Sorry haven't blogged for a couple of days, been really busy with work and my band activies :D. Reading the comments off of my last game blog I shall add two games on the list to get through my forever growing list of my favourite games!
The first of the two games is....
Top Spin (Ps2 & Xbox) Score 9/10
If you aren't familiar with the Top Spin series I shall fill you in first. A small little tennis series called 'Virtua Tennis' was dominating the gaming industry in the 'tennis section' with their arcade, fast paced gameplay, until the Top Spin series was first released. Top Spin is a simulation game (not arcade) and the closest thing you will get to playing the superstars of tennis in your living room (or bedroom!). I've always had a soft spot for tennis from a very young age, watching stars like Pete Sampras and Tim Henman. When I owned an Xbox, sadly not anymore, I purchased Top Spin. Not knowing anything about the game I took a huge risk. It turned out to be one of the greatest sporting games I had (and still have) ever played. It offered a perfect balance between simulation and fun, whereas most simulation games just offer the closest gameplay to the subject it is imitating and lacked on the fun side of things. Top Spin has amazing gameplay that lets you hit all the tennis shots that you can dream of. You can play almost impossible shots out of nowhere and win back the point when you are on the backfoot and visa versa, meaning the CPU can strike back at any moment so being aware at all times is crucial when in amatch against a top flight player. On top of the gameplay, Top Spin has a deep career mode that helps you live the life of a rookie tennis player working his way up the rankings to become the number 1 player in the world. Unlike its rival Virtua Tennis, Top Spin's ranking system doesn't increase as you win games but you must win enough games to increase your points whilst on tour. If one of your rival players beats you and wins the tournament, they will gain more points than you. Also unlike Virtua Tennis, you don't have a calander to play by but lower level tournaments that you can choose to play inwhatever order you like and move pup to bigger venues like the French Open and Wimbledon. You can also become sponsored by different tennis brands like Adidas and Wilson. Overall Top Spin is the greatest tennis experience you could possibly imagine beating any other tennis game with a game, set and match winning serve! (see what I did there...clever ay?). Luckily I purchased it on Ps2 again and it game the other day!
The next game on the list is....(unsuprisingly!)
Pete Sampras Tennis (Sega Megadrive) Score 7/10
Even though this game is in my all time favourite collection, unfortunatly I don't remember that much of the game. When I was younger obviously stars like Pete Sampras and Agassi were around playing their damn good tennis and winning all of the championships it was bound to come along with one of them endorsing a video game and it had to be the tall, bushy eyebrowed Pete Sampras. The game was half decent (from what I can remember :lol: ) and offered, at the time, the most fun you could get in a tennis game. Its long haul World Tour mode, which was just a series of games one after each other, and its colourful graphics, Pete Sampras Tennis appeal to all video gaming tennis fans.