There isn't a review for hardhitter tennis from a reputable magazine or site and I haven't played it myself but here are some reviews of people who did play it
Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/2003
Hard Hitter Tennis ? Never heard of it ! Nobody ever heard about this game !
One of my friend just bought this game couple months ago for $19.99 at Fry's.
Firstly, when I look at the title of the game, I was disappointed and don't have the intention to play.
However, After I played for a while, I was addicted and just realize I shouldn't judge the book by the cover.
Story 0/0
Well, this is a Sport game, I don't think any gamers want a story on a sport games.
Graphics 10/10
The graphics is Excellent, you can change the view by zooming in or out. In addition, the graphics still look very nice and sharp when you zoom in for closer view. The game will also show a replay every time you win a shot.
In my opinion, the graphics is definitely better than Tennis 2k2.
Music/Sound 9/10
The music is fine. The sound is great especially on the commentators.
Gameplay 10/10
The gameplay is so different if compare to other tennis games. I have played the Tennis 2K2, the gameplay sucks, no matter how far you push the Analog to either left or right, the ball will never go out of the court. But on Hard Hitter tennis, the gameplay is awesome, it is so Realistic!!!
It is no easy job on serving, volley, smashing or lobbing. It is about timing and skills. There is a training mode that will teach you how to play in a better way such as serving with an Ace, smashing the ball in different ways.
The Tournament mode will let you deal with some low and high level tennis player, some are easy but some are really unbeatable. In addition, you can create your own player by choosing your name, own serving style, left-forehand or right-forehand. After finishing all the tournament, you will unlocks some special court that can allow you to play on Exhibition mode.
On the Exhibition Mode, you can play up to 4 players. My friends and I can play during the weekend for hours and hours.
There is more than 15 players you can choose from, and some of them are hard hitter, stroker or all-around player.
Replayability 10/10
You can replay this game with your friends again and again. You can use different tactics or skills to deal with different opponents. Besides, all the players in the game has their own strengths and weaknesses, you need to spent some time to find it out, and pick the best player for your style.
Buy or Rent
Definitely a buy. You can get this game now below 10 bucks on ebay.
Overall 10/10
If you don't like the gameplay on Tennis 2k2 or Smash court Tennis, then you should get this game now. Because Hard Hitter tennis is only for gamers who want some challenge and real life tennis experience.
and one on the low side:
Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/2002
I recently found this game at one of my many video game outlets for the remarkably low price of $9. So, thinking that this is such a great deal for matter how bad the game ends up, I picked it up. I mean, it’s tennis, I’ve loved other Tennis games, how much different could it be? When I got home, I popped this game in and quickly realized, I just blew $9.
Gameplay - 3
Well, there is plenty wrong here, let’s just start from the beginning. The controls are even worse then I ever imagined possible for a video game. In game, you press X or circle to hit the ball, triangle to lob it. That stuff I got, but what I don’t get is the movement. You use the left analog to move and to aim. Here’s how it’s supposed to work, you move with the left analog stick to the point close to intersecting the ball, press and hold either X or circle and tilt the left analog stick to aim where you want the ball to go. Sound simple? Yeah, right. What actually ends up happening (at least for me) is that I move with the analog stick, and then while having flashbacks of Virtua Tennis, I hit the ball not releasing the analog stick. Needless to say, most of my losses are from faults or outs.
Another very annoying thing about this game is that after you get a fault or out, this game will give you little tips to avoid it in the future, the problem is that the text goes away so fast; you have to be a speed reader to catch it. Luckily you can disable these hints in the options.
Graphics - 7
Well, here’s one positive thing to this game, great graphics. The courts look real, the players look as close to real as you’d want and the audience looks like cardboard cutouts (maybe that not so much a positive thing). This game seems a bit rushed; they could have spent more time detailing the audience. But the rest of the game looks great.
The character animations look great and fluid whether their serving the ball or taunting the opponent when they miss.
Sound - 5
You have your usual grunts and yells, but one thing that I absolutely despise is that announcer. I mean, if they gave him more dialog it’d be alright. Instead, they give him a few short lines that are almost guaranteed to repeat in the course of a round. As far as background music, there is none. Of course, even if there were, you wouldn’t likely hear it due to the fact that you’ll almost undeniably be muting your TV set to shut up the announcer.
Replay value - 5
Well, call me a glutton for punishment, but I keep on going back to this game again and again, maybe it’s just me looking for something in this game that justifies keeping it.
Closing comments
Well, if you see this one for under $10, it’s up to you whether to pick this one up or not. The fact that this game practically just came out and is already so cheap should have been a huge red flag to me. I honestly though that this game would have been something far greater then what it really is.
Overall - 4
hope it helps.
