Top Spin

"The best tennis game I've ever played"

I've played many tennis games in my day, dating back to before the next-gen consoles. Mario Tennis, despite not having realistic players and such, was always my favorite. But after getting Top Spin for free from a friend, I found a new ''best tennis game ever''. Top Spin was the one. A little challenging at first, and it does lack in some areas (such as selection of players) but the create a player feature is awesome, and the realism is great as well. If you're a casual tennis fan such as myself, you'll probably like Top Spin.

Graphics: 10/10~The graphics on this XBox game are superb, in the least. The players from the tour look accurate, and your create a player will also look stunning as well. The courts are glimmering, and are overall very eye catching. The camera angles aren't the greatest, but they do the job, and this game ends up being overall very visually attracting.

Sound: 7/10~This is where the game can come up short. There are some decent sounds, and you can hear some good trademark grunts. The tennis sounds are very realistic, and overall good, but there is just something missing for sound. You'll notice the silence after a few games, unless you're using a regular person and playing on tour.

Gameplay: 9/10~The gameplay in this game is overall very well done. You will most likely at first have trouble with it, and the players seem somewhat slow, but after a while you'll enjoy the style of play used. You can hit a variety of shots, and it plays basically like a real tennis match. Nothing too fancy, but nothing bad either.

Lasting Appeal: 10/10~Being the avid sports fan I am, this game overall will keep you glued if you're a tennis fan for quite a while. It's not nearly as deep as say, Madden, NCAA FBall, NBA Live, NCAA March Madness, or SSX 3, but it's also not going to be beaten very quickly. Even if you can will every match with Pete Sampras or Anna K., you can go into career mode, and build a new player from scratch. She will start out bad, and it's your job to make her into a superstar, signing sponsorship deals, and everything. Overall, it'll keep you occupied for hours.

Overall: 9/10It has plenty to do, and much last appeal, and the gameplay/graphics are solid. The sound is lacking, something that should be improved in the next edition. TopSpin also has XBox Live capabilities, but I don't have Live, so I can't comment on that. If you want the best possible tennis game availible now, get Top Spin for the XBox. It lacks many good players like the Williams sisters, but it still delivers a quality tennis game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/02/04