If you enjoyed the original Top Spin, like I did, this version is a must have.
First of all, there are some real improvements over the original version. For one, rather than playing in generic tournaments, it seems that 2KSports acquired some licensing deals on this one. They use the real courts and official names (like US Open). That makes it more real and more fun, in my opinion. Also, in terms of game play, they've really added a lot more to the controls, specifically with advanced shots. In the original, you had four basic shots and two "risk" shots. In the new version there are all types of configurations depending on where you are on the court and what buttons you use. There certainly is a learning curve, but it's worthwhile.
In general, Top Spin2 is a lot like Tiger Woods Golf from EA when it comes to the career mode. You need to build your player, make him/her better by training and competing, and eventually you can be good enough to move on to bigger and tougher competitions. The career mode is a little frustrating at first. Due to your need for money to train, your forced to compete too early, in my opinion. I found my player completely unprepared for my first tournament. And, while I made it to the finals, I didn't win. Also, some of the training sessions are VERY difficult. Although, if you fail the training, you still can improve your player a little. It's just frustrating to waste the money and not succeed.
Visually, the game is very nice to look at. The player creator is almost spooky in the amount of details you can mess around with. Although, some of the creation controls are not very clear as to what they do, so it can be a little annoying to tinker with if you're trying to go for a real specific look. Each court is very well detailed. The lighting is strikingly real and the environments are very vast and impressive to look at. The player models look really nice and the movements are much more fluid than the original (even though those were very good, too). I would have liked to see more interaction or closeups of the crowd and/or seeing the judges, just to make it a little more interesting.
Sound in the game is rather nice as well. The music is a little annoying, due to the lack of variety. But, it's not terrible. The crowd noises are nice, and although I haven't experienced a Grand Slam crowd yet, it's nice to see how they react to things and seem to have a favorite in certain matches. I would have enjoyed a play by play commentary of sorts. Not exactly play by play, I guess, but you know, in between points it would be nice to have someone review a replay and make comments like a real broadcast.
I do have a couple of complaints that prevent this from becoming one of my favorites. First of all, like I said, the training is tough and the need to compete too quickly is unrealistic. I can understand that people don't want to do nothing but train, but I wish it was more like the original in that you can take the time to train properly if you want before you run off and start competing. It's discourgaging to lose so early in your career and know that you have a lot more to learn. Also, the lighting, while very real, can also make it very tough to see. Certain courts, from certain angles, completely hide the ball. It's really annoying to lose the ball in the background elements. Some contrast adjustments should have been made there. And lastly, the lack of play by play and news items. I realize that tennis broadcasts don't usually include a lot of comments on each movement. They usually only comment in between points. But, adding something like that would make it a lot more interesting. Also, a lot of sports games have news headlines or even highlights and such from around the sport in a given timeframe. It would be nice to see a sports page headline about your player winning a tournament or something. These are just "icing on the cake" comments, so they don't prevent the game from being fun. But, they would make it more fun.
All in all, I really enjoy Top Spin2. The game is challenging, but not impossible. Its certainly not as easy to master as some games, but that makes it last longer. The overall game modes and game play is very good and extremely addicting. So far, it's my favorite sports title on the 360, so that should tell you something.