AO Tennis 2

I can definitively say the game has more positives than negatives and feels less raw than its predecessor, but it still isn’t as complete as other sports titles.

AO Tennis 2 isn't perfect but it manages to entertain and surprise thanks to a brilliant Career mode, a good gameplay depth and great customizability.

While the original AO Tennis released in a horrendous state, the same isn’t true of AO Tennis 2. While there are some niggling issues here and there, they certainly don’t detract from the overall experience. As with the original — especially its AO International Tennis iteration — this is a title we’d recommend to fans of the sport.

A solid, but still returnable, second serve that could use a little more mechanical tinkering.

AO Tennis is simply the best tennis game we have seen in years. Although it looks not that great, it offers very solid gameplay and challenges. The game does not feel like an arcade game but challenges you with a strong AI. If only all the players were there.

AO Tennis 2 is a good-looking tennis title with plenty of things to tinker and tweak with. However the fiddly controls and limited roster mar the experience.

Bugs and overpowered AI aside, a really good simulator-style tennis game. [Issue#187, p.91]

There’s not a great deal of competition out there when it comes to tennis games on current-gen consoles, but it’s safe to say AO Tennis 2 is one of the better options. If you can forgive its overly-long load times and mediocre graphics, it’ll provide you with plenty of options for a solid game of tennis.

If Darkstation had a category for “best comeback game” I’d feel confident that AO Tennis 2 would win it for 2020 and we’re only a couple of weeks in. The improvements in this game over the last two years are absolutely incredible. This is a great game of tennis that has some rough around the edges that with time, patches, and future installments could make for quite the franchise. Had you told me that after the first game I would have laughed, but AO Tennis 2 is the real deal and I’m excited to see where the series goes from here.

With some post-launch love to improve some of the more lacking areas, AO Tennis 2 could be a real winner. For now, though, it is likely a game that only dedicated tennis fans will truly enjoy.

AO Tennis 2 is a better-looking, smoother-playing and more fully-featured follow-up to the original.

Despite the good intentions, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the title.

AO Tennis 2 is a greatly improved second instalment to the franchise. Trying to overshoot your hits is a satisfying experience. Career mode is the best part of the game, building your character to be a dominant force and trying to get that world number 1 ranking and winning all 4 Grand Slams. If you are a tennis fan, I would recommend buying this game as you’re unlikely to be disappointed. It’s a shame more big tennis players didn’t put their name into the hat, but with the brilliant editor and the ability to publish your creations this can be overlooked.

AO Tennis 2 takes a step in the right direction, but it still lacks depth in some of the core foundations of a tennis game. It improves and expands pretty much everything from its predecessor, so we’re looking forward to see where the next title takes it.

Just because AO Tennis 2 has some clear weaknesses, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a bad game. It may be missing some of the biggest names tennis have to offer, and it may feel a little sterile, but at the end of the day, it works as it should. If all you’re looking for is a current-gen tennis experience, it’ll do, even if you won’t be blown away by it.

Despite the strength of its career mode, it’s too bad AO Tennis 2’s gameplay isn’t more dependable, because the genre has needed a new light for several generations. However, this game can’t muster the consistency needed to be a credible threat.

AO Tennis 2 delivers a more enjoyable and comprehensive experience than the first episode but still suffers from technical and gameplay issues.

AO Tennis 2 is slightly better than in its first installment but still has a lot of room for improvement.

Sports games have set such a high bar for themselves over the years and we have come to expect so much of them. This means that when a game comes along and doesn’t reach our expectations we are disappointed. This is exactly the case for AO Tennis 2.