Top Spin

"You'll never have to double fault again!"

I love tennis. I was even the captain of my high school tennis team back in the day. I am an avid tennis player, and I love tennis. On top of that, I also like to give tennis videogames a go from time to time. I've played the various Mario Tennis titles, and Sega's Virtua Tennis games as well, but none of them really can serve an ace of fun the way Top Spin does (expect many tennis puns in this review).

Presentation:
This game does an impressive job of getting you into the zone. The instruction booklet is nice and thick, and lets you know what's up in this game. Additionally, when you first turn this guy on, there is a very cheesy intro movie that will totally get you AMPED!!!!!! to start playing. Also, with tons of famous tennis players (or ex-tennis players, Miss Kournikova!), including my personal favorite, Grosjean, how can you go wrong?

PRESENTATION: 10/10

Graphics:
Yowza, did they work hard on this! There is not much to say, except that the player models look fantastic (oh Lleyton Hewitt, let me touch you! Oh wait, you're not real! OMG!!). Yes, the non-created characters look just like their real selves. And the graphics for your created character(s) are totally impressive too. Hell, even the crowd looks amazing-- they'll give a standing ovation at the end of a good rally. It's a bit difficult to put a bunch of detail in tennis courts, but they do look nice and real. Well done!

GRAPHICS: 10/10

Sound:
There is very little music (thank Buddha, that intro song almost made me go emo on myself!). However there ARE sounds! And they sound nice! There are grunts, squeaks, pounds, and of course bounces. I also love how the judges speak in the current country's native language. The crowd's sounds are also amazing, like an “OH!!!” when you return an overhead. Me likey.

SOUND: 9.5/10

Gameplay:
It's tennis! Forehands, backhands, lobs, volleys, overheads, serves, returns, drop shots, and the Top Spin exclusive “risk shot” are all present. This game would suck if they weren't! Even better, your swing can be topspin, flat, or slice, each of which will be used equally. To improve each of these, you can go to a “trainer,” and hone your skills. There is a limited amount of training you can get, so choose your specialties wisely.

Something that really bothered me is that you will almost never hit the ball out. Everything in this game is as close to realistic as it can get, but I think I've only hit the ball out twice or thrice! That is NOT realistic! Also, it's actually harder to double fault than to ace an opponent! …Well that's pretty cool, actually… After all, though, playing tennis here is great fun, and every point will be different.

Oh, of course, what an ass I am! In addition to playing as the pros (Hewitt, Chang, Sampras, Hingis, Dementieva) you can create your own! There are infinite possibilities—make your character a representation of you as a tennisser, or even make him/her a representation of another professional (Venus and Serena aren't in this, you know…). In addition to the created characters' looks, you will be able to choose their country of birth, and of course their tennis attributes. He/she can specialize in forehands, backhands, serves, etc., and be a lefty or righty.

Once you begin your career, you must work your way up to the top (through trainers, tournaments, sponsors, and of course salons!). Dude, you have no idea—the career mode will have you so engrossed that you will not want to stop playing EVER until you're the best in the land. It will be long and grueling, of course, but it is just so much fun! There are a couple VERY minute faults (heh), though. One is that you aren't allowed to save your progress in the middle of a match, which means it may be a long time before you get a break, or you must leave your Xbox on for a long time. Another is that the farther you progress and the more goodies you get, the longer the loading times will get. So they will become verrrrrrry long when your character becomes awesome at tennis. Lastly, you can't play doubles in Career Mode, which was disappointing.

So the Career Mode will take up most of your time at the start, but there are also exhibition matches. You can play as your created character or as one of the game's. This time you CAN play doubles, but hey—no mixed doubles! What the hell! Still, it is a fun time.

Lastly, there is Live for Top Spin. Play it and test your skills against other folks who own this great game! Do it! Now! (Yes, Live for Top Spin is great, in case you haven't noticed.)

GAMEPLAY: 9/10

Replay Value:
Are you for real?! This game will last you months, if not longer! I've had it since it came out, and I still pop it into the ole ‘box from time to time! I love it, and it never gets old. Whether for career mode, Live, or just party-exhibition matches, you will be playing this for a looong time.

REPLAY VALUE: 9.5/10

Overall:
It looks real, it plays real, it sounds real, and dammit, it IS real! Actually it's not, but it's about as close as you're going to get. It's fantastic. Buy it, do NOT rent it, and play it forever. Tuck it under your pillow at night, too, just because I said so. Game, set, match, biotch!

OVERALL: 9/10

Thankee for reading!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/31/06