Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Wow, in my 2nd major tournament, I finally lost my first set in my career in a rematch against a guy I had killed in the previous tournament. Something Figueroa from Mexico I think. He was up on me 6-5 the first set and had set point at 40-30 and I came back and won the game and won the tie breaker. 2nd set the exact same thing happened except he ended up winning the tie breaker, so it was 7-6 6-7 and then the last set I pulled it out and won 6-2. Amazing match though. And now I'm facing a defensive guy in the Semi's feeling pretty nervous for my first time.

[Smallberries]

negatives:

> TV-style camera...can't see the AI player make contact on the serve. I hated that in TS3, I hate it here. And I don't like the other camera angles at all.

> Tiny tournaments. If we're going for a sim experience, this is a joke. 8? 16? 32 for a grand slam event?

> A limit of 80 pros. This is obviously a factor in the tiny tournaments, but seriously, a real Slam has 128 players in it. I would have liked to see at least 200 pros.

> No AI player growth/decline. I haven't played enough to be sure, but it appears they stay exactly the same. The only one changing is you, so eventually the game is going to get stale. So I don't see it having the legs of an NBA2k or Madden.

> Although the animations are really nice, the graphics are just okay.

> Serving is WAY TOO EASY. No one, NO ONE, should be able to get 90-100% of their first serves in, not if they're really trying to go for it.

> Match statistics are messed up. At least for volleys. And it would have been nice to see a breakdown by set.

> A limit of one tournament per month. Seriously? And this is realistic how? Most pro tourneys take a week.

> Progression is too fast. After only 3 matches, I go from level 1 to level 6? And a cap at 20? This worries me. TS3 lasted me about 1 week before I had it mastered. I hope that isn't the case here.



Positives:

> Much improved AI and gameplay over TS3. Plays more like the real thing than any other tennis game I've played. Strangely, I've never loved seeing unforced errors as much as I do in TS4. Fatigue also makes a difference here. Miss-hits off the racquet head. And opponents will change tactics on you. I love all that!

> 6-game sets! It's about time.

> Better menu music. yeah yeah, this is minor, but the music in TS3 was maybe the worst I've ever heard in a sports game.

> Improved controller setup/interface. I hated the risk-shot gimmick in past TSs, and something about TS3 was just off. TS4 feels really good.


Although I've given more negatives than positives, I can honestly say I'm REALLY enjoying TS4. Hopefully, it sells well and 2k continues to mold/shape this series into something that rivals the likes of the NBA2k series. I want to go play now, but work beckons.

[Seymour Scagnetti]

LOL I'm such an moron. I thought when the ball bounces is when you press the button and then release it when the player is about to swing. I did the practice thing and now realize I press the button as soon as it leaves the opponents racquet and release when it bounces.

Serves (pun intended) me right for rushing into the game but I wish they had a better manual to explain this rather 2 pages with move and controller button layouts.

Now I'm getting much more power and actually can win some sets. I am officially an idiot.

[chuckm1961]

I have a Career started with Auto-Save off, but it still auto-saved after my first tournament.

Anyone else seen this?

[rangerrick012]

Quote: Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti

LOL I'm such an moron. I thought when the ball bounces is when you press the button and then release it when the player is about to swing. I did the practice thing and now realize I press the button as soon as it leaves the opponents racquet and release when it bounces. Serves (pun intended) me right for rushing into the game but I wish they had a better manual to explain this rather 2 pages with move and controller button layouts. Now I'm getting much more power and actually can win some sets. I am officially an idiot.

The Top Spin Academy definitely helps and is worth the time to get better at it (plus it's an achievement once you complete it.)

[Kriech23]

Quote: Originally Posted by chuckm1961

I have a Career started with Auto-Save off, but it still auto-saved after my first tournament. Anyone else seen this?

Happened to me as well.

[pblais18]

hey quick question for all you topspin players, I got the game 2 days ago and have been playing almost all online either on world tour or or the topspin2k mode or whatever its called. However, when I win a match in the 2k mode my worldwide overall ranking goes up one like it should, but when i play a match on worldtour it goes down. If someone could explain exactly how this worldwide ranking list that you see right after u click xbox live i would really appreciate it. thanks

[Alistair]

Quote: Originally Posted by Smallberries

> Tiny tournaments. If we're going for a sim experience, this is a joke. 8? 16? 32 for a grand slam event?

Ah crap. This is a HUGE negative for me.

I really enjoyed reading the positives about the game, but this is almost a deal breaker for me. It would be like having a four team MLB playoff series in The Show, or only having a World Cup starting from the quarter finals in an EA soccer game.

What's so hard about adding a couple of extra rounds, or even tournament qualifiers?