Top Spin 2 E3 2005 Hands-On Preview - ( Review, Preview, Article, Interview, Q&A )

TopSpin2 (Xbox 360/2k games)
By: Kenneth Shelton

TopSpin2 is an exiting new tennis title from 2k games that was being featured on the new Xbox 360 game console. Before checking out this game on the Xbox 360 I took a look at TopSpin on the ps2 so I would have a good comparison of gameplay and graphics.

The graphics on this game for the Xbox 360 were amazing. Actually it looks so life like that we had recorded some video and one of the guys saw it on playback and thought we had recorded an actual tennis match for some reason. The court graphics look like something you would see on ESPN and comparing them to the PS2 would be like comparing the playstation to a super Nintendo.

Another aspect of the graphics that added to the realism was the character movements. No longer do you have the fluid perfect movements and direction changes that make the characters seem too perfect. In TopSpin2 the characters move with a realistic human clumsiness. They actually change directions like we would, with a slow start in the new direction instead of instant change. In addition to this the characters ability to move in a direction is impacted by the speed and direction of their current movement so you will see them stumble in a direction if you try to switch and go to far, etc.

The gameplay elements are identical to the previous TopSpin accept you no longer have the trigger indicator; you just have to play that one by ear. All in all, this looks like it will be a good tennis title, at least graphically.