Top Spin 2

Written by Glenn Wigmore  on October 12, 2005

First Impressions: More Top Spin (read: Virtua Tennis) can only be a good thingЕ hopefullyЕ

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With the release of the Xbox 360 comes a slew of launch titles, many of them being sports games. EA is well represented with many of their stalwart franchises, and 2K Sports will also make a strong showing with several titles including Top Spin 2. The first Top Spin was one of the most successful games that was under the УXSN SportsФ flag (Links 2004 being the other notable title), and this was chiefly because of the game's strong visual presentation, functional Ц but flawed Ц online support, and the easy-to-pick-up gameplay. The reason the gameplay worked so well was because it was similar to Virtua Tennis from back on the Sega Dreamcast, and each game provided an experience that was simple to pick up yet difficult to master. With Top Spin 2, developer 2K Sports is looking to reuse some of the magic from the first game as well as add on with next-gen graphics and features.

As with many of the familiar franchises making their way onto the Xbox 360, Top Spin 2 is looking to improve the graphics all throughout the game. The first notable change is in the player faces, which now feature extremely detailed hair, skin, and eyes. Star players like Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova all look incredibly lifelike and their animations are actually quite a bit smoother than the first game; this smoothness is due to the number of animations being, at least, doubled. As in all sports titles, there will be some repetition with how players move, but at least in this upcoming generation the movements will look much more believable. The actual courts are shaping up solidly, as well. You'll see great details such as large throngs viewing the proceedings, great shadow effects over the court, and plenty of supplementary details such as ball carts and random gear on some of the training courts. The visuals do look to be shaping up well, but the leap might not be as full as some people might have hoped for. In other words, the jump may be more akin to some of the upgrades that EA has shown for some of their games coming to the Xbox 360.

Obviously, a big part of what you'll doing in the game (offline, anyway) is partaking in the five-year career mode that takes you from training courts to Grand Slams. At first, you'll create a wannabe star using Top Spin 2's robust creation features, which allow for adjustments to over 150 different elements. Amongst these options are many different choices for clothing; the great thing is that you'll be able to use all sorts of different licensed gear so you can expect to have your player looking pretty much how you want.

During the actual career mode, you'll be participating in similar training events that were found in the first game in order to bolster your skills. You'll work on the usual areas such as your serve, backhand, forehand, and lob. After you've gained some skills and prepared yourself, you'll enter various tournaments and exhibition matches in order to make a name for your would-be star. In fact, after you've put in enough time you'll be able to enter the four Grand Slam tournaments that take place each year. Coaches will keep you honest all throughout your career by sending you voicemails if you start to lag behind in your skills. The career mode certainly sounds like it is shaping up to be a sizeable task once again.

The opponents you'll face in the offline modes should present an increasing challenge, at least according to 2K Sports. The first game's AI was decent, but wasn't immune to some lapses in logic or coherence. In Top Spin 2, the thinking and competitiveness of the computer has been tweaked extensively in order to add to the intensity of the matches. How each of the difficulty levels stack up against one another remains to be seen.

The control for the game seems quite similar to the previous iteration (and other comparable titles), but it appears that the developers have partitioned control into three distinct areas: main, wrist, and advanced. The УmainФ and УwristФ areas will be standard shots and techniques that you'll pick up throughout the game, but the УadvancedФ moves will only be taught to you by touring pros. However you go about it, you'll want to master all of these control areas in order to fully compete against players in both the offline and online realms. In general, the game will dictate the direction and speed of a shot by where you aim with the thumbstick and how hard you hold down the specific shot button. This system isn't too far of a departure from previous games, but there will be more fluidity to how it plays out due to the improved animations and increased sense of momentum. Back when I played this game at E3, the smoothness in which the game played was evident, but not way ahead of what was found in the first game. Still, the system wasn't broken in Top Spin -- on the contrary. It reminded many of Virtua Tennis, which is a good thing, and now there seems to be some additional Ц albeit subtle Ц changes. On paper, all of this can only lead to an even better gaming experience.

In terms of the online mode, it will once again feature the requisite matching features to jump you into a bout against someone who stacks up against your skill level. The Xbox 360 feedback and Gamerscore ratings will factor into this matching system so you can expect to get some competitive matches online, providing there are plenty of people playing. Tournaments should be supported, but whether they are user-created or developer-sponsored (or both) remains to be seen. There will be a ranked leaderboard for online matches, but straight-up exhibition УfriendlyФ games will still be an option. The good news for online is that four players will be supported for doubles play, something that wasn't truly supported in the recent Outlaw Tennis 2 for the Xbox.