We’ve been pretty lucky with the amount of titles that we’ve been given the chance to take for a spin (cough), and even more so in that most of them have been near final copies. This build of Top Spin 2 just happened to be one of the earlier ones. It was a decent indicator of what we can expect, being better than the initial screens that were revealed at last year’s E3.
With such a crowd cheering him on, he's likely to make that shot.
We only played the one match, but tennis is tennis after all. There were a decent variety of real life players, including Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Lleyton Hewitt. As with most sports titles these days, you had the option of creating your own player to compete with.
The tennis itself felt pretty similar to what you’d expect. The A button performs a flat shot, the Y button a lob and so forth, but it’s all done with the same amount of care and precision that made it so well-acclaimed on the original Xbox. One thing that can be said about it is that the pacing of the game feels like it’s a bit more realistic, with not everything being crash and bash.
Something that is not entirely noticeable at the start is that the physics are more realistic than before. Top Spin was easily a front runner in this department when it comes to sports games and Top Spin 2 follows suit. It’s nothing hugely substantial but it does make a difference once you really get into the game. Everything comes together in a much more realistic fashion.
Graphically, the game was not one to blow you away. However, we’re willing to forgive it because it was a build from the earlier development stages. Still, it did house some promise. The players themselves looked like minor upgrades and like plastic figurines, but the work on their animations was very realistic and they’ve fit it into the game well. They’ve even got some “off-the-ball” animations that are characteristic of their nature, whether they be laid-back like Carlos Moya or high-strung like Andy Roddick. Unlike in a few other recent sports games, the crowd and surrounding stadium looked like they are close to coming to life.
That's a very relaxed shot
Top Spin 2 is obviously going to feature extensive online and career modes, as well as modes that involve a lot of your own creative touches. The big worry for this game is that tennis is a game that really can’t be drastically altered in anyway, so unless the final product is ultra-refined and utilizes the extra processing power to improve realism, this game may (regrettably) fall into obscurity.
While it doesn’t really have the opportunity to reinvent the wheel, Top Spin 2 could show the potential of refinement and realism that we can come to expect from the next generation. We have no reason not to believe that this will come to fruition.
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