About AoT Freedom Awaits:
There always seems to be luck involved when it comes to the quality of the king-of-the-rackets sport turned into video games. The financial backbone is nowhere near the likes of FIFA or NBA and game studios are trying to keep their financial risks to an absolute minimum. So, it’s no wonder that this iteration is struggling with both light and shadow, but let me start from the top… Solid gameplay mechanics: the system with charging up a shot and releasing the button at the right time was basically taken from Top Spin 4. If you played TS4, you will feel at home with AOT2 pretty quickly. You feel the weight of your shots and the rallies can get really engaging and intense. Highly customizable difficulty: you can basically customize everything in this game. CPU level, auto-movement, ball speeds on different surfaces, stamina and several different other assisting systems. You can also set the length of every event from 1 game in 1 set to 6 games in up to 5 sets. Australian Open: the only licensed Grand Slam tournament in the game is presented beautifully. There’s cutscenes, impressions from Melbourne and the Rod Laver arena is crafted with high detail. You shake your opponent’s as well as the referee’s hand at the end of a match and the whole ambience just hits the right spot. I love it. Highly customizable character: Hands down, this is the best character creator ever conceived in a tennis game. It may even be one of the most detailed CCs in any game. Body sliders for almost every body part, facial structures are deeply customizable, there’s a myriad of different hair styles and for the first time, you can even adorn your player with jewelry like earrings or necklaces. The clothing system lets you freely choose what you’re wearing, how it’s colored and what logos you put on it. Also: don’t be afraid to make a mistake during creation. You can alter your character afterwards at any time for free, including body sliders. Improved on-court immersion: BigAnt Studios implemented a few more things to improve the on-court experience. Players will ask for towels to wipe their sweat, there are more animations when you win, like falling onto your knees or the famous falling backwards on the ground, sending the racket flying. After points or mistakes from you or your opponent, you can now also give a positive or negative reactions which will influence how your player is received by the media and fans. It’s your choice: will be famous or infamous?
