Top Spin 4 Demo Impressions Roundtable

01:34 PM - March 4, 2011 by RaychelSnr

Chase Becotte: I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm until I see what happens with the effectiveness of just juicing your created player with power, but it's hard not to be really excited after playing this demo. Everything from a more lively crowd at the U.S. Open -- when I played the game at a preview event, the crowd seemed even more lively than the one found in the demo -- to the player grunts to the tweaked controls are all really working here.

Jayson Young: The crowds definitely sound great with the way they build up during rallies and yell between points, but outside of that, I don't see a whole lot of improvements over Top Spin 3.

Christian McLeod: At the recommendation of my OS staff brethren, I reluctantly downloaded the Top Spin 4 demo. To my surprise, I had a great time with the demo -- so much so that the game may enter my closely guarded sports gaming rotation in a few weeks. Graphically, the game is beautiful, and just as Chase mentioned, my jaw dropped during the first match I played on clay. At times I felt like I was actually controlling a televised tennis match, and the buttery smooth control scheme was pretty easy to pick up and start having success with in a matter of minutes.

Chris Sanner: A few weeks ago someone asked me on Twitter what I thought of the prospects for Top Spin 4. I said I think the game can't possibly be bad, but I'm not sure if it's going to be a can't miss all world title.

I think I was definitely right on that.

Read More - Top Spin 4 Demo Impressions Roundtable

Game: Top Spin 4Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 8 - View All

Top Spin 4 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 DirtyJerz32 @ 03/04/11 02:32 PM

Very nice read guys.

I was truly surprised as to how much I enjoyed the demo. I'm really looking at picking this up when it comes out. Hopefully the online experience is up to par and no game killing bugs or glitches effect a good looking game.

# 2 vln13 @ 03/04/11 03:24 PM

Fun game, but that's about it for me. Still, maybe worth a purchase.

# 3 BlackRome @ 03/04/11 04:54 PM

What is it with 2k making their games waaaayyyyyyyy toooooooooo slllooooooooowwwwww.

I just happened to be watching the Tennis network when I came on the site and saw that the demo was available. So I downloaded it. Looking at the speed of a real tennis match and then comparing it to this game and I found it laughable. Jut like NBA2k11. The game just moves way to slow compared to real life.

Then I put in Virtua Tennis 3 to see if the speed difference was that drastic. It is. Virtua Tennis 3 is closer to the real speed of real professional tennis. Especially y when compared to the demo.

I see where the game punishes you if you take the wrong step. Yet if the game was moving at a faster speed I wouldn't have to make the wrong step. It only happened once so it's really not a problem. The speed of the game is. The demo features two of the greatest players of all time and they fell like they are playing with wooden rackets and moving in slow motion.

Looks great but 2k has really got to stop slowing their games down.

# 4 KidShowtime @ 03/04/11 05:33 PM

These roundtables are great!

Not sure I agree with BlackRome about the slowness... 2K hasn't ever shown THAT much of a slowdown for me.

Nevertheless.. great demo, great roundtable.. can't wait for the game to drop.

# 5 The Bimmer @ 03/04/11 07:47 PM

I went ahead and pre-ordered the game because of the demo. Nice roundtable also. I find it hard to believe though, and this is from a player of tennis games since Raquet Attack (my favorite all-time) that anyone was getting winners on 2 or 3 stroke rallies on a regular basis against Nadal or Federer on HARD in this demo. If this is the case then I will be interested to hear what happens in the SUPER HARD mode when the full game is released.

# 6 mac8204 @ 03/04/11 07:51 PM

I am not a tennis player nor do I play tennis video games, but I am a sucker for any sports games so I downloaded the demo. I enjoy the game but I don't really understand the difficulty levels. On medium I win every single point, even when playing with Ivanovic against Nadal. On hard I have trouble scoring a single point. This is definitely a game killer for me.

# 7 at23steelers @ 03/04/11 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mac8204


	I am not a tennis player nor do I play tennis video games, but I am a sucker for any sports games so I downloaded the demo. I enjoy the game but I don't really understand the difficulty levels. On medium I win every single point, even when playing with Ivanovic against Nadal. On hard I have trouble scoring a single point. This is definitely a game killer for me.

I believe on hard, you really got to understand the game of tennis to win the points. I really like that about the game, and there's not a cheesy way to play. For example you can win in madden by doing screen passes and throwing deep. However, in this game, it feels like a chess match. I heard the difficulties are slightly different in the real game, as each difficulty is slightly harder. So, maybe the retail game's normal will be perfect for you.

Something I just started to do, which may be obvious to some, but try to hit it as deep as you can. I was aiming more towards the sides and short, but just aim it deep, and they make many more errors, which is realistic. So not sure if you were doing what I was doing, but see if that helps. I was down 1-5, and used that approach and came back and won 9-7!!

# 8 statum71 @ 03/04/11 10:48 PM

Have to disagree with Chase (for a change) on the commentary issue.

I still would've preferred TV style presentation over first-person presentation. I personally like announcers.

# 9 dannyr326 @ 03/04/11 11:43 PM

Hey does anyone by any chance know if the low camera angle will be availible in the retail version. In the demo it only allows you to switch between TV (High/Close). I was curious because in previous Top Spin games that was the most fun camera to play on.

# 10 Dazraz @ 03/05/11 05:24 AM

I just wish someone would bring out a tennis game that featured a mode for multiple players to play in offline tournaments.

# 11 PresidentEvil @ 03/05/11 10:03 PM

I'm less than impressed with the graphics. The arms on the players look wierdly shaped and the courts look just like they did in top spin 3. You expect better player models with just two playable characters on screen. The game is alright, however it needs more difficulty levels. The jump from medium to hard is too big.

# 12 Yeah...THAT Guy @ 03/07/11 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PresidentEvil


	I'm less than impressed with the graphics. The arms on the players look wierdly shaped and the courts look just like they did in top spin 3. You expect better player models with just two playable characters on screen. The game is alright, however it needs more difficulty levels. The jump from medium to hard is too big.

Someone told me that in the retail version it will be Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, and Super Hard (which is unlockable) or something like that.

# 13 Cro Morgan @ 03/08/11 10:25 AM

The game is flat-out fun, and that's all that matters in the end!! Can't wait until March 15th. :P

# 14 Methlab @ 03/09/11 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackRome


	What is it with 2k making their games waaaayyyyyyyy toooooooooo slllooooooooowwwwww. I just happened to be watching the Tennis network when I came on the site and saw that the demo was available. So I downloaded it. Looking at the speed of a real tennis match and then comparing it to this game and I found it laughable. Jut like NBA2k11. The game just moves way to slow compared to real life. Then I put in Virtua Tennis 3 to see if the speed difference was that drastic. It is. Virtua Tennis 3 is closer to the real speed of real professional tennis. Especially y when compared to the demo. I see where the game punishes you if you take the wrong step. Yet if the game was moving at a faster speed I wouldn't have to make the wrong step. It only happened once so it's really not a problem. The speed of the game is. The demo features two of the greatest players of all time and they fell like they are playing with wooden rackets and moving in slow motion. Looks great but 2k has really got to stop slowing their games down.

Sounds like you were playing on normal setting. The game plays at a realistic speed once you bump it up to hard. I felt the same way but once I set the game to hard, I was far happier with it. Hard is not even going to be the hard setting for the retail game, they said they made the game easier for the demo.

Slow = easier for new players.

More Links

Top Spin 4 Demo Impressions Roundtable