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If you bought a satellite dish to watch the sports channels rather than re-runs of Charlie's Angels, then the odds are that sports sims are your favourite ST games. If so then Championship Tie Bread which recreates the thrills of tournament tennis should have you squealing for more.

You have the option to enter a world tournament, a tournament of your own design or to practise. The world tournament has sixteen seeded players who can be either human or computer opponents. Thus if you're Mr. Popular you can have sixteen of your friends competing against each other in one big cut 'n thrust, lob 'n volley competition.

The tournament you choose dictates the surface you play on, for example Wimbledon is played on grass, the US Open on clay and the Australian Open on 'roo shit. After you've selected your racket, decided the length of the match and singles or doubles, the matchplay begins.

If you choose the doubles option then four people can play at once via the printer port and an adaptor attached to two extra joysticks (£4.99 from Microdeal 0726 68020) or you can play against two computer opponents with one of the good seeds on your side.

The match screen shows an overhead view of the court. There are no shots of the grandstand, simply the court, the players, the umpire and the ball persons. The screen is half a court length and scrolls smoothly as the ball is played to show the other half of the court, keeping the ball central.

Control of the player is the same no matter which end of the court you are. The computer controls the position and you pick the shots from your repertoire. Serve by pushing the joystick forward to throw the ball in the air. When it's at the correct height release the joystick and the ball flies down the court.

You play a fore- or backhand shot by pushing the joystick up and releasing it when the ball is in the right place. To win you must master all the shots; a stop ball is played by pushing the joystick left, a top spin ball by moving it right and a lob by pulling back on the joystick.

The direction of the ball depends on the angle at which your racket hits it. For example, leaving it late sends the ball to the right, hitting it quickly sends it to the left. If you require extra power hold the fire button down. But be careful: hold down the fire button and strike the ball too early and you're highly likely to do some serious damage to the umpire!

The graphics in Adidas Championship Tie Break admirably suit the task in hand. Rather than wasting space on shots of the crowd or the scoreboard, the court occupies the entire screen. This means players are larger, easier to see and easier to control. The ball is clearly animated and a puff of dust appears as it hits the court. When a lob is played, the ball enlarges in a brilliant 3D effect and seems to almost fly out of the monitor and smack you in the face.

A sampled racket sound is played every time the ball is hit and a thud greets the ball hitting the court. A digitised voice announces the score.

Adidas Championship Tie Break succeeds where other tennis games don't, because it's actually playable. The programmers have stuck to the essentials, ignored all frippery and created an excellent game with lasting appeal. Playing doubles with three of your friends is tremendous fun and leads to some hilarious moments. Computer opponents can be a little hard to beat, but this pushes you to the limit and rapidly improves your skills.

If you enjoy challenging friends or simply fancy a game of solo tennis, turn on your monitor, get out the barley water and get stuck into Adidas Championship Tie Break. You can almost hear Dan Maskell in the background.