SOLID!

Let's face it... Tennis games are not the most popular of sports' titles. Tennis in particular, is usually liked by real enthusiasts and not by casual observers. Fortunately, Top Spin 2 is really aimed at that crowd because of its highly technical gameplay. The game's strength is in the career mode. Most of everyone will be sweating and swearing when trying to get your tennis pro to reach the number one rank as this is the most challenging aspect of Top Spin 2. You start off with the character creation which is surprisingly deep...comparable to games like Tiger Woods and Oblivion. You can essentially change every facial feature of your player. One of the major aspects of having a successful career mode is the way you customize your character as you progress through your career. I can't remember a game where character customization has such a dramatic effect on how quickly you can climb the ranks. My advice…choose carefully which skills to increase but balance is key. Tennis is a game of precision, power and speed yet, reflexes can't be overlooked. That's about the best advice that I can offer.

Coaches offer you different types of training and for once, I find all of these are really helpful in learning to master the game. Not only does it increase your tennis pro's attributes but, it's a great way to learn the delicate technical aspects of every shot.

Learning the shots and particularly the timing of every shot, is the key to winning. You have the safe shot with the "A" button which is the button you will mostly be using at the beginning. The "X" button delivers a slice shot which I use mostly to slow the pace of the game and to be able to get myself back in position during a rapid exchange against an opponent. The "Y" button is used as a lob shot which is pretty lethal for those who play close to the net. Finally, the "B" button is a topspin shot which is the fastest basic shot in your arsenal. Mastering all of these will greatly impact the number of successful exchanges you have versus an opponent. There are also some risk shots that can be used by pressing the right trigger before you start swinging your racket. These shots are very dependant on the momentum meter and they consume rather large amounts of it. There are also advanced shots that take up less momentum and they are triggered by pressing the left trigger before you start your swing.

Finally, adding to the technical aspect of Top Spin 2, are the different types of courts and how different these play. For instance, you'll notice a major difference of the pace of the game when you play on a clay court versus a grass court.

Opponents? Well, there are some I definitely didn't recognize because they are fictional. The mix of existing Tennis players is adequate but there are some that I feel should have been included: Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi would have been a good start. Nevertheless, there's enough here to keep most tennis fans satisfied.

THE BEST TENNIS GAME EVER MADE!!!

I played the first Top Spin , from the moment i got the game, every week for the last 2 years or so with friends. I thought that the second game wouldn't be able to keep me busy. Wrong i was!!!! The singleplayer has a great career mode that can keep you busy for a while ( if you want to reach the number one spot ). However it is definately the multiplayer that's gonna make sure you're still playing this game when the follow up to the 360 appears.
In comparison to the first game, the first game would look like a stupid game without any depth. That's because top spin 2 adds all kinds of shots. Like dump volley, side spin slices and so on. So the gameplay is superb, i think i made that very clear. Now, when we look at the graphics, we must come to the same albeit nuanced conclusion. The game looks much better than top spin 1 ( reflections, audience isn't made of 2D bitmaps anymore, ..... ), however if you've already played another xbox 360 game like perfect dark zero or something , this game is going to feel like a step down because it isn't able to give you great special effects like those games did. If you're thinking about what should be your first xbox 360 game i would recommend that you go for a game that shows what the 360 can do from a graphical standpoint and just buy top spin 2 a bit later. But it is definately a MUST BUY!

Top Spin 2: a review

I purchased Top Spin 2 for the Xbox 360 primarily because the original Top Spin for Xbox was not backwards compatable yet. In other words, I couldn't play the old game (Top Spin) on the new system Xbox 360.

That being said the two games are very similiar and are both fun to play. With Top Spin 2, as with the original game, you have total control over your player if you decide to build a tennis player and begin a career. You start building your tennis player at the DNA level and go from there choosing everything about your player... Everything from the Serving motions, build, age of your player, facial features, eye color, etc. In order for your player to get better, i.e. serve harder, move faster, have harder ground strokes, you must pay for the training to do so. You begin your career with some money and you choose your training priorities and you train, being tested and by passing the individual skill tests you get more skill (stars). Soon you run out of money and must enter tournaments to earn more to pay for more training.

This game is challenging and fun. I do think the original Top Spin was easier. A nice feature of this game is that it has recent tennis pros as characters that you play against in these tournaments.

I would recommend this game to any tennis player or fan.

worse than top spin 1

I prefered the previous version of this game, where you could perform easier risk shots and overall playability was way better. I also don't like the pro players included Federer is the only one that's cool, there's no Agassi or Sampras anymore.

As for career mode, I would have prefered much more gear to choose from and more customization for the character.

I personally give this game a 6.

First Top Spin was better

I like the new format for career mode but I hate how first player has to change sides after each heat. By this, I mean that sometimes your player in the game is near you and other times you are on the far side of the court. The constant change makes it pretty difficult to adapt to the different serves and manipulating power. I would not buy this game again.