Pete Sampras Tennis

Pete Sampras Tennis
European Sega Mega Drive cover art
Developer(s)	Zeppelin Games
Publisher(s)	Codemasters
Platform(s)	Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Sega Game Gear
Release date(s)	1994
Genre(s)	Sports (Tennis)
Mode(s)	Single-player Up to four players with J-Cart

Pete Sampras Tennis was the first game of three of this celebrity-endorsed tennis video game series, released by British software house Codemasters. It was followed by Sampras Tennis 96 still on Sega's 16-bit console and later by Pete Sampras Tennis '97, released for the PlayStation and Windows/DOS.

While Pete Sampras Tennis uses all three control pad buttons, the game play remains simple yet realistic, for its time. While serving, the A button sends the ball automatically, and B allows the player to control the ball speed and direction, and is the only way to score aces against the best players. During play, A lobs, B sends a normal shot and C, if pressed alone performs a top spin shot, if in conjunction with left or right on the D-Pad the player dives in that direction. It is also possible to aim the ball by pressing any direction on the D-Pad before there is contact between the racket and the ball.

Expert players are able to win against any computer player without giving a point away, since the AI isn't very well developed (and there are no difficulty options) and it's hard to miss a ball. The most usual tactic is to lure the opponent into the net (by making low shots), and then expect he bounces against a mid-height ball close to the net, or if he manages to return, call in a long lob, leaving the opponent with no chances of returning the ball. With harder-hitting characters, it is possible to make strong and accurate returns after the serve, which the computer-controlled player rarely manages to return.

While managing to make perfect use of the lob and spinning shot aim is essential to play the game, top spins can be more a nuisance than helpful. Since it shares the same button as dives, and a good top spin shot requires additional power control (by either pressing up or down), Sega's 8-direction pads, if broken or dirty, or even simply if the user's finger slipped, top spin shots often ended up turning into a dive, the ball passing uselessly by the helpless player.

The only real tennis player is Pete Sampras. All players, however, have different ratings for base line, service, speed and volleys, and there is a noticeable difference between left- and right-handed players. Not all players can be used in the World Tour mode, as some of them are actual opponents.