Top Spin 3 Hands On Preview

[RaychelSnr]

Dave Branda just posted his hands-on impressions for Top Spin 3.

" This week I had a chance to head down to Miami and take a look at the new edition of Top Spin tennis more than a month before its release, Top Spin 3.

The first thing folks are going to notice about Top Spin 3 is the new graphics and animation. While many felt the last version didn’t live up to the next gen standard, that case certainly will not be made for this version."

[BlyGilmore]

Special thanks to the folks at PAM and 2K Sports for letting me take a peak at the game.

If anybody has any questions feel free to post them and I'll do my best to answer.

[Spectre]

Re: Top Spin 3 Hands On Preview

Thanks for the impressions Dave

Just a few questions- I'm a big stickler for tennis since its the sport I played throughout high school and I have much higher standards for it than any other sports game.

1) Is the AI capable of having long rallies with the user? That's one thing that has bugged me about a lot of games in the past- rallies are always too short. I want nice long rallies where the CPU doesn't take stupid risks i.e. going for a down the line winner instead of opting for a safer cross-court shot.

2) Serving- one of my pet peeves with the previous Top Spins was that there wasn't enough of a difference in serves. For example, most real life 2nd serves have a ton of top-spin but they seemed flat in most games. Does a big serve really feel big? Basically, do the serves feel different?

3) How's the atmosphere?

4) Another huge problem with previous versions- why are there 1 set matches in major tournaments? Grand-Slam tourneys should have best of 5 sets (for guys) the whole way through and previous Top Spin games definitely didn't do it- we didn't even have the option. The non-Grand Slam tourneys should have best of 3 in the early rounds, and best of 5 in the final. Is this even a selectable option?

5) Do you see a lot of shots variety i.e. balls hitting the net and going long? I don't want to see perfect shots each time.

Thanks! The Sharapova pics were also awesome, I'm obsessed with her

[BlyGilmore]

i hear you about being a stickler. I was one of those folks who didn't like TS2 a lot for the reasons you posted.

Honestly I didn't really get a huge chance to check out the computer AI. We mostly just had the opportunity to play matches against others there. What I saw briefly when starting the career mode was promising though. The computer worked me a bit side to side before finishing.

I think one big difference will be the way they do the "big shots." no more meter, instead its using the trigger why you swing with positioning, timing and your aim controlling where it goes.

From what we did see if you didn't hit a shot right the result was it going out, or long or into the net. For instance if you were on the left side of the court, tried to hit it to the right side, but let the ball get too deep, you couldn't pull it off.

The atmosphere seems very good. Lively, energetic crowds who are hooting and hollering while you play (I always enjoyed the announcer in other languages too).

It's actually pretty refreshing to play a game that doesn't feel the need to jam a play by play engine down your throat and instead concentrate on the crowd.

[BlyGilmore]

btw i'm not a Wii gamer - only played on game (bowling) on it ever - but this game looked ridiculously fun on the Wii. As the preview said, not a lot of meat on the bones, since its intended for more casual, party style playing, but everybody was smiling and laughing while playing it and really seeming to have a blast.

[CMH]

I'm really looking forward to this title. Always enjoyed tennis and after playing Top Spin 2, I think there were minor things that needed to be changed to make the game play close to real tennis. Everything else will make the overall game play deeper.

[bigmoe]

Re: Top Spin 3 Hands On Preview

Really hoping this game comes thru with points scored(human and cpu) by unforced errors.Shots that go wide,long,into the net so on, and not just scored by winning shots! I wonder if they have challenges on shots close to the lines?

[cocobee]

Re: Top Spin 3 Hands On Preview

I'm more interested in the wii version. How does it compare gameplay wise to the tennis game already on the wii? Can we control movement of the player(right, left, back and forth) and user shots using the wii control. Meaning does it just take into accout that you swung your arms, or does it actually take into account the swing(forehand, backhand, overhead etc..)

thanks

[Seymour Scagnetti]

In career mode please tell me there is actually 6 game sets and hopefully best 3 of 5 when the tourney is supposed to have it. I've never understood the 3 game sets. If you're worried about length of the matches then make it an option rather than forcing sim fans to play half-assed matches. It's like TW having 9 hole tourneys or The Show having 5 inning games. Totally asinine.

One other question do they at least allow you to create a player to use as the an AI opponent in career mode or at the very least the ability to edit the generic opponents they have in career modes. if they are only going to have that crappy roster included then they may as well let us edit the others to make Novak and Nadal or some legends.

[bigmoe]

Re: Top Spin 3 Hands On Preview

In career mode please tell me there is actually 6 game sets and hopefully best 3 of 5 when the tourney is supposed to have it. I've never understood the 3 game sets. If you're worried about length of the matches then make it an option rather than forcing sim fans to play half-assed matches. It's like TW having 9 hole tourneys or The Show having 5 inning games. Totally asinine.

.

Agreed!

[Cro Morgan]

A few questions ...

1. Are there ball boys in the game? If yes, do they actually pick up the balls? (unlike the blind ball boys in TS2).

2. Are there attitude options as there were in TS1 - so you can praise your opponent, show your disgust, etc.

3. Instant replays?

4. How does the heart rate indicator affect your player's performance on the court?

5. How easy/hard is it to hit a ball out?

Thanks!

[o SiLV3R o]

I got a few Questions too....

1. Is there a TV Specator for Online Players like there is "Virtua Tennis TV" in Virtua Tennis 3 to watch other Matches?

2. What is the main difference between the baseline-rallies compared to Top Spin 2 and is the net play (Volleys etc.) more effective in Top Spin 3 then in the past?

3. Is a big power Serve like Andy Roddick has for example really powerful and effective this time (can you hit Aces?) or are the big Serves still so easy to return and unimpressive like in the past of the Top Spin Series?

4. How does the Riskshots and Dropshots work without a power meter in Top Spin 3?

5. How effective are the weather changes in Top Spin 3?

Thanks for answering my Questions.

[BlyGilmore]

Re: Top Spin 3 Hands On Preview

a lot of this stuff I really didn't have enough time with the game to answer. keep in mind i was in a room with about 30 to 50 other media folks, so there was no chance for me to steal a copy of the game and go off into the corner, breaking down the career mode Dr. Jack style (which will be the first thing I do when I get the review copy, btw).

No praise or disgust in this one. most of the player energy part of the game seems to be centered around your heart rate. The calmer you are the better you play. The more concerned and frustrated you get, the more errors you make.

Only playing relatively short games against a human it was tough to see the true impact of these meters.

Instant replays are like in years past - after any play you can hit the Y button and see the replay. IMO they look very very good.

I've got an email in to some of the folks at 2K. I'll see if I can get these questions answered ;-)

[Scott]

Re: Top Spin 3 Hands On Preview

Nice...can't wait to hear some more info on this one.

[Scott]

Re: Top Spin 3 Hands On Preview

Any speculation on when a Demo could be coming out? I know its still pretty early, but it does come out May 18th.