, Cursor