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Even though we're in midwinter, Ubisoft seem to think it's summer as they're just releasing this tennis game - maybe they want to cheer us up with summer notions. Pro Tennis Tour takes you around the world to compete in four major tournaments: the Melbourne Open, the French Open, the famous venue in Wimbledon and finally the US Open. The game starts with an options screen where you can start a tournament, practice (choose to either practice your service, or improve your shot on a six program machine), view the current rankings, choose a difficulty level and finally watch a demo.

When all the options have been set and you have practised to your heart's content, you enter the first tournament - the Melbourne Open. You are ranked 64th, and the main aim of the game is to battle your way to number one seed. The difficulty level you chose at the start determines how fast the ball is whacked by the opponent, and the size of racket you possess (in easy mode you have an outsized one).

The rules of tennis are quite simple, a match is split into three sections: games, sets and matches. The scoring system is 15, 30, 40 and deuce; at deuce the first player to score two consecutive points is the winner. Sets consist of six games, and each match consists of five sets, although the first person to win three sets wins Game, Set and Match (with the winning player leaping over the net and falling flat on their face). The combatants move smoothly around the court and are well drawn, which is more than can be said for the little fella up in his high chair - you can see right through him. As with most tennis games the greatest fun is gained by anticipating the opponent's next shot. Wimbledon is a fair way off yet, but fans are advised to take a look at Pro Tennis Tour.

MARK ... 66%

'Pro Tennis Tournament is, well, tennis! There is nothing here that hasn't been seen in all the other tennis games that have come out on the Spectrum. The sprites for the players, umpire and ball boy are all average, and there is some animation. Colour is the usual boring white on a green background, but what else can you use in a tennis game? The event is brightened up a bit by the inclusion of some music on the menu screen. In the game you supposedly play in different cities across the + arid, but the look of the game doesn't change at all from one day to another. They could have at least put a flag in there somewhere to show where you are.'