Match Point
| Match Point | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Game No. | 402 | |
| Voting | 6.75 points, 20 votes | |
| Developer | Jm van Laethem & G. Poropat | |
| Company | Psion | |
| Publisher | D&L Research, OziSoft | |
| Musician | (none) | |
| Release | 1984 | |
| Platform | ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST | |
| Genre | Sport, tennis | |
| Gamemode | Single player 2 players (simultaneous) | |
| Operation |  
| |
| Media |  
| |
| Language |   
| |
| Information | also by Imagic as "Tournament Tennis" and on cartridge as "Tennis" | |
Description[edit | edit source]
The game Match Point is a tennis simulation and can be played either against the computer or against another player. As in Wimbledon, here you also play with the real tennis rules. If you are less sportive and rather lean back in your armchair and watch a match, you will also get your money's worth with the good-looking demo mode.
The game was first released on the ZX Spectrum and came on the market also for the C64 in 1984. At this time it competed with many sports titles as Summer Games or Decathlon and the blockbusters Impossible Mission, Space Taxi and Lazy Jones. The graphically most pleasing version is probably the one for the Schneider CPC.
Design[edit | edit source]
 Animation from the game |
 Options |
Framed between two grandstands you can see the whole court on the screen in a 3D perspective. The players are relatively fluently animated while running and striking the ball. The game contains some nice sequences e.g. when the player dribbles the ball on the ground before serving or when a ball boy starts to get a ball that was in the net. Details as the country flags and the referee at the border of the field give the scene some more realism without overdoing it, so that the lucidity in the game does not suffer. All in all, the graphics make a commendable impression and they are absolutely flawless for the year of release.
The graphically designed options menu also needs to be mentioned. If you play against the computer, you can also give it a name, be it C64, McEnroe or even Boris Becker.
Music? There is none in a tennis match! The audience tensely listen to the hitting and rebound of the ball. It would not have done any harm to put in more sound!
Hints[edit | edit source]
Before the start of the game you get into the options menu. You can choose between the following difficulty grades:
- Quarter final: Equally suited for beginners and experienced players - the ball speed, however, is always the same here and in fact too slow
- Semi-final: Here you need a bit of practice in the control of the ball and you need to react faster
- Final: For professionals and the ones who believe to be one of the best
Furthermore you can choose if you want to play as single player against the computer or in twos simultaneously against each other. After positioning the tennis bat correspondingly you can also enter the player's names after a press on the fire button. With the Return key or the fire button the game starts.
The ones who do not want to play but watch can start the demo mode. If you do not choose an option for a longer time, the demo mode will start automatically.
Controls with the joystick
Controlling the game is only possible with the joystick. With it, the tennis player can be moved into all 8 directions. During the service, the position of the players is given according to the tennis rules, the player doing the service cannot be moved and the opponent can only be moved along the line. As a single player you play with the joystick in port 2. Whether you play with forehand or backhand is automatically decided, but can be switched by pressing the fire button. You also trigger the strike with the fire button when the ball is within reach.
The relatively easy to learn controls enable the player to influence the direction and speed of the ball. For this, the joystick needs to be pulled into the corresponding direction during the service and striking.
|
Service / strike |
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Steer ball a bit further to the left |
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Steer ball a bit further to the right |
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Strike ball a bit harder/faster |
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Strike ball a bit less/slower |
Keyboard commands
F1 Abort the game and return to the options menu
F3 Restart the game with the current settings
F7 Pause
Solution[edit | edit source]
The best position is in the middle of the field, as you can reach the ball fastest from there.
Cheats[edit | edit source]
When it is your service, you can let the computer opponent run into the corner of the field. If you then strike into the direction of the other corner, it has most of the time no chance to reach the ball.
But you can also simply keep the fire button pressed after the service...
(according to the 64'er SH Top-Spiele 4 you will strike an ace by this)
Voting[edit | edit source]
| Voting of the C64-Wiki users (10=the best vote): | ||
| 6.75 points at 20 votes (rank 523). You need to be logged in to cast a vote. | ||
| C64Games | 7 | 7th June 2011 - "very good" - 7016 downs |
| Lemon64 | 7,7 | 7th June 2011 - 36 votes |
| Kultboy.com | 8,50 | 7th June 2011 - 6 votes |
Reviews[edit | edit source]
Stefan67: "The game is also suited for beginners as you easily hit the ball. However, one should instantly jump the quarter final, because here the ball simply is too slow. Even if you at first do not know how to influence the direction and speed, it is well playable. And it is really good fun with a human opponent. It is definitely worth trying this game."
Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]
Cover
Highscore[edit | edit source]
As far as it is known there is no highscore possible for this game. The victor will be given a cup.
Links[edit | edit source]
- C64Games.de - Game No. 114
- Lemon64 - Game No. 1615
- Gamebase64.com - Game No. 4638
- C64.com - Game No. 263
- TheLegacy entry no.3256
- ready64 - Game No. 470
- Test Report No. 3033 on Kultboy.com
Videos
The most well-known tennis games for the C64
