Top Spin 2

[Psyduck]

Just got this and I think it's really good. Was a big fan of Top Spin 1 on the xbox, and although it's definitely changed and got more complex, I think it's improved. It does take some getting used to, moreso for those who've never played the original I guess, but I'm looking forward to getting lots of matches played online.

[Sane]

I've played online quite a lot and it's really good. I only had a laggy match maybe 1 in 10 matches, with Topspin 1 this was a much bigger problem. There seem to be a lot of people playing it too, I've never had to wait longer than 10 seconds, even for doubles games.

[Psyduck]

Yeah, online seems excellent, like you say even less lag (and I didn't think topspin 1 was bad at all really), and online doubles is so much fun.

[Paulos G]

The more I play this game the more I like it. Managed to reach 1st in the rankings (offline that is!) and max out my stats by the end of season 3. Really felt like I'd had to work to earn it.

There's an online thread here for anyone interested in some ntsc matches.

P

[Extra Terrestrial]

I manage to finish Season 3 with 920 career points! Go me.

I do enjoy this game but it still frustrates me sometimes. I still have to question why the game at the start-up takes you through all those logos/developers/publishers for the 'Top Spin 2' title to appear telling you to 'Press Start', which loads the main menu.

I still cannot understand that, especially when you go through 3-4 loading screens to actually play a match.

I also think the stadium is extremely lifeless regardless of the graphics. At the end of the match, why don't the players shake their hands? Why don't the ball boys/girls actually get the balls? Why don't the game represent a proper game of tennis?

The game is fine but cannot be classified as a true next-generation tennis game.

[marcus]

Can anyone tell me why the only option I ever have available to my new player is to train, the tournaments and special events are all greyed out. Ive used all my money on training, and seem to be at a dead end as I cant do or enter anything.

[weightgain]

You should be able to enter the tournement qualfiers at least....no idea tho mate...

[marcus]

Ive selected every Tournament and special event, all are greyed out, and all say "this event is not available at the current slot", I cant do any more training as I have no money so really have no idea what to do next. Its bound to be something really obvious..

[Sane]

Press start and skip a few weeks, the gray tournaments and special events mean you can't enter them yet. Just skip untill a tournament shows up that you can enter.

[marcus]

OK cheers ll try that - do risk shots get any easier, they seem stupidly hard to me at the moment..!

[marcus]

Cant recall struggling so much with a game before! If I am lucky enough to manage to be able to actually play a game of tennis I get slaughtered each and every time. Im trying to pick out the tournaments with qualifiers, but most tell me I need to be ranked whatever to participate, can I not find out the ranking required without having to jump to that date and sit through that annoying world map load screen all the time? I still find risk shots near impossible other than on a serve, anyone else find this hard going or is it just me..?

[Psyduck]

Marcus: I'd suggest trying some exhibition games first, see which sort of player you prefer - serve volley, baseliner etc, and trying to make your player similar.

Start by entering regionals, they're the easiest, plus any special events you can. Work your way up from there.

You don't really need any risk shots other than serve (and you don't need that), though the drop shot one is easier and probably of some use...

[marcus]

Thanks mate On a more positive note, I just won my first match Onwards and upwards.

[weightgain]

I'm a serve and volley player - usually max my serve with X or B, then apower A into the other corner. If the opponent returns it's a red B all the way !!!!

[Sane]

I found the difficulty of the world tour to be absolutely perfect for me. Almost every tournament I played was a fight till the end, I even lost a few grand slams in the final tie break. I did as much training in the beginning as possible, only played tournaments when I ran out of money.
Also, the ability to simulate matches is great, although I recommend only using it to skip games during a match, not skip entire rounds, it might give unwanted results .

Marcus, also note that you will have a limited number of stars, so decide now what you want. For instance, I wasted 3 stars on stamina and I don't think it really helps all that much since my character still performs fine even in long rallies. Other attributes like backhand, forehand and power are basically essential. The total number of stars you get will be 60.

I went for a fast, precise build. Maxed out speed, fore- and backhand, power and precision, and put the rest in the other attributes. My character lacks a bit of skill at the net though, but you have to make choices.

Also, use the top spin a lot, it's the most effective shot by far. When you feel your opponent is mking you run all over the place, use a slice to gain some time to reposition. And remember, the safe shot never goes out, press and hold a direction as soon as your opponent hits the ball and with a lot of stars in power you'll be hitting hard.

Lastly, the risk shots can be hard to pull off, if you want to use them you might want to put stars in the focus attribute, but they're not needed so it's your choice. I didn't put any stars in it. The advanced shots however are great, you will learn them as you prgress in the game. The advanced shots with A and B can make the difference between a win or a loss, they're basically uber versions of the normal shots, use them correctly and they're almost unstoppable. I played someone online a few days ago who maxed out his focus attribute, so his focus bar filled up really quick and he could use them all the time. It was really hard to play against.

My live name is ScannableName (yes, it's randomly generated, sue me, I just wanted to get online fast ) add me if you want to have some good matches.