Top Spin 2 is a very polished, accurate game of tennis that is highly underated
The first thing I did was set up a singles exhibition match between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. The players were introduced by an umpire into Arthur Ash Stadium and some atmospheric music trailed behind it. This leads to one minor problem with the game: The camera. There are only two camera options; zoom and far. Both are just okay but they get the job done. The first thing I noticed when the first serve toss was thrown up was the incredible flow the animations and ball had. The ball seemed real at first since it had the same type of arc and flight a tennis ball has. Each ground stroke the players hit was fluid and well animated. Andy Roddick had his same fast serve motion with a 144 mile per hour serve. Federer had his same "flowing" backhand he has in real life.
The stadiums you can play in are very detailed and perfectly resemble the courts seen in real life. They also took the time to license the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open, Indian Wells, ect. The court surfaces look unbelievable. The textures and shadows the courts have looks truly incredible. The "dusk" version of the courts seems to glow as you first see it and has a great feeling to it. All the courts are unique and have their own sense of style and creativity.
The gameplay of this game has been slightly tweaked. The A button provides a relatively flat ball that always stays in. The Y button provides a lob. The X and B button provide slice and top spin. However, the slice and top spin shots are now harder to get it and require more skill and finesse to get in. If you plant your feet and have more time, it's more likely you'll get the shot in. This provides a nice challenge for those players who love top spin 1. You can no longer push the analog stick all the way on a top spin shot and expect it to create some crazy angle. The best thing about the gameplay and presentation is it really plays like a real match of tennis. The ball hits the top of the net cord, the A.I. actually hits the ball out and misses first serves, and one has to be more aware of when to hit certain shots. This game is not worse than the first top spin it's just a little bit harder. I've been playing this game for about a week and at first I was struggling with the matches. But after the first two days or so I was in control of my shots and witnessing the most realistic video game of tennis to date.
Overall, this game is an extremely polished, challenging, and fun to play game of tennis. People are getting too hung up on things like the absence of replay. That's one minor problem in the game, that shouldn’t ruin the whole game for you. If you like tennis you must pick this one up. If you like video games you must pick this up. If you like a good challenge of a video game that's also rewarding, you must pick this one up!