Top Spin

"All other Top Spin reviews give high marks....so do I"

This is the only Tennis game I have ever played as I don't really enjoy tennis that much, well until my uncle bought this game and I played it, I have been hooked ever since. You don't even need to like tennis to enjoy it, although that helps a bit. It also has the feature of X-Box Live which means you can play it online.

Graphics 10/10

Superb in every department, the crowd look better than most other sports games I have played, the courts look realistic with dust coming up when you slide across the court which adds more detail. There are also lots of courts to go in, each is detailed very well. The players look realistic and hardly any of them look the same due to the custom design of each one. This game has the most realistic characters that I have seen on any game. Therefore graphics gets a perfect 10/10.

Sounds 8/10

Not too good as it basically what you would hear when you watch a game of tennis on the television, it is basically grunts and moans with the umpire calling things every now and then. Each court makes a different sound when you slide across it. There is no music in the actual play which I feels lets the game down a small bit, but it would put you off in game. Therefore sounds get 8/10 due to the nice sound effects when you hit the ball and slide across the court.

Story 7/10

Can't really do much with this, basically you make a tennis player, enter lots of competitions, become PRO and train. Not much could have been done here as not many sports games have stories any way. So story gets 7/10 as the main single player mode is basically story mode, and you do have a main aim in the game although it is a bit open ended.

Gameplay 10/10

Nice, basically you create a tennis player, enter competitions, train etc. to build up your skill points. You also cannot enter the PRO compo's straight away, you have to work your way up from the bottom. The controls are very easy to learn, perhaps the easiest from any X-Box game. There are lots of training sessions which will teach you the skill shots. You can also take your tennis star online and play against the worlds hotshots. Competitions will soon be playable on LIVE, another nice feature for online play is that you can have a mate around your house and play doubles matches online. You can also do this with 4 players at your house.

Replay Value 10/10

You will never want to put it down, there is just so much to do in the game, that you will never get bored, especially with online play and competitions you will always want to perfect your play level. On a Friday night you could just get your mates over and play the game and have lots of fun until the early hours of the morning.

Buy or Rent??

Buy, it is a sure thing, you will like it and it will be worth every penny.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/26/04