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I was very apprehensive to review Top Spin 4 when it arrived at my desk.  I still had memories of the poor difficulty implementations from the last title in the series.  I had major issues with the unbalanced difficulty, along with the controls in Top Spin 3.  Thankfully, I can report that Top Spin 4 has come back strong; improving on many levels and provides a competent tennis experience fitting for a sport nicknamed, “The Sport of Kings”.

2K Sports seems to have thrown out most of the last title, rebuilding the physics of the game, as well as the control scheme.  Instead of having to do all kinds of control schemes, we now have a simplified control scheme using the four face buttons for most shots.  You have a variance between simple control shots that just require a simple press of a button based on timing, or a power shot that is the result of holding down the button for a specific amount of time before the shot.  Power shots are measured with a power reticule that fills up – hit too soon and you lose power, wait too long and you lose accuracy.  Each color button is mapped to a specific shot, so you can hit a slice with the X button, while a power shot can be performed with the A button.  It is a system that is easy to get started with, but can take some time to perfect and master.  I was able to pick up the shot system within a couple of games, or you might want to just hit up the many training lessons that can be found in the Top Spin training academy.

Once you have a feel of the controls, you will be ready for the main mode of Top Spin 4, which is the career mode.  In career mode, you create your own player, either female or male, and set them on the path to take over the tennis circuit.  Career mode sets you up with a calendar, where you can play a simple training exercise and a tournament each month.  Of course, as a lowly rookie on the circuit, you can’t just walk into Roland Garros from the start and play against the best of the best.  You have to start off playing through the minor tournaments, earning fans and victories that will unlock bigger events. 

Career mode also allows players to unlock special matches or events that will give you an extra boost, either with fans, skills or a bit of both.  Some of these are simple items, like hitting a new nightclub opening that will boost your fan base or playing in front of a millionaire who has selected an opponent for you play.  These items are really well thought out, and some are even humorous, like the email I got that asked me to motion capture for the “best tennis game on the planet” from the people at 2K Czech.  If your rep gets high enough, you get the chance to play dream matches against some special opponents.  No spoilers here, but they are very entertaining, and challenging to boot.

I found myself getting completely hooked by the career mode in Top Spin 4, up to a certain point, where the game became a bit too easy.  I was playing my review play on normal difficulty, but there appeared to be a hole in the AI at some point, where I found a surefire mechanic to dominate just about every match, just short of some of the upper echelon tennis stars.  It found me regretting not turning up the difficulty, but there are some certain patterns with service and first return that had me winning an extraordinary amount of my matches without losing a single point.  It does not seem to take away from the game as you are winning, but it starts to become the same old song as you walk over opponents.  A patch can probably fix some of this behavior, but it really needs to be fixed to keep the game in people’s play rotation.

Of course, you can alleviate some of those concerns by heading online for the robust multiplayer modes.  On top of a quick play mode, there is also a complete world tour mode of play where you enter seasons and tournaments online.  With the world tour, you can take your player from your single player game, complete with all the skills that you have unlocked, and play against other players online.  You choose whether to play exhibition matches, or enter yourself into tournaments so you can end up winning major titles online.  The seasons seem to last a week in real time length, at which point, the leaderboards are locked, and reset for the next season.

In moving to the online component, I was worried that the high speed of tennis would get lost in a lag fest, but Top Spin 4 performs very admirably.  Out of a dozen or so games that I played with other players online, I rarely found any lag or hiccups, and when lag did become apparent, it was only in some very slight stutter, but it never hurt the actual gameplay, which is very important.

The world of Top Spin 4 is a star in and of itself.  There are over 35 courts that vary in court type.  There are clay, lawn, and hard surfaces that you will play on, and each stadium is visually stunning.  Clay courts are bright red in appearance, and leave all the marks from your shoes as you play through your matches.  Tennis is a sparse sport to begin with, but 2K Czech takes the sparse environments, and captures every detail.  The wave of the net, the line judges and even the speedometers that track your ball speed with each return are all here, and complete the experience of playing on a major court.  Even some of the smaller courts are fun to play in, like the court in Dubai that is near the top of a skyscraper and featured floors that have been shined to the point of providing reflections.  While I enjoyed the added ambience of the crowd, complete with hushed lulls and roars for great plays and volleys, it never is directed to your created character in any sense.  Many times, I would hear random shouts for the other players, but never anything for my near dominating play.  Yes, you can’t record every name in existence, why not take a cue from the NBA series and let players pick a voiced nickname.  It would at least allow the crowd to cheer for me in a personable way.

2K Czech have taken the grand sport of kings and created a solid experience for gamers in Top Spin 4.  From the great career mode that will hook you, to the online play that will keep you coming back for more competition, there is something here for just about anyone looking to enjoy the sport of tennis from the comfort of their couch.  It still needs some polish here and there, but it is a fun experience that I can highly recommend to anyone looking for a relaxing title that is fun to play.  Top Spin 4 gets 4 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.

Check out Top Spin 4 and other Xbox 360 reviews at Test Freaks.