Top Spin 2 is a great looking game that offers solid gameplay, but small problems add up to bring the experience down.
There are four basic ways to try to beat your opponent. The A button is the "safe shot," which will never go out of bounds. Then you have your slice, top spin and lob shot, which all have a chance of going out if you don't have aim them right. Then, there are risk shots, where you hold down the right trigger, and then press whatever button you want for the situation. However, there is a meter that goes up and down, and if you don't hit it exactly, it'll hit the net or go out of bounds. The last of the shots use the momentum you gain from winning volleys and games. You hit the left trigger, then the corresponding X, Y, A or B button. If you can master the risk shots, you are totally unbeatable. However, safe shots should probably get you by, and it is really hard to be able to hit the risk shots with any regularity.
There are four modes for you to choose from: Exhibition, Tournament, Career, and then your standard online mode. Career mode is easily the best mode. It ties into the online mode, as your created character can go online and play against others created characters. The career mode is pretty cool and there are three big achievements that are tied with the career. In terms of customization of the character, you there are just tons of ways to make your character look distinct. If you want to put it the time, you could probably make a character look like you.
The actual gameplay in Top Spin offers a pretty solid game of tennis, but the AI seems to be a little strange. There are times within the game where you just tear through a person in a set or within a game, where they just play horrible. Moments later, it seems like you can get the ball by them. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason to this, because sometimes the computer will go cold when he has a lot of momentum, and then go warm when he's been playing horribly. I can understand in any sport that there ups and downs, but the AI is so inexplicably spotty that you can't help to think that it could be much better. One strange glitch that I experienced though, is that your character will go invisible at times. I had to play a whole major tournament going only by a headband on where my character was. I'm not sure if this was from me playing the game too much or if it is a problem with the code.
If there is one place where Top Spin 2 excels, it is in it's graphics. The player models look extraordinary, the environments and crowds look nice, especially in the minor tournaments, where there are things going around in the court that really add to the whole presentation. The animations are really smooth and the cut scenes look top-notch, even if they are a little repetitive. There is a nice touch when you play on clay and you slide across the surface, it really adds to the realism. Although it does have a problem. You slide across, and the slide mark appears basically out of nowhere. It looks nice afterwards, though, and I don't know if it is a fair criticism to ask them to have slide marks in real-time at this point. The game features some of the best crowd graphics yet.
Top Spin 2 sounds good. The sound of hitting the ball sounds true to life, and the crowd reacts louder after a nice shot or an ace. It doesn't feature any licensed music as far as I could tell, but it really doesn't hurt the game at all. If you want some rock music going while you are playing some tennis, you could always hook up your IPod.
The game also boasts some good value. If you are a really big tennis fan, you could get some tremendous amounts of playing time logged in the online mode, which from what I've played, plays really smoothly, with just really minor lag. The career modes, achievements and 39.99 price tag means that you don't have to worry about not getting your money's worth.
In end, Top Spin is a good game for tennis fans. If you love your tennis, Top Spin 2 will give you your fix. But AI glitches, graphical glitches and the punishing risk shot system bog this game down, and make Top Spin 2 just a rent for an average Xbox 360 points junkie.