Right off the bat, Mario Tennis Aces , the eighth installment in the Mario Tennis series, feels inadequate. Mario's Tennis , which kicked off the series way back in 1995 on the Virtual Boy, featured at least six games per set, just like actual tennis.

Camelot have been the kings of the Mario Tennis (and Golf) kingdom for some time, after the pure disappointment that Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash on the Wii U was, everyone has been waiting for them to give Tennis another real shot.

This review originally published on June 20, before its online was live. We've since updated this review with multiplayer impressions and a score. I admittedly don't know much about traditional tennis. I know there are tennis balls. I know there are courts.

I admit, the game is fun if you play with more people, and I do like they keep on bringing DLC character to the game. But it feels like the game is meant for one player only. Story mode is only for 1player and it would have been better if it was a split screen.

Summer is in full swing and Nintendo and Camelot Software are serving up their next instalment in the Mario Tennis series for all to enjoy, even enlisting some famous faces to help with the advertising campaign.

It was early in my time with Mario Tennis Aces that I realized a major flaw. I was just a couple missions deep in the story based Adventure mode when I knew: The game is boring. It lacks the charm of Super Mario Odyssey or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and got very repetitive very quickly.

Tennis mechanics are fun; Large character roster

Little variety; Broken online

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.

Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.

‘Mario Tennis Aces' delivers a satisfying, though brief, game of tennis.

Playing virtual tennis feels great; Accessible; yet offers some depth; Surprisingly funny writing; Strategic and thrilling online matches

Story mode is too short; …and there's not much to do after

Mario and his pals from the Mushroom Kingdom have certainly been in their fair share of sports titles over the past thirty years, from karting to golf, football to baseball, they've seen and done it all.