This game is being developed by PAM - the original two were created by Indy Games.
(a great dev who 2K sacked)
I don't understand why they are making the controls more complicated. Top Spin 2 had it almost right if they would just tighten things up. A more complicated control scheme does not mean a more realistic one.
I think the great thing with 2 was it added the depth missing from 1 while also retaining the pick up and play factor for everyone else. It walked the tight rope. The new game sounds like it is not going to be pick up and play friendly and that was always half the allure.
Top Spin 2 had position and momentum and it worked really well. It did not always match the animation though so people tended to think their player should have had a shot when they really shouldn't have. It is just the animation would always have the player going toward the ball even if you started your momentum/stick in the wrong direction. Your character would still lunge toward the ball but miss and this gave people the impression the controls were not responding correctly.
Really all they need to do with Top Spin 2s gameplay is tighten up the responsiveness and fix the animations so they more closely match the input ( I understand they wanted it to always look real - like the player was going for the ball - but that feedback didn't work for someone controlling the game). Let realism suffer and have players momentum driving them the wrong way...then people will get it. Some of the sliding animations need cleaned up as well.
The other BIG BIG issues they need to fix are :
1) Don't have the camera switch sides unless playing VS on the same TV with someone. Otherwise I want to always be controlling the player in the front court - not switching between the back and front.
2) Some of the worst load times ever - even compared to games like Oblivion and MassEffect.
3) Option to turn off cut scenes between shots (and just do away with entire "emotion" gimmick.
I don't get why IGN goes on about the player creation system. If they don't utilize the camera like Tiger or Rainbow then who cares.
I would also like to see them work out a much bigger pro lineup. The lineup should include tons more pros and even go back in history picking up some legends. Then like Madden - when someone starts a career they can opt if they want to include the legends. The existing career mode was pretty good but had a crappy interface. The training could stand to be more interesting as well.
I understand those who want full 6 game sets in career and I don't see why it isn't an option. An option I said because even with 3 it can take a long time to play through a grand slam event. I don't think everyone would enjoy 2 hour matches.
I like the star attributes and hope this sweat thing works like a stamina meter. Stamina seemed to effect accuracy in Top Spin 2 but it wasn't always obvious when a player was tiring..other than seeing some unforced errors. Star experience should be gained in any mode - since it is capped anyway to keep it fair there is no reason you can't play whatever mode you like and build up your character.
Not a lot of details about online but hopefully they really blow it out and make the online options more comparable to the other 2K games.