Biff Hardbody
Member
I noticed its 29.99. Would you recommend it? I never really played a Tennis game before, but I do enjoy sports games.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Top Spin Tennis
- Thread starter Biff Hardbody
- Start date
StrikerObi
Member
Definatly pick this up for $30. It's an awesome game.
Biff Hardbody
Member
Thanks guys. Right now its either Riddick or this. Neither one are pulling me in like games ussually do, so its hard to justify a $50 drop. But, I can do $30. I just hope I dig tennis.
DJ Demon J
Banned
Trav said:
You obviously haven't played this game against good opponents on XBL. It's a much more complex tennis game than VT.
Error Macro
Member
I just want to play with Anna Kournikova.
Shouldn't this be $20 by now?
Shouldn't this be $20 by now?
DJ Demon J
Banned
levious said:
TS is more complex than 2k2. I've played both 2k2 and TS to death, and Top Spin is clearly superior. VT is more accessible than TS however.
Drinky Crow
Banned
Only problem with Top Spin is the faqct that you can't save mid-Tournament.
DJ Demon J
Banned
Drinky Crow said:
Yes, this is annoying. Especially when you blow through the quarters and semis and then draw Leyton Hewitt for the final.
DJ Demon J
Banned
levious said:
More shot variety and ball physics/court surface interaction are the two most obvious improvements over VT. In VT, gameplay was pretty much the same, regardless of surface. In Top Spin, court surface and shot type can yield vastly different results on ball bounce. Also, in VT, overhead slams were pretty much unstoppable. In fact, you could abuse the character creation system and gameplay dynamics in VT by creating a short player with max shot power (IIRC Lvl 22). Since he's so short, he will jump and overhead slam at nearly any ball that clears a certain height (versus 6 foot plus players who would simply reach up and make a normal stroke for those balls). His max power will deliver fast and nigh-unreturnable (and even if you return it, it would be a slow, easy return or a high lob which would let him slam again).
Top Spin's overheads can be unreturnable (if you can catch the ball at the right time and angle downwards to simply bounce the ball so high off the court it goes out of the play area), but just as often they can be returned with skillful play.
Balls hitting the top of the net with enough force to still make it over occurs more often in TS, such occurences were extremely rare in VT. The single greatest addition that TS brings to the tennis video game is the drop shot. It's almost too powerful...almost. You have the most control in TS over where and how your shot lands on the court than any other tennis video game ever, as is evidenced by TS's training mini-games accurate shot requirements and high-level play.
Biff Hardbody
Member
I picked up Riddick instead. GS was running this deal where you trade in 3 games and get ten extra. I traded in Tekken 4 and the GTA double pack (which they counted as 2). Total was $35, couldn't resist paying 15 bucks for a new game like Riddick. Hey, if I don't like it I'll trade it back in for Top Spin. woohoo.
DJ -
You keep saying VT... are you still referring to 2k2? I disagree that surface did not matter in either version of Sega Tennis. Carpet especially, most of my friends refuse to play on it.
Smashes are not unstoppable at all, I've had countless exchanges with multiple smashes returned and the volley continuing... especially in doubles matches. Skillfull return choice is all it takes.
Your comment on player creation is interesting, but player that small would ultimately sacrifice something in power capability right?
I wouldn't call balls hitting the net and still going over EXTREMELEY rare... but one thing I never liked was how hard it was to hit a ball into the net.
Drop shots, yeah, I guess you could say there's no true drop shot in VT/2k2, but it seems like you haven't played that many tennis games to say that Top Spin introduced it. Namco and Nintendo alone have implemented it well in the past. Smash Court 2 looks real good, you should check that out.
You keep saying VT... are you still referring to 2k2? I disagree that surface did not matter in either version of Sega Tennis. Carpet especially, most of my friends refuse to play on it.
Smashes are not unstoppable at all, I've had countless exchanges with multiple smashes returned and the volley continuing... especially in doubles matches. Skillfull return choice is all it takes.
Your comment on player creation is interesting, but player that small would ultimately sacrifice something in power capability right?
I wouldn't call balls hitting the net and still going over EXTREMELEY rare... but one thing I never liked was how hard it was to hit a ball into the net.
Drop shots, yeah, I guess you could say there's no true drop shot in VT/2k2, but it seems like you haven't played that many tennis games to say that Top Spin introduced it. Namco and Nintendo alone have implemented it well in the past. Smash Court 2 looks real good, you should check that out.
DJ Demon J
Banned
levious said:
2k2. Obviously VT is inferior to 2k2 so I didn't bother including it in the comparison. Again, surfaces in 2k2 do not change gameplay as much as they do in TS. It's just something you have to have the play experience to comprehend, I don't know how I can continue to restate this.
levious said:
Again, I pointed out that if you return it, it will be a soft return or another lob, which a smart player (and even worse, a player using a created character as I described) will continue to overhead slam until you are forced to lob out or miss. In Top Spin (through the use of the risk shot meter or different shot types) you can make not only a solid return but also a winning shot.
levious said:
The trick is (I forgot to mention it earlier) you must make your short guy a heavyweight. I created a 5'8" 200 lb player and continually crushed my friends who used a variety of weights/heights skills with the same overhead slam spamming. When we switched characters, I was destroyed nearly as easily as they were. This character build can easily beat King and Queen on the 26th court match.
levious said:
Never played Mario Tennis (I don't really consider that a real tennis game), didn't recall that Smash Court had a drop shot available. Let me restate then: Top Spin's method of controlling a drop shot is its greatest addition to the tennis video game.
I didn't like Smash Court very much, the controls felt cumbersome and I didn't feel like I was in complete control of my shots.
TS is better than 2k2 for actual tennis gameplay, but single player the learning curve is poor (its boringly easy till you get to grand slams, then frustratingly difficult), and theres barely ever anyone around to play online with.
If they make another one, it needs more interesting mini-games and an arcade mode.
If they make another one, it needs more interesting mini-games and an arcade mode.
DJ Demon J said:
I believe and agree that they make more of a difference in TS... but I was arguing with your statement that surfaces didn't matter in VT, if that's not what you mean then fine.
DJ Demon J said:
It's not hopeless, and I'd also argue that hitting a winner return off of a strong smash shot is ridiculous.
DJ Demon J said:
Mario Tennis probably gave the most control over shots and had the most balanced risk ratio, in that going for the deep or far right shots would give rise to a high risk of hitting the ball out.
Smash.. your complaints are understandable, but being able to direct shots in that game comes down to properly timing your shot, if you time it poorly, it just goes back to the center of the court. US version is out soon I think... I got the PAL version a little bit ago and really like it.
DJ Demon J
Banned
levious said:
That's pretty much what I meant, although I still think VT's surfaces are pretty much interchangeable.
levious said:
Well, yes, consistently being able to strongly return a strong smash shot does not happen in real tennis, but it can happen once or twice, and VT does not reflect that.
levious said:
Yea, timing is one thing, but making it default to center court is a poor design decision. I've purposely mishit balls with bad timing to throw off the pace of the rally and score points/set up shot opportunities, but I did so still having the ability to place my shot in at least the right direction.
smash court gives you backspin, topspin, and minimal spin shots, all with varying speed, to choose from so purposely mishitting a ball to throw off pace is not neccessary.
As a design choice I'd say it reflects the real game well... when you watch an actual rally, many shots are returned to the center due to not being able to setup an aimed shot to a corner, and if you time your shot wrong in the game... I think it's a good result.
As a design choice I'd say it reflects the real game well... when you watch an actual rally, many shots are returned to the center due to not being able to setup an aimed shot to a corner, and if you time your shot wrong in the game... I think it's a good result.
shoplifter
Member
don't forget that xbl leagues are (were?) a fucking mess.
