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Tennis has had more than its fair share of simulations, from Commodore's International Tennis to Ubisoft's Pro Tennis Tour just last issue. The most common view is from one end of the court, a perspective which inevitably reduces the far court, making it harder to play from there in two-player games. Now Loriciel has come up with the answer - splitting the screen in two so each player has his own view of the action!

But there's plenty of other innovations as well. Each player - either human or one of 32 computer players - has six basic shots (from forehead to smash) of varying effectiveness. You start off with a skill rating of 50% for each shot, with 30 credit percentage points to distribute as you see fit. You can also reduce one shot's efficiency to get points for a more important shot. These characteristics can be saved, and vary according to match performance. For forehand and backhand shots higher percentages mean the ball will be better placed. For harder shots such as smash, volley, etc, the percentage reflects your chances of success.

32 computer players, including Ivan from Czechoslovakia, Boris from West Germany, and Stefan from Sweden, all have set characteristics. However, you can create your own opponent if you should want and save him to disk.

After a short practice with a machine server, you might choose either a singles or doubles match on clay, grass, indoor or hard court surfaces. Once familiar with the game, you can enter a tournament. All four Grand Slam events are here - Wimbledon, Flushing Meadow, Melbourne, and Roland Garros - and you start off in the last sixteen. The graphics change according to the event and surface, with a nice scene showing the players shake hands before the match.

Even more impressive is the Davis Cup event, the international team game where you must compete in both singles and doubles. Before each match national anthems are played, and if you're doing badly you can 'Esc'ape onto the next match. Finally you can enter the Championship, which has all he tournaments and the Davis Cup.

This is without doubt the most comprehensive tennis game we've seen, including all the big tournaments, 32 opponents and good skill factors. The split-screen effect is such an obvious idea you wonder why no-one's done it before. But once you begin to play, hitting the ball is surprisingly tough - splitting the screen means each court is shown from a shallower angle. This makes it harder initially, although practice can cure that.

As with Pro Tennis there isn't a great difference between the various surfaces, and while Cup has a huge range of options, the tennis itself doesn't quite beat the fun of Pro.

Loriciel have served up probably their best game to date. The contest for the top tennis sim is really close between this and Ubisoft's Pro Tennis Tour, but for its innovative split-screen display Tennis Cup gets my vote.

The shallower viewpoint does make things a bit more tricky, but then it's also more realistic - does Boris Becker view his matches from overhead?! At first, as in Pro, hitting the ball is difficult but, once mastered, you can get into some really long rallies. I also appreciated the doubles option although this can be frustrating when your colleague (Did I mention the Scorelord?) thinks he can score a goal by hitting the ball into the net!

What definitely gives it the edge over Pro, though, is the way you can improve chosen abilities to suit your playing style. In tennis terms, Cup is an ace.

Presentation 87% Lots of options, including a great variety of contests, simultaneous two-player mode, and 32 computer opponents.

Graphics 87% Impressive split-screen effect, with good animation and detail such as net judge holding up hand.

Sound 80% Authentic FX, with unique calling out score on one megabyte machines, albeit mispronouncing "love".

Hookability 77% Simple basic game, but opponents are tough and hitting the ball takes practice.

Lastability 85% Davis Cup, Tournaments and Championships provide a massive challenge.

Overall 83% A fun and comprehensive tennis sim.