Top Spin 4 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360, PS3)

[Smallberries]

I can understand what Dudd is saying, and it was this arcadey experience that brought the gameplay down for me in TS3. However, I do think TS4 feels improved, at least in the groundies department on the hard level. Not impressed with serving, though. WAY too easy. Something they may consider doing next year is including a little shake or wiggle in the control on crucial points (a la a nervous pitcher in the MLB2k series) to make it more difficult and risky to go for wide or down-the-T serves.

In conclusion, I wanted to share an awesome point I had, which has almost sold me on this game alone. I was playing as Nadal and was in an extended rally with Federer from the baseline. He finally hit a short ball, which forced me/Nadal to the net to retrieve. My return to his backhand was fairly deep but not great, putting Federer in the driver's seat. He hit a massive crosscourt shot that would have won the point had it not tipped the net. Still, it managed to skip up and past me on my left, landing behind me and behind the service line. I ran back and retrieved it JUST before the second bounce and, woudn't you know it, my ball also tips the net, barely dribbling over to earn me the point. The whole thing ends with Nadal holding out his hand for the customary apology. Amazingly cool! It's stuff like that, in a brief 5-minute demo, that has me excited.

I still need to know that there's more depth and challenge in this year's single player experience before I commit to buying. I'll wait for the reviews. But I'm definitely hoping for good scores.

[Methlab]

It's tough for me to take a guy seriously who says you can just slice and set up a winner and then admits he has not even played the hard mode yet. Plus, this game is online based this year so that strategy will not work against every human player. Also, the game is nothing like TS3 to me.

the demo is real fun..I am excited that we may finally have a good tennis game to play.

[at23steelers]

Quote: Originally Posted by Methlab

It's tough for me to take a guy seriously who says you can just slice and set up a winner and then admits he has not even played the hard mode yet. Plus, this game is online based this year so that strategy will not work against every human player. Also, the game is nothing like TS3 to me. the demo is real fun..I am excited that we may finally have a good tennis game to play.

Not to mention, I believe there are 2 higher difficulties than hard. I heard some people are dominating hard, but remember, this isn't the full version of gameplay, and hard isn't the hardest difficulty in the retail version.

[Dudd]

All my impressions are from the hard difficulty, when I say maybe it's different on a higher difficulty I'm referring to those which aren't included in the demo. However, I went and played a set of TS3 on its very hard setting to reacquaint myself with it since it's been a while, and again the virtual complete lack of errors was the elephant in the room. I won one set 7-5, but had only 4 unforced errors the entire match (don't remember how many forced errors I had, they only track unforced) That's my fear for what the two harder difficulty levels are in this game, the AI gets more aggressive and moves you around the court more/hits more winners, but also makes a ton more errors, and all you have to do is outlast it because it's so difficult to make an error. I mean, I've played probably a dozen tiebreakers in the demo so far, and I haven't hit a single ball into the net. Not a one. I think I've hit one single shot long. The timing window on the shots are just way too generous, even when it says too early or too late, 95/100 the shot is ok, it just doesn't have as much speed or depth. If I'm trying to hit a deep shot or trying to hit the lines, getting the timing off should be a much bigger deal.

[jd@os]

I asked this question in the career thread, but does anyone know if you can take an existing pro into a career or do you have to play with a created player?

[rangerrick012]

Quote: Originally Posted by jd@os

I asked this question in the career thread, but does anyone know if you can take an existing pro into a career or do you have to play with a created player?

From the dev diaries it seems its only created players.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

I have a question too. What's the difference between an unforced error and a forced error? Because I was playing the demo on hard and I had a particularly grueling tiebreaker with Federer (I was Nadal) that ended with me winning 9-7 and I know Federer hit it out or into the net at least 4 of those 9 points but he only had 1 unforced error.

[jd@os]

Quote: Originally Posted by rangerrick012

From the dev diaries it seems its only created players.

Thanks rangerrick.

I hate that because I don't like playing with created players. I know a lot of people do it, but I like "keeping it real." I play NBA 2K11 and never use "My Player", and I would like to have taken Agassi instead of a fake guy into a career on TS4.