Top Spin 3 (Xbox 360)
If you really, really, really dig tennis, you'll dig this. Otherwise...
7/2/2008 6:20 PM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 3
What's Hot: Overhauled control scheme and impressive visuals make for deepest video tennis to date.
What's Not: A seriously steep learning curve and the lack of any mini-games may turn off more casual gamers.
You can also take your game online, where you can face off in a single match or enter the "World Tour," taking your created player through tournaments that will affect online rankings. Be forewarned, though, competition can be hard to find. While the matchmaking interface is very smooth, there just weren't a whole lot of opponents out there during my testing. It's not much better on the other side of the next-gen fence; I had similar trouble finding anyone to play against with the PS3 version of the game.
Visually the game has gotten a significant facelift when compared to
TS2. Character models are more detailed than before and the venues are cleaner and crisper. The images could be even sharper, though -- despite a packaging claim that the game runs at 1080p, a 2K spokesperson told me the display maxes out at 720p.
While the series has gotten a kick visually this time around, things are not as great aurally. Those who enjoy audio commentary may be bummed out that there's no team of announcers dissecting every point, just like last time around. Personally, I don't mind. I've played way too many sports games with oft-repeated play-by-play lines that have been permanently installed on the hard drive of my brain.
TS3 feels like a throwback to EA's college football games of the '90s, in that you hear what you'd hear if you were actually at the event. I could have used more intensity from the crowd, but that's about my only gripe.
Even if you're a die-hard Top Spin fan, you will be dropping a lot of expletives until you figure out the controls for this year's game.
Top Spin 3 is the most demanding tennis sim out there and if you're not up to the challenge, you might end up being disappointed. On the other hand, if tennis is your thing and you don't mind investing some time, you'll want to take the court with this one.
This review was based on a retail copy of the game that was purchased by a very realistic and high-polygon-count version of the reviewer.
