Tennis In The Face Review

As you can probably deduce on your own based off of the above picture, Tennis In The Face is not a normal tennis game. In fact, it’s not a tennis game at all. Instead, it’s more developer 10tons Ltd.’s take on the Angry Birds formula. Will it ever explode to the heights that that game did? Hell no. However, it still is a solid take on the successful aiming-with-an-angle genre.

The whole point of this game is to get revenge against an energy drink. You were once a great tennis player, but an addiction to energy drinks has caused your career to hit a slump. So, naturally, you’re hellbent on smashing tennis balls into the faces of anyone associated with energy drinks.

Within nanoseconds of playing the first level, you can tell this game was ported from mobile platforms and quite frankly, it’s much better suited there. The touch screen of your phone or tablet allow for more responsive controls as opposed to moving the aiming cursor with an analog stick. It’s not a horrible control method by any means, but it just isn’t as snappy as a touch screen.

As always, trying to angle the perfect shot or chasing that get-’em-all-in-one-swing shot is what feeds into this game’s addicting nature. It’s this core mechanic that made Angry Birds what it is today. Later levels add in angled corners and obstacles such as glass that halt your tennis ball’s movements. This is done to help add some variety to the game and it definitely helps in staving off monotony. Of course, chasing high scores also helps to add to the title’s longevity.

While it’s not quite as addictive as playing it on your phone, you can still have an enjoyable time. Tennis In The Face is perfect if you’re waiting for a sizable download or just want to get in some quick gaming before you head off to work or whatnot. You’re more than likely to never have long sessions with it, but the game wasn’t designed with that in mind. Plus, it just lacks that “oomph!” that’s needed to really have you sitting on your couch for hours. However, it still is satisfying passing each level, no matter how lifeless they can seem.

The game’s art style is simple and very reminiscent of flash games. On the small screen, it’s totally fine, but on the big screen it might be a little too simple. However, that’s not what my biggest detraction is. It’s the game’s lack of charm or heart that keep it from being on the level of Angry Birds (sorry for all the comparisons, but they’re just unavoidable here). I feel like the developers could have had a more interesting or unique art style here as opposed to the cookie-cutter Cartoon Network look. Basically, the art doesn’t match the eye-grabbing title of the game.

Tennis In The Face is a completely harmless way to kill small chunks of time. If you want to play a game while taking in a new album, this is perfect for something along that nature as it doesn’t demand intensive attention. Even though the style lacks soul and is completely forgettable, the tried-and-true Angry Birds gameplay should keep you checking back in from time to time.

This review is based on the PlayStation 4 version of the game, which we were provided with.