Top Spin 3 Review (as requested)

A-Bomb · 06-22-2008, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Australia, June 18, 2008 - Attention fans of the Top Spin series! Your prior training means nothing! Yes, with Top Spin 3 it's time to start again because developer PAM has completely retooled the series' gameplay. We're talking about a brave new world of simulated tennis here, and – as good as it is - it will take some time to get used to.

That's the first thing you need to know about Top Spin 3 – whether you're a fan of the series or a newcomer, this is not a pick up and play game in the same way most other tennis titles are. Instead, it's a game that requires players to essentially unlearn much of what they thought they knew about tennis videogames, and it's a game that rewards practice.

As you'd expect, the gameplay is built entirely around timing and positioning, but to an even greater degree than before. The better your timing and positioning, the more power and angle you can put on the ball, and the lower the chance is of hitting it out or into the net. The timing system is built on hold and release mechanics, so you hold a groundstroke button and move into position as the ball comes towards you, then release to time your swing perfectly as the ball rises up. The longer you hold down before you hit the ball, the more power you'll get on the shot... provided you time it sweetly.

It takes a while to adjust to but ultimately works really well – even if it can be frustrating watching your player lunge at the ball when you're slightly out of position, miss the ball entirely if you release too late, or hit a weak shot if your timing is slightly off. It definitely makes you feel like you're working for most points, and when you do get in the zone – moving into position well, timing your shots and controlling the flow of play, it feels pretty damn good.

This system flows through into serving as well. To time your serve perfectly you'll need to release the button as the ball reaches its apex, and you can even choose to use the right stick for the serving action – pull it back to toss up the ball, then flick it forwards to serve. Want to do a slice serve? Pull the stick back, then quickly rotate it clockwise up to hit the ball. Top spin serve? Counter-clockwise. Angling the ball on the serve is also a different system than you may be used to. Rather than being the angle you're holding the stick during the serve, it's when in the motion you press in a direction. The longer the direction is held the further the ball goes. It's a bit finicky, and to serve down the line or out wide you can really only push in a direction a split second before the ball reaches its peak, which is fairly unintuitive. It does, however, mean that it takes skill to consistently put the ball where you want it to be.

So the basic gameplay is pretty unforgiving, but in a reasonably fair way. The presumptive icing on the cake - the risk/power shot system - on the other hand, is less so. It returns in a tweaked form from the previous games, but is just as much a missed opportunity. The basic idea is that you use the face buttons for most play, but when you want to put a little extra power on the ball or you want to try and hit the ball a little closer to the line, you hold the R trigger or L trigger respectively, along with one of the face buttons. Great idea, and we understand that you're meant to be taking a risk using the shoulder button modifiers (for the ultimate – use both at once), but the timing is so demanding (particularly for power shots) that you're unlikely to take the risk when you really need to, instead only experimenting with them when you're clearly on top.

Risk and power shots certainly become easier to use the more you practice and the higher your stats get in the career mode, so it's not like you'll never use them. They also work well on service: the timing is quite fair and you've always got your second service if you don't nail it. You'll also likely use the risk button to try and punch return winners down the line, but they just don't gel into the gameplay as a whole nearly as well as they should. These shots should be part of the core game, not something that you'll use every so often with your fingers crossed.

Source: IGN

Necro · 06-22-2008, 12:12 PM

I've been playing Virtua tennis 3 on 360 non fuckin stop. Might pick this up...

KillWill · 06-22-2008, 12:18 PM

Necro don't, Virtua Tennis 3 is far better than this it has better graphics, better players, better controls (because the new control system they added in this year is awful) and it is a pick up and play game unlike Top Spin 3.

Necro · 06-22-2008, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hipster William

Necro don't, Virtua Tennis 3 is far better than this it has better graphics, better players, better controls (because the new control system they added in this year is awful) and it is a pick up and play game unlike Top Spin 3.

cool thanks meng...

Spinoff360 · 06-24-2008, 08:17 PM

Basically what every review I have seen has said. For people that won't give up on a game after five minutes and want a tennis game finally trying to sim things up a bit it will be great once you get used to it. Picked it up today but have yet to play it.

Oh and as for the comment that VT3 has better graphics than TS3.... HA!

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Top Spin 3 Review (as requested)

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