Serve, slice, and slam your way to the top of the tennis world

Tennis games on a mobile device or tablet are difficult to make. Most of the problems stem from the controls: how do you find the right balance for a fast-paced back and forth sport not too repetitive from oversimplified ping-pongesque controls or frustratingly difficult and complicated? Flick Tennis hopes to fall somewhere in the middle with an innovative control system as well as plenty to offer in its story-driven single player, clever controls, and local head-to-head multiplayer.

What it brings to the court

To its credit, Flick Tennis tries very hard to have a compelling career mode to play through. The story is about Kevin, an up-and-coming college tennis star, that wants to win it all in honor of his deceased father. The story itself is cliche, but the enjoyable comics and unlockable challenges that go along with it make the game more entertaining.  

Matches are enjoyable and fairly competitive, but eventually they start to drag on a bit and becomes a repetitive battle of patience.

Flick Tennis has a local multiplayer that’s surprisingly fun, especially on the larger tablet screens. It’s presented as split-screen overhead view of the court with each player controlling a side. The controls are the same but controlling your player does take some getting used to. Unfortunately, there’s no online multiplayer mode yet, but hopefully that will be implemented down the line.

How to play tennis

The controls for Flick Tennis are, pardon the pun, hit-and-miss. The concept for the controls is a good one: place your finger on your player and flick in the direction you want to the hit the ball. After you hit the ball, a line appears showing the trajectory of the shot. 

There are four different types of shots: flat, slice, lob, and drop shot. Each shot is done by flicking up or down with either one or two fingers. To move your player, tap on the part of the court you would like them to run to.

These controls mostly work, but they’re not without their, pardon me again, faults. For instance, sometimes your player will accidentally run to a section of the court because Flick Tennis didn’t recognize the start of the motion. 

The look of collegiate sports action

The graphics for Flick Tennis resemble those from a PS2. Characters are somewhat blocky but their animations are fairly fluid. Courts are bright and colorful and prevent the game from appearing too monotonous.

The sound for Flick Tennis is good enough for a tennis game; you aren’t playing this for an excellent soundtrack. The ball makes a realistic “pop” sound when its hit and the announcers shout “fault!” for missed serves.

Give it your best shot

Aside from some problems with controls and repetitiveness, Flick Tennis serves up an entertaining tennis game that’s worth a try.