AO Tennis 2 Sounds Like a Huge Improvement

As the first dedicated tennis game on the PlayStation 4, there’s no doubt that AO International Tennis was a huge disappointment. But developer Big Ant has had plenty of time to listen to feedback, and now it’s got a publisher in French firm BigBen Interactive behind it. Already, the sequel AO Tennis 2 is sounding like an enormous improvement.

While this first developer diary delves into the presentation as opposed to the core gameplay, it’s immediately obvious that a ton of work has been invested into the release. The entirety of Melbourne Park – used for the Australian Open, of course – has been replicated, while tons of new details have been added, such as fabric and hair physics.

The net result is a more authentic looking game, and while it’s clearly not got the budget of a FIFA or Madden, it’s unquestionably a stride forward for the series. We’re still eager to see how the gameplay looks, because we weren’t a fan of the way matches flowed in the previous instalment. Hopefully this aspect ends up as improved as the presentation, because the PS4 desperately needs a good tennis title.