Our copy of New Star Tennis was provided by the developer at the start of the week preceding its release. This is a fairly standard time-frame in which to receive an evaluation copy of an upcoming game. It is our internal review policy to assume that any game provided to us for review purposes is, if not the absolute final version, at least indicative of the version that will be available to consumers. In other words: if someone sends us something to review, we assume it’s ready to be reviewed. It seems only reasonable.

As a result of the email from New Star Games, however, along with a number of comments on the review itself, we decided to take a look at the release version. We contacted New Star Games for a copy, but did not receive a response. As such, we downloaded the demo version of the game (which is version 1.0 – the review version was 0.93). Thomas noticed considerable differences between the stability of the two builds, but no differences in terms of content, leading to our decision not to purchase a copy of the full game in order to run a re-review. For the record, if there had been differences in both stability and content, that’s what we would have done.

Instead, we have amended the score based on the improved stability of the final build. However, Thomas’ primary gripes were with the content of the game itself. He has explained his viewpoint and clarified the differences between the two builds in an addendum to the original review. You can read that here.

I remain confident that our experienced and talented staff writers, as well as our freelance contributors (of which Thomas is one), are fully capable of examining a range of computer and video games, and accurately and fairly reporting their findings. All reviews are by definition opinion-led, and I absolutely stand by Thomas’ right to express his professional and personal opinions on New Star Tennis – and, indeed, any other game that is provided to us for review. In no way do I see reason to doubt his qualifications to review the game, as has been suggested by some – as he is a fan of both tennis and previous New Star games, I consider him to have been the perfect writer to assign to the job.

However, we are always working to ensure that our reviews function as honest and informed critique of a product that is available for you to purchase. In this case, that the version we reviewed was different to the one released meant our original review was no use to anyone. I hope the amendments, and this post, go some way to explaining the changes made to that review and its associated score. By Lewis Denby, Editor.

Format: PC | Genre: Arcade Tennis Sim | Publisher: New Star Games| Developer: New Star Games | Release Date: 22/01/10 | RRP: £10

[This review, and associated score, have been amended since publication. Please see this page for details.]

“Roger Fiderer” pulls back and serves another ace right past me. Game, set and match to Fiderer. My stumpy little character charges off the court and glitches into the stands. Roger Fiderer bobs up and down at the net and the game crashes, my opponent waiting for a handshake that will never come.

New Star Tennis is the latest title from New Star Games, the folks behind the lo-fi-but-quite-good New Star Soccer series. As with New Star Soccer, you’ll take control of your star and lead them through their career, giving them activities to complete from week to week. These activities range from training to cart racing and the occasional bit of tennis. Every so often you’ll be able to take part in tournaments, earn money and sponsorship deals and make the big time as a pro. But New Star’s foray into the world of tennis is a rather serious misstep for the indie developer.

EVERYTHING ON BLACK
Your ability with a raquet is determined by how many stars you have in a given proficiency, be it your serve, your forehand or your speed across the court. In New Star Tennis, you start with no stars at all. You are essentially a man who has never played tennis before. This makes winning anything virtually impossible, which means your only source of income arrives in the form of an occasional handout from the Tennis Association and your winnings at the roulette wheel.

It’s a bad sign when your gambling mini-game is more compelling than the sport you’re trying to simulate. New Star Tennis claims to give you “a glimpse into the life of a young tennis star”, which is worrying because my young tennis star is desperately in need of some sort of intervention to keep him away from the blackjack tables. If I just win big, I think, I’ll be able to afford that exercise bike. Then I’ll be able to train harder and win a few matches, win some silver and finally make it into the big time.

“Twist.”

“But sir, you have twenty-”

“I said twist, damnit!”

DOUBLE FAULT
When he’s not busy giving all his money to lady luck, my star spends his days training. In order to improve your skills in a given proficiency, you’re required to complete a mini-game testing that skill. Serve at the targets until you have 100 points, for example. Completion of the mini-game will grant you an improvement of half a star. Half a star.

To put this into perspective, you can achieve ten stars in any proficiency. This means I have to play that damn serving mini-game 20 times to be able to compete with the likes of “Roger Fiderer” or “Andy Marray”. That’s just my service game as well. There are four other proficiencies to think about.

The training mini-games are so bad because they’re based on the tennis itself, which is a mess. The arrow keys move both your character and your aim. If you run right your aim also skews right, which makes returning a shot a frustrating process of getting in position and then dragging your aim back from the edge of the court. It’s sluggish, difficult and completely lacking the fluidity and pace of the actual sport.

It’s buggy, too. Half of the time your character will automatically dash to the wrong half of the court in preparation for your opponent’s serve. Finishing games can also be especially tricky if your player decides to leg it out of the stadium before the game is actually over.

It’s available at a budget price, but for £10 you could just buy the superb Virtua Tennis 3. Alternatively, if the real-life roulette wheel has taken all your money, you could always just play Stick Man Tennis for free and enjoy a faster, smoother and infinitely more palatable representation of the sport.

This game made me hate tennis and love gambling. It’s ugly to watch and even worse to play. It’s going to take more than strawberries and cream to fix this one. Avoid at all costs. By Thomas Senior

[ADDENDUM (see this page for details): Having spent some time with the full release version of New Star Tennis, I can thankfully say that many of the bugs mentioned in the review have been cleared up. The game-breaking incidence that sees your player running off the court before the game is finished no longer occurs, and players line up correctly for matches. These bugs previously rendered the game pretty much unplayable, hence the original 1/10 score. To doubly clarify: I did not experience these bugs in the version of the game available for purchase.

However. The other problems outlined above are still very much present. The tennis itself remains deeply unsatisfying, the mini-games provide only a few moments of distraction and, in truth, there is very little here to recommend. Even ardent fans of New Star's games are likely to be disappointed by this lacklustre effort from the indie developer. -TS]

2/10

(This score has been updated – see notes for details.)
What does this score mean?

If you’re so inclined, New Star Tennis is available for purchase from the developer’s website. The New Star Soccer games might be a better bet, though.