Chase Becotte: I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm until I see what happens with the effectiveness of just juicing your created player with power, but it's hard not to be really excited after playing this demo. Everything from a more lively crowd at the U.S. Open -- when I played the game at a preview event, the crowd seemed even more lively than the one found in the demo -- to the player grunts to the tweaked controls are all really working here.

The graphics in this game are especially impressive at Roland Garros, probably because your player is sliding around and really showing off a lot of the new animations and signature style in the game. On separate occasions I saw a classic Nadal-specific fist pump and a Federer galloping fist pump.

Gamers have pleaded for commentary to be included in this series, but I think what's here is much more effective. The building excitement in the air during a long rally is much better highlighted by a roaring crowd than two commentators repeating the same couple of lines. I do wish there were more stat overlays -- what's here is buried in the bottom right corner in generic text -- but the presentation is still improved.

As for the gameplay itself, while I'm hoping more unforced errors crop up (maybe once your player gets more fatigued?) and aces, I like the moment-to-moment chess match a whole heck of a lot. It's hard to get a feel for the different player styles that will be in the final version of the game, but you can definitely tell a difference between Nadal and Serena Williams.

I really do want to write a ton more here, but I'll restrain myself for now and just keep playing this all-too-short demo until Top Spin 4 is released later this month.

Jayson Young: The crowds definitely sound great with the way they build up during rallies and yell between points, but outside of that, I don't see a whole lot of improvements over Top Spin 3.

Once I readjusted to the quirky shot timing, I was hitting winners only two or three strokes into rallies. This demo, limited as it is, left me wondering if Top Spin 4 will be dominated by power strokes just like Top Spin 3 was.

Christian McLeod: The last tennis game I played religiously was Virtua Tennis on my Dreamcast. The point of this random factoid is that I am not what you would call an avid tennis gamer. In fact, I wasn't even aware that Virtua Tennis and Top Spin were not the same game until earlier this evening. Yes, I am that green.

At the recommendation of my OS staff brethren, I reluctantly downloaded the Top Spin 4 demo. To my surprise, I had a great time with the demo -- so much so that the game may enter my closely guarded sports gaming rotation in a few weeks. Graphically, the game is beautiful, and just as Chase mentioned, my jaw dropped during the first match I played on clay. At times I felt like I was actually controlling a televised tennis match, and the buttery smooth control scheme was pretty easy to pick up and start having success with in a matter of minutes.

If you're the type of guy that lives tennis and has played every tennis game released since Pong, I have no way of knowing if this game is for you. If you are the type of guy that wears tennis-style sweatbands to the bar or out in public, you are a lonely person. And, finally, if you are a casual tennis guy looking for a solid video game that could lead to hours of enjoyment, check this demo out!

Chris Sanner: A few weeks ago someone asked me on Twitter what I thought of the prospects for Top Spin 4. I said I think the game can't possibly be bad, but I'm not sure if it's going to be a can't miss all world title.

I think I was definitely right on that.

Top Spin 4 is going to be a good game given no game-killing bugs and a smooth online experience. I think the controls need a bit of work to emphasize the analog sticks more, but that's something I won't quibble too much about. The simple fact is that anyone can pick up the game and play it effectively, but there are enough nuances to make the game worthy of taking the time to master it. I'm definitely going to be adding Top Spin to my gaming library later this month.