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Since playing a stickman Tetris flash game a few years ago, I have always been intrigued with stickman based games. I have not played any Android games since I stopped playing Clash of Clans, but one of my favorite Android games since then has been Stickman Tennis by Djinn Works. Note that I am partially biased towards Stickman Tennis because I actively played high school tennis.
The main goal of Stickman Tennis is simple. You need to get to the ball. The sooner you get to the ball, the more time there is available to "charge" your shot. The longer you "charge" the shot and release at the right time, means a more powerful a shot. While "charging" your shot, you can also direct the angle of the shot. Stickman Tennis supports three types of shots: topspin, slice, and lob.
As with any new game, a big part to success is the learning curve. Make it too difficult, and people give up. The good news is the Stickman Tennis is easy to learn. There is a well put together tutorial that walks through the basics of the game. Three on screen buttons for the different types of shot and direction pad for angle of the shot. The rest is all strategy and timing.
Now, for what I like about Stickman Tennis:
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Have the choice to enable character auto-run. With this feature (with by default is on), I can focus purely on the strategy of shot timing and placement instead of struggling with the controls to run around.
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The ability to play different styles of sets. By starting a set evenly at 4-4, I only have to win a few games to win the full set. With best two out of three sets, there are more than enough points to fairly determine the winner.
What can be improved with Stickman Tennis:
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There is only a single player mode. The single biggest improvement to the game is a multiplayer mode where I can play against friends or stranger's online.
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In singe player mode, you can only play a single match. A good change would be to have a second doubles mode.
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On my Moto X, there are periods where the game lags, making it difficult to properly time the shot. If my phone isn't performing well enough, I wish there were an option to turn reduce graphics to optimize performance.
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Tour mode should have include upgrade points to improve character's abilities. Throughout the tour, my character is as good as I am, but my opponents are always weaker. This makes the game too easy.
After about a few weeks of play, I have still not finished the Tour Mode (which is increasing difficulties). However, I am slowly becoming more bored, as I feel as if I've already mastered the game. With each new match, nothing changes. The repetitiousness of the game is likely going to be the reason why I uninstall Stickman Tennis. But until that day comes, I will enjoy the game, and likely try other games by the same developer.