Roland Garros 2005: Powered by Smash Court Tennis

Namco brings a third Smash Court Tennis title for the PlayStation 2 by combining a Roland Garros license with their tried and tested tennis engine. It was only available in Europe and based on Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2. The game’s gameplay is similar to other tennis games on the market, but it differs from games like Virtua Tennis by emphasizing stamina (some players get tired faster than others, and not only run slower but also lose power to return the ball on longer matches) and by forcing the player to hit the ball as well-timed as possible – a “nice” ball (with a yellow visual cue near the racquet) will be much harder to return, as it will bounce away fast. The game includes 15 actual ATP and WTA players and several game modes: Roland Garros allows the player to compete in the namesake, exhibition, and spectator modes, where the player can sit back and watch a game played by the computer, using one of the many cameras available, including the classic TV presentation or from the main stand. The beefier mode is the ProTour. The player creates and customizes their player, from appearance to playing style, and begins a career, competing in tournaments and completing training sessions to improve the player’s chances of breaking into the elite. The training session mini-games from ProTour are included in Challenge mode, as well as Bomb Tennis, a unique way in which the court is filled with bombs, and as a player wins points, the opponent’s side is flooded with even more. The goal is to detonate the bombs by pushing them into the flames, causing the opponent to become engulfed in a single explosion. A comprehensive training mode is also included, which explains the differences between shots in detail and allows newcomers to adapt to the gameplay style of this title. By completing specific objectives, the player can access new items such as clothing, music tracks, trivia cards, player information, and even secret players.