While offering the online options that Top Spin 2 lacks, the glitchy gameplay makes this an utter disappointment.
I picked it up the day it came out and hurried home to play. I created a custom character and mucked around with the training scenarios before venturing online. The very place I expected to have the most fun, is where it let me down the most. While offering the online options that Top Spin 2 lacks, the glitchy gameplay makes this a utter disappointment. While in the middle of a point the game would frequently glitch the ball, as if it were confused, and then the announcer would call 'Let' and the point would be replayed as if it never happened. Another problem is that if you and your opponent(s) are even half competent at moving and hitting the ball, there is rarely an opportunity to score. It is way to easy to return 'hard' shots. Yes, there are times when you can slam it to score, but those opportunities are few and far between. The norm is to have incredibly long volleys and hope that your opponents thumb cramps up after a 10 minute volley. Of course, this is only good if the game does not call a "let" after 10 minutes and has the point played all over again. One last thing about online play. Let's face it, not everyone has a great connection. Most do, but when you find an opponent that for whatever reason has lag issues, this game does not handle it very well. On those occasions, it felt like I was watching a television show where the sound was 3 seconds behind the action. The ball would be one or two seconds behind what was actually happening. I never though that I could prefer the TS2 lag method over this, but I do.
The graphics and sound are no better than TS2, but the controls take a big step backwards. There are no 'risk' shots, and you will rarely hit the ball out during volleys. As for serving, there is no aiming to speak of. Oh you can try, but you can only barely adjust your aim while serving and there is no noticeable effect on the placement.
All in all, this was a huge letdown for me. I now hold out hope for a Top Spin 3. Please!