Top Spin 4

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I spent hours on Top Spin on the original XBOX - and dabbled with Top Spin 2 -, and after playing the demo I think I'm gonna have to get Top Spin 4. The demo allows you to play a tiebreak as Federer or Nadal and based on the two of those they've done an excellent job of making the players seem distinct to each other. Nadal is quicker, stronger and has more stamina. Federer is more precise, his body-language and movements are harder to read and when the CPU is Nadal it seems to overhit more shots.

The gameplay has been fun, though that is based on the quick tie-break matches, and the presentation and little touches of 'realism' are seriously excellent.

The games full line-up will include Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic and Roddick (amongst other modern day players) as well as a swish roster of legends including Sampras, Agassi, Borg, Becker, Lendl, Pat Rafter, Jim Courier and Michael Chang (and they'll be some women too >_>)

Licenced tournaments include the Australian, French and US opens, and the ATP World Tour Finals (yay!) amongst others. No Wimbledon sadly, but I think there's a 'fake' version.

It's out next Friday for the 360 and PS3. Seems to have some nice online multiplayer modes btw. Anyone else gonna pick this up?

[Dan]

Aha, the Irish Open or whatever is the fake Wimbledon, it was on the last 2 as well I believe.

Top Spin games are great, nothing beats old Virtua Tennis 2 in the arcade though

[Baddar]

Got this on PS3 if any of you ever want a game. I'll be posting my initial thoughts on it later.

[Baddar]

As promised, Baddar's first impressions...

It looks nice. Very nice. The character models have definitely been done in a lot of detail, and the play styles/mannerisms look accurate too.

It's also a LOT easier to pick up and play than Top Spin 3, but it's just as hard to master. Hitting winners with perfectly timed regular shots can be achieved on this game, which seemed impossible on TS3, a game which only saw winners come about from your end if you used their "risk" shot, which has (I think) been taken out altogether.

You'll notice that your player doesn't switch sides on screen. I don't know if there's an option to do so, or if you could play with your player at the bottom of the screen at all times on TS3, but I think it's great, anyway. It always used to feel awkward playing at the top, and constantly having to adjust your angles on the analog was a pain.

If you're new to Top Spin, seeing the roster of only 25 players could be a bad thing, but really, if you're not spending most of your time in the AMAZING career mode, then you suck. Career mode puts you at 80th the rankings, and you start from the very bottom; without a coach, mediocre stats and playing against the fake players (which I love doing, by the way - as playing just the real roster would get boring fast) in small tournaments as you work your way up. There's an option to play a "sparring" match with a player close to your stat value, who also plays in certain ways, so that you're able to fine-tune any part of your game that neeeds, well, fine-tuning.

Everything you do with your created character across the modes earns you XP, which progresses your player through each stage, and of course, your stats. The creator seems VERY deep though, one of the deepest I've seen, and you could probably create something resembling yourself if enough time was spent on it. Basically, there's a host of preset faces/skin tones to use, then you can delve into the "Expert Creator" part, where there's about 30 white spots on the face, each one you can enter into and modify your player's looks. There's also an array of gear for your player to wear from all the big brands right from the get-go, so I've Nike'd up my player already.

In some career modes, the difficulty you play with from the start can't be changed - that isn't the case here. It ranges from Very Easy to Very Hard, with Easy, Normal and Hard being the in-between options. I started mine on Very Hard, but was quickly swept aside by one of the game gens 6-0, 6-0 in my first match, so I've turned it down to Hard until I get the hang of it. That's another thing - you can either choose to play your matches in the real tennis format (as I'm doing) or the watered down "Top Spin" version.

A minor gripe during play is the umpire calls from the side - they really should've had someone pronouncing the guys you're facing to add to the realism. Instead, we hear "Game Player 1" and "Game Player 2" depending on who wins. Not a huge issue, but yeah, they could've easily put in some preset call names in.

I've only just finished my 2nd full game, in my 2nd tournament, which I came back from a set and 4-2 down to eventually win 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. Winning 10 games on the bounce was fun. If that pattern continues, I'll quickly revert back to Very Hard. Before I switched off, I earned the ability to hire my first coach - each coach comes with either a Bronze, Silver or Gold rating, with the earlier coaches being bronze of course. These give you set challenges during matches, which I believe earns you XP and the games unlockables, which look vast to say the least.

So yeah, I'm having a blast so far. Tennis games haven't really held my interest in years gone by, but with this one having strong focus on character progression, it could well get me hooked. Oh, and if you're one for Tropies/Achievements, the set looks very good.

I am yet to try out the World Tour mode online, simply because I need to build my stats first, as you can guarantee there's people with super characters playing online just to top the leaderboards already.

Fucking hell, I feel like Norro now. Sorry about that. :/

[TCO]

I might gove this a try sometime. I always preferred Virtua Tennis though, it just always seemed more fun. The last VT was pure tripe though, so I'll probably pick it up eventually.

Pokemon is next on the to get list though and that'll nerdify up my life to the point where I won't play any other games, so it'll be nice and cheap when I get around to buying it.

[Baddar]

One thing I forgot to mention above, but is a nice touch in the game, is the little stats that appear every so often in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Stuff like "Federer has hit X amount of winners" or "Federer has now won X points in a row", and how long the match has been going on for appear there.

[Dan]

When you face one of the real players he calls out the real name.

Beating Federer in the semi's and Davydenko in the final of BNP Paribas Paris to unlock the Grand Slams in career mode was great, although it felt a little easy, probably going to start again on Hard when I've finished my first playthrough.

[Baddar]

When you face one of the real players he calls out the real name.

Oh I know that, it just would've been nice for them to get someone to say each of the players names in career mode, considering they've gone as far as creating about 60 of them.

In Pro Evo there's preset commentary names you can assign your own player, so that's what I was thinking there, instead of the boring "Player 1!" stuff.

And yeah, once you have a created player at a high level, I can see the Very Hard option being the only one that gives you any kind of a challenge, but I guess if you're that good, you won't be too out of place online.

[Dan]

Wow.

Just played Roddick in the semi's at Roland Garros, the guy is a monster.

I've beaten Nadal, Federer, Djokovic etc. but Roddick seems really overrated, he beat me in the end 12-10 in an epic tie-break

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I'm having a blast with this too. I keep going into career mode for half-an-hour or so, and end up playing it for twice as long as that. I'm finding it impossible to ace people..... and when THAT is the only thing approaching a gripe I have, then it shows how much fun I'm having with this.

I'd say more, but Badder pretty much said....everything!

[Baddar]

I've had a couple of aces, using the advanced serve with the stick, and my serve is still rated like 34, so hopefully when that goes up, my aces will.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I can't ace with Federer/Nadal/Roddick either though, but I'll keep trying different things.

It's really not a big issue at all, and isn't stopping me enjoying the game or anything.

[Baddar]

Yay, first tournament win!

In my first grass tourny in Munich, the final went on for an hour and 15 mins real time, and I eventually won 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 ...I had a match point during the 2nd set too, but he (Carlos Cuello) slaughtered me in the tie-break 7-3.

[Baddar]

Talk about being brought back down with a bang...

Next tourny was in Boston, and I was thumped 6-2, 6-0 by Oscar Pereira, renowned for his crazy defence - blimey, wasn't he just.

I love this game.

[Baddar]

Anyone played against a the Danish player with weird clothing and awful tattoo's (Larsen?) ? - he really is shit at playing for more than 7 or 8 shots. Timing your shots well for a short period usually forces him into making an error.

I like how the fake players have different styles, and don't all play the same way.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Me too. I keep playing against a Swedish guy called Man; who keeps rushing the net. What's interesting is that the lob shot seems less effective against him than it does others - he's quick too, you've got to hit passing shots to beat him - though he also makes a lot of unforced errors.

I also cheered like a bitch when I played this beautiful cross-court drop-shot to win a point last night. I was right at the bottom right of the court, opponent top left. He hits the ball onto my forehand; and my player nonchalantly flicks his racket, returning the ball back towards the opponent. The ball dropped just over the net, right on the side line and bounced out. Perfect.

At what stage do tournaments stop being super tie-break and become full matches? I assume the Masters events?

[Baddar]

What d'you mean, super tie-break?

I set mine to ''Real Tennis'' rules, so I play 3 or 5 sets, normal tie-break depending on the tournament. You get the option to change all that at the very start.

The only super tie-break I've had was in a challenge against some guy who challenged me in one of those special events.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Balls. I just used the default options, so all my tournaments are set to super-tie break rules, rather than proper matches.

Oh well, I'll certianly be playing the career mode again with a second created player anyway (because it's so good!)

[Baddar]

Yeah, it should be proper tennis rules by default, but I guess the more casual player won't mind the quicker matches.

Playing on full will certainly help with the ''score 2k points'' trophy, plus there's one for winning a match that is set to 5 sets, so I'll hopefully get that when I play in a grand slam.

Regarding those, do the Slams start at the QF stage too with the proper players, or do you meet the game gens in earlier rounds too? Don't really mind either way, but a win in a 5 set match is more likely against a gen than the Federer's/Nadal's, esp with my level 9 guy.

[Dan]

If you use the Top Spin season rules, the grand slams start at the first round and you work your way through, 3 sets, first to 3 games in each set.