Thanks to a beta this past weekend, Nintendo gave Switch owners the first taste of its upcoming sports title, Mario Tennis Aces . Since it was supposed to be part demo and part test of the game's network code, players only had access to a portion of the single-player and online multiplayer action...

A tennis game with a narrative doesn't seem all that unusual, but when that tale involves a forgotten kingdom and a tennis racket called Lucien that controls people via its possessed grip tape, you know this is probably isn't quite the brand of tennis you see on the ATP tour.

Bright; solid visuals; Cohesive controls; Good array of game modes

Punishingly hard at times; Some courts are downright unfair; Too complicated to pick up and play

Racketeering

Best representation of tennis for a long time; Typical colourful Nintendo presentation; Great with mates

Frustrating story mode; Lack of things to do; Gimmick courts are awful

With both Virtua Tennis and Top Spin MIA for some years now, 2018 always looked like a dream for fans of the sport, as no fewer than three racket-based titles were scheduled to launch before the summer.

The Mario Tennis series is a bit like that former tennis prodigy who never quite broke through to the big time. Early signs of spontaneous genius appear to have been gradually ground out of them, as they turn into a thoroughly solid but firmly second-tier pro.

Bereft of feature content though it was, the Wii U's Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash delivered addictively enjoyable core gameplay, for as long as its online servers remained populated.

It's been a little while since Nintendo players saw a good Mario Tennis game – after some solid and deep titles like Mario Tennis Power Tour, we saw Mario's game drop off drastically with 2015's Mario Tennis Ultra Smash.

Lots of modes and ways to play; Well-written; deep Adventure Mode; Surprisingly realistic tennis

Uneven difficulty; Throws lots of information at you quickly

Despite a few niggling issues Mario Tennis Aces is a great return to the best parts of the franchise. Gameplay is smooth, strategic and fun. And with story, tournament and multiplayer modes all available it is sure to bring a lot of fun to longtime fans and new players alike.

Great story-mode mechanics; including basic RPG elements; Smooth; fun gameplay; Great multiplayer options; Much more content than previous franchise entries

Plot a little forced; Adventure mode must be completed for all courts to be unlocked; Levelled-up character not carried through to other modes; Only Mario playable in Adventure mode

A bizarre coming together of Smash Bros. and Mario Tennis that strangely works, even if the Adventure mode occasionally frustrates.

Fantastic battling additions to tennis gameplay; Looks amazing; Courts are regularly inventive

Adventure mode can be incredibly frustrating

Andy Murray and Steffi Graf are just finishing off their opponents. They're against Tim Henman and Sue Barker off Question of Sport in the mixed doubles finals at Wimbledon, and suddenly The King of England Cliff Richard stands up and starts singing.