By BRJC13
Playing Top Spin 3 could be termed the epitome of the phrase “easy to learn, hard to master”. The purchase of Top Spin 3 was my first venture into the Top Spin universe, or infact, my first tennis simulator full stop. Mario Tennis doesn’t count, right? So, I went into it thinking I would be spending hours simply in tutorials mastering the controls of the fiddly little bugger, but, as I will continue later, I was pleasantly surprised. For me, TS3 hits the perfect medium between Simulator and Arcade for tennis, but not in the conventional sense. Sure enough, the game provides you with all the tutorials, control methods and diversity to stamp it as a tennis sim, but you really don’t have to play the game that way. This is why I think the game hits that perfect area, because the game is defined as simulator or arcade by the style and dedication of the player.
The core at any sports game is its controls, and these often need to be seamless for the game to succeed. The controls of any good sports simulators really need to become second nature to the player, just as the real sport would. I’ll use a quick analogy. I myself play cricket, and naturally, the as I played the game, batting shots became second nature, in that I didn’t really need to think about what I was doing, it just came naturally. This really is what a good sports game should achieve, and many have done this. After all, you don’t want to be looking down in a confused manner at your gamepad while that Yorker hurtles down, or you’re about to be crushed by the opposition prop! Anyway, the gameplay of Top Spin 3 could be unflatteringly described as solid, but I believe a better term would be genius. The game provides you with a full suite of controls, and all the matching tutorials, but the core of the system revolves around intuitive use of the left stick, and the A, B and Y buttons. So, for the gamer not looking to dedicate them too much to the game, it really can be played quite casually. I think that this is one of the games strongest points, in that it really can cater for a multitude of audiences, from the hardcore tennis fans to those who are just looking for a fun experience.
Progress through the game is typical of pretty much any non team based sports game. Create your character (and every bit of this is customizable, right down to the victory celebrations and serve animation), then play as them, advancing through continually higher levels, from Junior to Pro and the likes, all with harder AI opponents. This really is a tried and true formula that doesn’t need to be tampered with, and still produces the goods. Leveling your player is also fairly standard. Every match you perform well in, you will be rewarded with XP points with which you can add to attributes such as serve, power, speed, volley, forehand and all the other tennis abilities. I found that the best strategy for this development is to keep all the attributes of your player even until the overall level is about 60, and then define particular assets, and define the play style of your creation, from a hard hitting baseline player to an agile net player. Keeping your levels even early on is also crucial to your ability to beat the AI players, as the majority of them have one defined skill, and this is easier to counter with a balanced attack, rather than you own, possible ill matched skill. The game also features a full repertoire of international players from both the men’s and women’s competitions. You can use these players in exhibition or tournament mode, and take them online, but the World Tour online option also allows you to show off your custom character to the world.
Visuals and effects are something that this game seems to pride itself on, along with the excellent gameplay. The animations and effects of the players are beautifully realized; even the animations of custom characters are really well done. Another factor that makes the game feel more alive and true is the endurance effects on the player models. The sweat and grime that seeps into their clothes and such is really well done. This, along with the splendid looking courts and playing areas make parts of this game a real treat to look at. Unfortunately, this is where the positives end in the graphics department. Something that detracts from the immersion of the game is the crowd animations. A bane of most sports games that I’ve played is the crowd, and how they are realized. Too many times the crowds look like the same model with a different shirt on, all performing the same animation, and Top Spin 3 really suffers from this. As much as it is tried to be hidden, the terrible variety in crowd models and animations severely detracts from the overall graphical experience. It feels like the visual development process was cut short once the player graphics were completed, and the rest quickly scratched together. Also, during the short camera pan intro to each match, it really feels like the Xbox is struggling to keep up with the game, as frame rates during this time are terrible. Fortunately, this is never a problem during a match, and framerates there are fine. I’ve yet to hear word if the Playstation 3 has a similar problem, and if anyone knows, please; leave a comment on this review about it.
Well, sound is something that probably would never take high priority in the development process of a tennis game, and, as such, is nothing spectacular, although it never really needed to be. There’s a nice range of pop songs to listen to in the games soundtrack, but then again you could always just listen to your own music. In match sounds are just fine, and if anything is commendable as above average, it would be the crowd sounds and cheers, which are considerably better than their visual relatives.
Overall, I think that Top Spin 3 is a very good game, certainly the best tennis simulator on the current market, and is even fantastic as an arcade type game for those who want to play it that way. The game is however held back in certain areas in the graphical department which just adds a lazy and detached feel to the game. But if you are looking for a tennis sim, the Top Spin franchise continues to impress.
Gameplay – 9.0
Visuals – 7.0
Sound – 7.5
Longevity – 8.5
Overall – 8.0
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