Top Spin 2 Ds

[evert]

What a terrible terrible disappointment for me as a tennis game fan.

And what an embarrassment to the DS as a system itself.

Most shamed, though, should be the people who put this game together. It reminds me of the third rate GBA tennis games I endured such as Agassi Tennis, New Generation Tennis, Droopy Tennis, Davis Cup Tennis, WTA Tour Tennis (though even that game had SOME fun factor to it).

I had read some bad things about this game, so I went along to HMV early this morning to hopefully have my fears dashed. They weren't. You can see things are badly wrong the second your player throws the ball in the air to serve. It looks absolutely AWFUL. I am a person who really couldn't care less about graphics, but here they just ruin the game. I have read about low frame rate and such and such, but I am rather ignorant of those types of gaming terms. All I can say is that the game looks, and more importantly, plays like a nightmare.

I judge tennis games on: the satisfaction you feel when thwacking the ball, the ability to place the ball where YOU want it to go, and good AI.

This game fails on all three counts. The players are constantly sputtering across the screen, their movement is anything but fluid. This is the case for both camera modes. Yes, even when the camera is set to about half a mile away from the court, the players still moe about in a lethargic and stuttery way.

This wouldn't be so bad if it didn't afftect the way you hit your shots. But it does. Your positioning in relation to the ball has to be perfect in order to hit a decent shot. Now that sounds good, as if the game has some kind of skill to it, some depth, but it just doesn't work, as it always seems to be the computer that has the final say on whether or not you are in the right position to hit the ball "correctly". All too often your character is seen doing some crazy movement and chucking back a highly unrealistic moonball simply beacuase it was a millimetre away from the right spot.

Yes, all 4 face buttons have different fucntions, which is a welcome move. But to be honest the gameplay itslef is so broken you will have a hard time using any of them in any kind of tactical way to your advantage.

There only time in the game where you think it COULD have been a decent tennis sim is regarding the Power Shots. Pulling them off well does to some extent feel quite satisfying. It feels like you are giving the ball a real thwack and you can control the direction quite well. However, the metre bar that goes up and down is VERY distracting, and you end up either focusing on that , or just keeping your eye on your wayward player and just guessing on the right time to let go. Awful.

Crappy sound, ridiculously over-ambitious graphics which add nothing, simply take away from the gameplay. GBA type presentation, totally lacking in any flair or originality. 2 useless viewpoints for the on court action.

So take it from someone who has played the majority of all the tennis games released on home and portable consoles. AVOID THIS ONE LIKE THE PLAGUE. DO NOT BE SWAYED BY THE NAME TOP SPIN, IT HAS NONE OF THE QUALITY OF THE CONSOLE HOME CONSOLE VERSIONS.

I still ask myself, after all these years, WHY is it so difficult to put out a tennis game with the same fair, deep gameplay of Super Tennis? My only hope now, after this disappointment, is that Nintendo somehow make Super Tennis available on their Virtual Console thing, and incorporate some WiFi matches!!

[Balou]

Thanks for your impressions.
I had an eye on the game and thought about getting it if it turned out really good...

To be frank though, I did not expect much from it in the first place. Portable conversions of such high-profile console games are often mediocre at best.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I was tempted to buy this, then saw the reviews.

Maybe Camelot will bring Mario Tennis to the DS at some point...

[Shoju]

[QUOTE=evert I still ask myself, after all these years, WHY is it so difficult to put out a tennis game with the same fair, deep gameplay of Super Tennis? My only hope now, after this disappointment, is that Nintendo somehow make Super Tennis available on their Virtual Console thing, and incorporate some WiFi matches!![/QUOTE]


What made Super Tennis so good was it was well balanced, easy to get into and fun. Vitua Tennis 2 on DC has already gone beyond it though, with much more realistic animation, a great timing system that crucially takes into account the depth of your shot and the height at which you hit it and the best serve & volley element in any tennis game by miles.

If you want to play another great tennis game play that.

[evert]

I have indeed played VT2 on DC and PS2 and the PSP and really do enjoy it. I do feel though that for too much of the game you have to worry about NOT giving your opponent any kind of ball which can be easily whacked into oblivion. Todo that you have to stick to the baseline alot and make sure you yourself are the one whacking the stuffing out of the ball. It is a very satisfying game, great feeling of hitting, but it doesn't really encourage that much variety simply because of the amount of power you can generate on the ball just by being in the right position. Against really good players I tend to avoid any trips to the net, for example. Super Tennis' shots are always hit with the same strength, so it is more where you place them, how much angle you put on them, how short or deep you hit them that determines whether or not you win the point. 2 different games really, both great.

Top Spin DS falls, control wise, in between them, and fails miserably at what it tries to do.

[buster_broon]

i preordered this a while ago with HMV

And partly because of a coupon and a pricing error i've managed to get it for ?12 delivered

is it worth that?

Jason

[Shoju]

Vollying is very strong in Virtua Tennis 2, you can use it effectively against any standard of player and you can set up approaches to the net beautifully with the right type of serve, deep slices or getting the opponent scrambling on one side of the court. Everything is well balanced but the vollying is the most satisfying part of this game. Top Spin handled this side of the game poorly.

The difference in shot power in VT2 is dependant on timing and the height at which you hit the ball. Depth just as in real tennis is crucial, a shot up at someones feet is gonna force a weak reply. Short shots are risky but can create wider angles and can force a player to one side of the court. If you get to the ball early you have more time to put power on the ball. If you hit the ball on top of it's bounce you get more power. Position yourself correctly and you can get more angle on shots and volleys. If your at the net the higher the ball is the better for you.

Super Tennis's method never took those things into account properly.

[evert]

True, the height power thing is really well implemented and faithful to real tennis. What I maybe would have liked from a GAMEPLAY point of view would be faster characters, so that power is not the largest factor of whether you win the point or not. Although the current real life game of tennis is seemingly just power power power, it is also about outmaneuvering your opponent using all the shots at your disposal. This is why , for me, Top Spin on the Xbox was better than VT2, you could be slightly more tactial, play as a less powerful player but still stand a good chance of winning a match. In VT2 it is more a case of "he who hits hardest first, wins".

In VT2 if you are runing to get a desperate shot on one side of the court, you are as good as out of the point. In Super Tennis, and to a lesser extent Top Spin, you could use the slice shot VERY effectively...it would give you time to pull yourself back in the point, and if used with backswing it could cause the player at the net to hit a very awkward volley. Such a simple, true idea that keeps a game interesting, and fair too. Those games reward you for playing bravely, I do feel that in VT2 there is little bravery about running into a position where you can hit the ball at its heighest bounce to then whack it down the line for an almost certain winner.

In TOP SPIN DS, as I said in the first post, the only satisfying shot is the risk power shot, it feels more or less right, but the downside to the only advantage is that it almost always guarantees you a winner...BORING!

12 quid.....yea it is maybe worth it for that. If you are perseverent you will actually learn to live with the controls and make the most from what little is has to offer.

For those who know the game WTA TENNIS for the GAMECUBE, even THAT pile of junk has a better control system to it than Top Spin DS.

[Shoju]

I don't think you've really explored the full depth of VT2 if you think some of those things. The slice can get you out of trouble if your on the run, or if your coming into the net the slice takes on a different role and if your facing a half volley at the net you can pick it up in classic Henman style instead of lobbing it back and getting passed. It's not just about power, timing and positioning are more important. Using the net at the right time of course can turn a powerful shot against the opponent just by using the pace to deflect it. Grass in particular favours the serve vollyer.

As I said in the other topic Top Spin is flawed by it's timing system. You have to hold the button down as it passes the net then move towards the ball, the computer takes over when you get within a certain range. You can't position yourself around the ball or decide at what height to hit it. Depth doesn't play much of a role. Shots are imbalanced, forward movement and setting up approaches to the net feel all wrong.

[Mofoman]

There is no way you are a VT2 expert if you think that about the controls, the game has a hidden depth that takes a long time to master, believe me I am good at the game and have won all the VT2 tourney's with me and my mates and beat all the regulars in my local Edinburgh arcade, but when I went to Tokyo.....I got hammered, they were doing shots I thought not possible on the run and some crazy volley slices.You haven't played VT2 until you have played the grand masters in japan, believe me it is one hell of an experience.

Anyways,played this game and in a word,"****e."

[Shoju]

There is no way you are a VT2 expert if you think that about the controls, the game has a hidden depth that takes a long time to master, believe me I am good at the game and have won all the VT2 tourney's with me and my mates and beat all the regulars in my local Edinburgh arcade, but when I went to Tokyo.....I got hammered, they were doing shots I thought not possible on the run and some crazy volley slices.You haven't played VT2 until you have played the grand masters in japan, believe me it is one hell of an experience

Exactly there's far more to the game then most people realise and it's been unfairly treated, Im hoping VT3 can build on this and hopefully an arcade will turn up over here.