There are always influences of certain games on others. You see it everywhere, from platforming, to adventures to RPG's.  But what about games like, oh, maybe tennis? Well what we see with this game is that a certain inspiration has been drawn from a little known game called Mario Tennis. Some aspects of that game made it into this one but still, this game has some differences that really change the way you think of tennis, and still keep most of the rules intact. In Tennis Antics, this different concept creates a fast paced game that keeps your reactions always working.  Different characters to earn, as well as some great tunes, make this not the game you may expect.

First thing you will notice with the game is the different rules that are in place. The game is similar to tennis in that you have a racket, and that by hitting the ball you try to get it past your opponent. Now here is where some of the differences begin. If you manage to get the ball past your opponent and it bounces twice, your opponent loses some of his life bar.  However, the ball stays in play. In fact the goal is to drain your opponent's life meter by beating them in the conventional sense and by using power ups to help you in your goal of doing this task.

At the beginning of the game, you will only have one character to choose. However, you can earn 19 more in the story mode.  As you beat your opponents, more characters will be unlocked. As well as that, there are three arenas to unlock too. The characters themselves are interesting and a bit humorous too. From Zombies, to undead pirates, to super heroes, they are all here playing this kind of tennis. The music itself too was well done; nice choice for the game and it has fast paced action.

The movement of the characters may seem a bit odd at first.  It will take a few rounds to get used to it, but it shouldn't be too big of a problem. Also, the default control scheme may be a bit odd. Thankfully, you can change it to whatever you want. Finally, in terms of actual different shots, there isn't many.  It would have been nice to see maybe some different combinations, but really it seems to be just luck when you pull off a lob or a drop shot.

Still, this was a different take on tennis and I was not expecting this sort of game, it was fun. So check out Tennis Antics and see for yourself.