LifeisXbox’s Tennis Manager 2022 review | Another year and another manager game is being released. This time I had the pleasure to play and review Tennis Manager 2022. After last year’s edition, Rebound CG has made some improvements and I was curious to see what they did differently this year. Sport managing games tend to become more and more popular and I’m sure that Rebound CG wants to be on top with other successful titles. Last year they were on the right track but it didn’t have the wow factor, let’s see what they did this year.
Most Memorable Moment
My most memorable moment was when against all odds a low-ranked player from my academy actually won a tournament. I wasn’t really paying attention to how she was doing because I thought she didn’t stand a chance and had never even reached the next round. And then boom all of a sudden she was the winner. A memorable moment for sure.
ℹ️ Reviewed on PC | Review code provided by PR/publisher, this review is the personal opinion of the writer.
What we Liked!
- Graphics & sound | Graphically and sound-wise, Tennis Manager 2022 didn’t improve a lot when you look at last year’s edition. Luckily, everything already looked good and is easily navigatable in the menus. When you start a match and take a seat on the court to see how your player is doing, you will quickly notice that they really went for realism. Of course, it isn’t the best but it is enjoyable and easy to watch. When you look at the sound of the game, it is okay. They provide the sounds that you can expect from a tennis game. Nothing too fancy, just straight to the point.
- Gameplay | The gameplay is very easy to understand if you know your way around sports managing games. In Tennis Manager you can take control or create a new tennis academy. This is used to train your players and let them take part in different tournaments with the goal of becoming number 1 on the world ranking. The game gives you enough space to create a team that fits all your needs. You can make training schedules, game plans, sign new players, and a lot more. When you are ready you can enter a tournament with your players and ‘play’ the matches. You don’t actually play them like in FIFA but you have the control from the side, change tactics and motivate your player when things are going downhill for example. There are a lot of things you can do in this title and when you have everything under control and see your player take home the cup, it is very satisfying.
- New features | Tennis Manager 2022 offers some new features in comparison to its predecessors. In this edition, you can create your own player and adjust it to your needs. Want a big server, go ahead! Prefer a baseline player? It is all up to you. Some other new features are a new infrastructure system where you can upgrade your academy to fit all your needs. For example, you can build a different kind of court or improve your scouting with it. Other things that are worth mentioning are that the end-of-season finals have gotten an update with a new format, there are some new management tools, and negotiating to give a player a new contract has improved. Furthermore, you can now import gameplans from other players and the match simulation has been enhanced so it fits the game better.
Mixed Feelings
- Balancing | I remember this was an issue in the 2021 edition because I also wrote a bit about it. But again, I feel like this is something that doesn’t seem right to me. Of course, your player can win against players that are higher on the ranking list. I mean look at my most memorable moment. But what seems very weird to me is that the whole game, my player got her ass whooped by everyone she played against, and then all of a sudden she wins a tournament. Either she was using steroids or she made a deal with some demon. But no really, all jokes aside, it happens way too often where someone who is winning every game against the top-tier player suddenly gets a losing streak to some of the lowest-ranked opponents in the game. Tactics go a long way but sometimes this game does weird things.
What we Disliked
- Fake names | One of the things that I absolutely hated about Tennis Manager 2022 is the fact that they are using fake names. They just change famous names a little bit. No, you’re not playing against Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, or Novak Djokovic. In this game, you are up against Rafael Nabal, Roger Feberer, and Novak Djorovic. This is what they did with every know tennis player. It’s totally understandable that due to licensing you can’t use the real names and that’s okay, just don’t do this. Make names up, heck put your developer team in there with their names. Now it just feels like a cheap rip-off., which is sad, because I actually enjoyed the game.
How long to beat the story | There is no story.
How long to achieve 100% | 50+ hours
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