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Tennis fans have long awaited for
this point in time; the arrival of digital tennis that can return the serve provided
by its opponent Virtua Tennis. Since Virtua Tennis last graced store shelves, tennis
games have come and gone; all of which failed miserably in comparison. That is until
now...Top Spin tennis is a breath of fresh air that not only donates good company to
Virtua Tennis, it wipes the floor with the ancient title.
Top Spin tennis has been in the making for quite some time, in fact, I have personally
been waiting on this title ever since the first words were spoken of it. I had put so
much faith in this title that each time the video game store found me I had to pass up
Tennis Masters Series. Luckily my suspicion proved correct; Top Spin was one game that
was certainly worth waiting for.
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Play with the world's best athletes: With 16 professional tennis players, Top Spin
tests gamers in a five-set match against Lleyton Hewitt or as Martina Hingis' partner
in the final match of a doubles tournament. Some of the players featured in Top Spin
include the following:
Lleyton Hewitt
James Blake
Tommy Robredo
Jan-Michael Gambill
Michael Chang
Gustavo Kuerten
Meghann Shaughnessy
Sebastian Grosjean
Anna Kournikova
Daniela Hantuchova
Martina Hingis
Barbara Schett
Ashley Harkleroad
Elena Dementieva
Amanda Coetzer
Top Spin is fairly basic, but in fairness it is mildly complex at the same time. The
game offers up to 5 options from the main menu: Exhibition, Career, Custom Tournament,
XSN Sports, and Xbox Live. As ignorant as I may be, I am going to focus on the career
mode, as the blood and guts of the game are found here. To hell with playing multiplayer
over a network! I do not currently have the capability, nor do I wish to get it. Just
a note, you can play this over XSN or Live.
The control scheme for the game is very basic; however taking a risky shot involves a
slightly more complex combination. Each of the four main buttons on the Xbox controller
layout represents a different shot type. Three of those same buttons offer up various
serve types. The triggers are used for risky shots. To perform a risky maneuver pull
the trigger, line up the swinging meter successfully, and watch your opponent squirm
to return the ball to your side of the court. If you are not successful, then watch
the ball float into the net, shoot out of bounds, or fall in bounds, but well off of
the mark that you had originally planned for. As the game will state time and time
again, you will be rewarded for using the triggers wisely and punished for not having
the ability to time the triggers with perfection. Practice, in this case, will make
you better....not perfect. In addition, the white and black buttons are used to show
emotion, but after a few games you will no longer be prone to swagger near those
buttons...they are a waste of time, eventually.
As you can see the control scheme is relatively basic, yet the triggers offer some
complexity. Of course, you can always just go full speed into the game using the A
button as your primary source of racquet control. A will be all that you need
initially, but as you progress it is difficult, if not impossible, to win matches
without using the complete bag of 'tricks'.
The gameplay is very well done; however, it is not perfect. A few instances left my
player completely uncontrolled, as it seemed obvious that my pressing of the A button
was not recorded. This non-responsive 'attitude' is never good in a video game,
especially a game where timing is crucial. In order to be purely effective you are
required to time the ball with your response to get the maximum effect of the shot.
Lining up your return off of a high bounce will result in a quick shot across the net,
possibly too difficult for your opponent to return. Not timing the ball on the hop may
result in a floater that gets pounded back at you, down your throat. It will not leave
a nice taste in your mouth and will cause you to get it right the next time around.
The entire gameplay is based around timing and once you have a game or two under your
belt you will find yourself growing accustomed to how exactly the game engine is
working. Aside from the rare response issue the gameplay aspect is great.
On a final note, each player is given an ITZ (IN THE ZONE) meter that feeds off of the
crowd reaction. As your player hits aces and winning shots the meter will fill up. Once
at maximum capacity your player will gain a slight edge in pulling off those risky
shots. Of course, a risky shot is never guaranteed in Top Spin, it is slightly easier
to perform.
Moving on to the audio aspect...The audio in the game is horrid. Yes the sound effects
are really well done, but the commentary is non-existent most of the time and when it
is around it is irrelevant. The game could use a little more emotion added into the
mix, but for now I guess we all must live with what little has been added. Don’t put
much emphasis on the audio, as you will be utterly disappointed.
On the other side of the ball, the graphical nature of the game is amazing. It looks
as good as I have seen a video game look. The textures are beautiful, the animations
believable, and the physics realistic. At first I found myself having a difficult
time buying into what previous reviews were composing in regards to the look of the
game, but now that I own the title I can vogue for their impressions. The game mimics
the real life look of tennis and only on a few occasions will you pick out something
that just doesn’t look amazing. The ball boys turn their heads to watch the ball, the
net flutters after being stoked with a 100mph serve, and your players hair actually
looks like hair, instead of a jagged mess that other game developers have incorporated
into their games. This is one area of the game that is as perfect as it can get,
without using digital footage. Well done!
The career mode is where most of us will spend our time with the game. The goal as a
tennis player is to become ranked number 1 in the world, which is exactly what the goal
of Top Spins tennis career is all about. When you enter the career mode you must first
create your very own star for the game. The player generator is very cool and allows
you complete flexibility. It may take some time to set up your character, but the end
result is a player that can actually envision playing tennis. After your creation
takes shape, you pick your gear and progress to the world map...
While on the map, you will notice various icons that will allow you to enter various
sections of the game: Coaches' Houses to train your players, Sponsors to get coin and
gear, Tournaments to gain player recognition, Sport shops and Salons to spend coin on
your appearance, and airports to travel to different regions of the world. But what it
boils down to is this, win tournaments and step up the ranking ladder.
You can use the coaches' houses in order to train your player. He/She will have
challenges for you to perform at a cost, which will result (if successful) in eventually
adding points (stars) to your players ability. You have 14 stars to spread among your
skills, so training can be viewed as strategy.
The concept behind the career mode is very simplistic; but don’t expect your journey to
go as planned. It is a frustratingly fun experience that is like no other. At first you
will be thinking, "This is too easy." But in the end you will be itching to pull off
some risky moves to down your opponent. Are you prepared to take plenty of risks? You
better be.
At anytime on the world map you can 'exit' to what Top Spin calls THE NEXUS. This area
of the game is used for checking your scrapbook, checking your sponsor status and
rankings, or changing into some new gear. It is really self explanatory, yet a nice
touch to try and keep your player well organized on his/her path to greatness.
And the bad: The game needs a good practice mode that allows you to practice serving
without the annoyance of the ball being returned. Or a machine tossing you balls
across the net, while you prepare how to effectively return them. You can see these
small additives within the Tennis School (TUTORIAL) option, but as far as actually
practicing with these aides….forget about it. This would be a real simple fix.
One disappointment that I found was the inability to play more with more than one
player without the use of a system link. Hopefully I have skipped over the ability
for me and my friends to play on one single machine, but so far I have had no luck.
If this is missing, then this needs to be corrected. Not everyone has the ability to
play online, nor does everyone want to hook up multiple machines with silly system
links.
You also do not have the ability to play mixed doubles, or male/female singles. I do
not know why this wasn’t considered, but it seems odd that it was not incorporated.
I could care less about mixing, but I know that I have read about this issue more
than once. They should probably fix this as well.
On a final note: I would like to see the speed of the game increased, if only
slightly. The ball needs to feel as though it is traveling 100+ MPH, instead of
feeling as though everything is a lob shot. At times the ball seems to be cruising,
but in comparisons to actually facing a speedy shot low across the net, Top Spin
seems to have missed the memo on how to pull that off.
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Top Spin gathered the elements of the game and threw them all into one box in order
to make this game what it is. While it does fall short on a few levels, it is still
the best tennis game that exists today. Some players will not be satisfied with its
performance, but as with any game on the market nothing is truly perfect. If you are
looking for a downright enjoyable game with several bells and whistles, then I urge
you to pick this title up. If you are looking for the absolute perfect experience
then get off your lazy ass, get a racquet, and join the tour. If that isn’t an
option, then consider this the best alternative on the market today....Do you have
what it takes to become the best player in the digital tennis world? Buy it and
find out.
Some websites on Earth are handing out perfect scores, but on this planet our
generosity only allows 4 Planets. Let us hope that it only gets better with next
years version.
Ramz's Rating:
4 out of 5 Planets
Talk about
Top Spin Tennis>> |
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Buy it @
amazon.com |
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