REVIEW
Top Spin 3
PlayStation 3
2K Sports
Reviewed by Jared Fretwell
2k Sports is known for putting out a number of entertaining sports games for the next gen consoles. In the tennis gaming world, they're known for the release of TopSpin, but will TopSpin3 be able to take out Virtua Tennis 3.
I found the game play for this game to be a bit too slowly paced. I even looked at the game options to see if I could speed up the rallies. You will need to know how to perform different skills like drop shots or lobs to end points in your advantage, or to make points shorter. If you want to play a quick match against the computer or your friends, this mode is exactly for that. You can choose to either play someone in singles or doubles. After you create your own player, you can use that player to go against other opponents to raise your players skill level. You start out as an amateur, then work your way up all the way to a legend. If you keep winning matches, you'll earn points that could later be used to buy goodies, but we'll talk about that later in the review. If exhibition isn't your thing, try playing in a tournament. You can choose to participate in up to 40 tournaments, so pick wisely!
Some people may find the controls to this game a bit difficult to carry out, so the developers tried to make it a tad bit easier to understand. Baseline lessons, mixed training, volley lessons, special shot lessons, how to's, and service lessons are all different classes you could choose from to improve your game. I didn't really find this mode helpful, because they never gave detailed instructions if you didn't fully understand what you were doing.
In order to use Career mode, you'll need to create your own player. There are many ways to customize your own TopSpin player, so really use your imagination. You start out by picking your avatar's body type, then move on to the smaller details, like hair, eye color, etc. I was shocked to find out that you could even customize your avatar's grunt, so this must be the real thing! Overall, the creation process seemed a bit long, but you also could pick from a less detailed player creator.
If your avatar needs new shoes, shirts, or racqs, you can use your points to shop at the player area. The player area is actually a sports mall, and there are about 3 floors of stores you can choose from. As you gain more points, you're able to buy better quality equipment. I didn't see the player's performance improve much after the new sneakers, so that means that they're mostly for looks only. If you want, you can also check your player's win/loss record.
I was blown away by how many courts there were. In all, there were 40 courts to choose from. The main four ground types are Clay, Grass, Hard, and Indoor. If you didn't already guess, there are 10 courts per ground type. Some stadiums held more seats than others, so you could either be playing at your neighborhood court, or at the U.S Open Center Court. They added a little feature to also tell you where the court that you picked is located.
In Virtua Tennis, you only had about 20 players to choose from. TopSpin stepped their game up, pumping out 40 players. They even included tennis greats from the past like Bjorn Borg. I didn't care much for the controls at all. In Virtua Tennis, anyone could pick up a controller and start playing, but I found myself looking at the instruction book too many times for my own good. Even with Top Spin School, it took me a while to really get the controls down.
The graphics for TopSpin3 are superb! They really use the Blu-ray disc to add tons of details to the players and courts. If you're using a normal tube tv, don't expect much, because the graphics will only stand out with an HDMI cable. They don't forget to add small touches, like dirt kicking up after a slide on the clay courts. Unlike Virtua Tennis 3, this game shows dirt and sweat on your player's clothing. This may not sound like much, but small details like this separates this game from other games in it's class.
Even though the developers tried to make TopSpin3 feel like you were actually playing tennis, they failed with the serving speeds and player speeds. Players run too slow, which makes reaching possible shots impossible. When it comes down to graphics and real like features, TopSpin3 takes tennis gaming to another level. Its up to you to make your player be the best, and TopSpin fans will love every bit that this game his to offer!
I found the game play for this game to be a bit too slowly paced. I even looked at the game options to see if I could speed up the rallies. You will need to know how to perform different skills like drop shots or lobs to end points in your advantage, or to make points shorter. If you want to play a quick match against the computer or your friends, this mode is exactly for that. You can choose to either play someone in singles or doubles. After you create your own player, you can use that player to go against other opponents to raise your players skill level. You start out as an amateur, then work your way up all the way to a legend. If you keep winning matches, you'll earn points that could later be used to buy goodies, but we'll talk about that later in the review. If exhibition isn't your thing, try playing in a tournament. You can choose to participate in up to 40 tournaments, so pick wisely!
Some people may find the controls to this game a bit difficult to carry out, so the developers tried to make it a tad bit easier to understand. Baseline lessons, mixed training, volley lessons, special shot lessons, how to's, and service lessons are all different classes you could choose from to improve your game. I didn't really find this mode helpful, because they never gave detailed instructions if you didn't fully understand what you were doing.
In order to use Career mode, you'll need to create your own player. There are many ways to customize your own TopSpin player, so really use your imagination. You start out by picking your avatar's body type, then move on to the smaller details, like hair, eye color, etc. I was shocked to find out that you could even customize your avatar's grunt, so this must be the real thing! Overall, the creation process seemed a bit long, but you also could pick from a less detailed player creator.
If your avatar needs new shoes, shirts, or racqs, you can use your points to shop at the player area. The player area is actually a sports mall, and there are about 3 floors of stores you can choose from. As you gain more points, you're able to buy better quality equipment. I didn't see the player's performance improve much after the new sneakers, so that means that they're mostly for looks only. If you want, you can also check your player's win/loss record.
I was blown away by how many courts there were. In all, there were 40 courts to choose from. The main four ground types are Clay, Grass, Hard, and Indoor. If you didn't already guess, there are 10 courts per ground type. Some stadiums held more seats than others, so you could either be playing at your neighborhood court, or at the U.S Open Center Court. They added a little feature to also tell you where the court that you picked is located.
In Virtua Tennis, you only had about 20 players to choose from. TopSpin stepped their game up, pumping out 40 players. They even included tennis greats from the past like Bjorn Borg. I didn't care much for the controls at all. In Virtua Tennis, anyone could pick up a controller and start playing, but I found myself looking at the instruction book too many times for my own good. Even with Top Spin School, it took me a while to really get the controls down.
The graphics for TopSpin3 are superb! They really use the Blu-ray disc to add tons of details to the players and courts. If you're using a normal tube tv, don't expect much, because the graphics will only stand out with an HDMI cable. They don't forget to add small touches, like dirt kicking up after a slide on the clay courts. Unlike Virtua Tennis 3, this game shows dirt and sweat on your player's clothing. This may not sound like much, but small details like this separates this game from other games in it's class.
Even though the developers tried to make TopSpin3 feel like you were actually playing tennis, they failed with the serving speeds and player speeds. Players run too slow, which makes reaching possible shots impossible. When it comes down to graphics and real like features, TopSpin3 takes tennis gaming to another level. Its up to you to make your player be the best, and TopSpin fans will love every bit that this game his to offer!
Editor's Score: 8/10
0 comments on "REVIEW: Top Spin 3 for PlayStation 3"
Post a Comment