The Australian Open is one of Australia’s big international sporting events. Coming on January 16th 2018, is a new game, AO Tennis, developed by Big Ant Studios. The game is officially licensed by the Australian Open which means you’ll get real names, real players, sponsors, stadiums and advertising. Bit Ant Studios are the Australian developers that brought us titles like Ashes Cricket, Jetpack Joyride, Fruit Ninja and more.
There may not be every player, but there are ‘dozens’, including Rafael Nadal and Angelique Kerber in licensed tennis venues like Rod Laver Arena.
Built on top of a decade’s worth of shot data, the AI is constructed to accurately reproduce the famous shots of your favourite tennis player, right down to shot selection at any given point of time in a match. This means that if you know, deep into the 5th set, when the pressure is on, your favourite player is likely to turn to a drop shot, or approach the net, then you should be able expect this in the game.
The developers are promoting realism as a major asset of the title, and to achieve that, they turned to motion capture and 3D scanning of professional players to create what they say will be the most realistic tennis game to date. In terms of game modes, there’s a few on offer, including Singles, Doubles or Mixed Doubles. You can play career mode, starting out as a star, or work your way from the bottom, climbing through the rankings, all the way to #1 in the world.
When you’re after a bigger challenge, you can jump online and challenge your skills against the best in the world in an effort to become the world champion from the comfort of your living room. While you’re playing AO Tennis, you’ll want to imagine yourself as the start that’s rising to the top. You can do that thanks to a comprehensive Player Creator that allows you to create yourself or anyone else.
In any Tennis player’s life, they need to attract sponsors and those sponsors have one play to have their brand represented.. that’s on your clothing. The game will let you customise this and they say, go as far as allowing you to import any element from the real world, into the game for maximum customisation and authenticity.
Check out this behind-the-scenes look at the development process, and get ready for a grand slam on Jan 16th.
Big Ant Studios is filled with passionate tennis fans, making them the perfect team to tackle AO Tennis – check out this behind-the-scenes look at the development process, and get ready for a grand slam on Jan 16th. pic.twitter.com/X0WKd8ibJU
— Xbox Australia (@XboxAustralia) December 22, 2017
The game is coming to Xbox One and PS4, with pre-orders available now from JB Hi-Fi and EB Games. Check out the trailer for the game below.
