Top Spin 2

Realistic Tennis Game

Strengths: Sponsors, Authenticity, Character Design

Weakness: No Replays, Some key players missing (Nadal, Clijsters)

PROS: Character Design- one of the most fun aspects of the game is creating new characters and designing everything about them right down to the last detail. Graphics- some of the best backgrounds and rendering that I've seen in a tennis game Tournaments- you can actually play in real recreations of major tournaments (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open, etc) Variety in players abilities- I love...
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PROS:
Character Design- one of the most fun aspects of the game is creating new characters and designing everything about them right down to the last detail.

Graphics- some of the best backgrounds and rendering that I've seen in a tennis game

Tournaments- you can actually play in real recreations of major tournaments (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open, etc)

Variety in players abilities- I love that you can design all of a characters skill and strenghts and not just a few.

CONS:
Player Sounds- the grunts from the players are limited and very unrealistic.

No More Replay- one of the cool features about the original was being able to watch a good play over in slow motion. Why did they take that away?

Where are Nadal, Serena, Safin, Clijsters and Henin-Hardenne?

By andyschiu - Mar 30, 2007

A Real Tennis Game

Strengths: Advance Gameplay, Career Mode

Weakness: Limited number of players, Graphics

Top Spin 2 is a tennis player's tennis game. It isn't the arcade style of game with advance moves and power ups. Tennis played in this game is very similar to how tennis is in real life. I enjoyed playing this game very much and building your own character just adds to the game. I spent many hours improving my custom player to be ranked #1. If you are a true tennis fan, this is a great game.

By FujiRider - Oct 23, 2006

Not as fun as I thought it would be.

Strengths: Cool arenas. Not bad graphics.

Weakness: Not really fun. A bit to hard for people who dont play tenis games normally.

I am not a real fan of this game. I played for quite a while and was disappointed at how the players could not get to a lot of the balls. I ended up mostly being frustrated by the game play. Unless you are a die hard tennis video gamer, I would steer clear of this one.

By dhewlett - Aug 21, 2006

One of the better tennis games

Strengths: Graphics are impressive Gameplay

Weakness: World tour mode

I loved the original Topspin on the Xbox, was expecting the same with improved graphics. But it turns out that the developer decided to implement some changes which, in my opinion, weren't necessary.

The players and the ball seem to skate around the court which is a bit of a letdown.

By cavalry12 - Dec 15, 2007

Decent game especially at the lower price

Strengths: A fun sequel, good graphics, varied backgrounds

Weakness: Not a lot of major differences from the first game, a bit more difficult than you might expect

Tennis is one of those games that dates back to the very beginning of the video game revolution. (Pong, anyone?) On one hand, the games can be a lot of fun (Virtua Tennis), but on the other, they can be very repetitive (many other tennis games). Top Spin 2 falls somewhere in the middle. As the sequel to a pretty good Xbox game, it has a lot to live up. In many ways, I feel that it does-- it does...
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Tennis is one of those games that dates back to the very beginning of the video game revolution. (Pong, anyone?) On one hand, the games can be a lot of fun (Virtua Tennis), but on the other, they can be very repetitive (many other tennis games). Top Spin 2 falls somewhere in the middle. As the sequel to a pretty good Xbox game, it has a lot to live up. In many ways, I feel that it does-- it does bring Top Spin up to the 360's level. But in some ways that's about all it does. Yes, it has more modes and the like, but it doesn't seem too much different than the first game. If anything, it seems much more difficult. If you're not a heavy player of Top Spin, you might find yourself really frustrated for a while.

I haven't played the Xbox 360 version of Virtua Tennis yet, but I always have preferred the Virtua Tennis series to the Top Spin series. That isn't to say Top Spin 2 is a bad game-- far from it. It just depends on if you want a pick up and play game, or one you have to spend more time with. If you liked Top Spin in the past and want more, this is the game for you. Just don't expect a whole lot.

I would like to give this 3.5 stars, but I can't. I'll round up to 4 stars to compensate for my Virtua Tennis bias. I'd give it 4 stars if you're really into tennis, or like sports games with a bit of a challenge. If you just want a quick pick up and play arcady tennis game, I'd think this is closer to 3 stars and you might want to check out Virtua Tennis.

By justin42 - May 28, 2007