Artistic Licenses
Top Spin 3 comes packed with the likenesses of some 20 tennis pros, but only 17 of these are currently in circulation on the pro circuit. The remaining three pros are "legends" of the tennis world like Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker. Still, contemporary heavyweights like Roger Federer and Andy Roddick serve as the central stars of Top Spin 3, so the opportunity to pit these current heroes against the titans of the past should get serious tennis fans going.
Likenesses are not the only licenses though, and Top Spin 3 will include music from various artists like Franz Ferdinand. As usual, Nike and Adidas (among others) provide sportswear and shoes while companies like Prince and Yonex deliver racquets and the like.
Laugh it up Fuzzy Ball
The new Player Creator presents a staggering number of variations for building the ideal digital representation of your video game tennis-playing self. You start with a basic template person in male or female (these seem differentiated by ethnic characteristics), then you can tweak your appearance using a dynamic system that enables you to sculpt your physical morphology in almost any way imaginable.
The impact of this deformable structure is most evident in the face editor, where white dots act as anchor points for nearly thirty different facial features. Each of these dots can be manipulated to pull or push different aspects of your character's face in order to get the perfect appearance. If you choose to eschew this kind of minutia, there are plenty of canned options for faces as well.
The character you slap together in the Player Creator can also be used in online matches, giving your Top Spin 3 player a persistent existence. Skills will also translate along with appearance though, so be sure to practice up and improve your basic abilities before jumping into any grueling online tournaments.
Tweaked Tennis
Other improvements are less obvious at first, but still alter the game significantly. A new fatigue meter that looks like a small EKG reading above each player's head delivers crucial information about how close your player (or your opponent) is to tiring. The fatigue meter works in conjunction with more subtle clues like dripping sweat and heavy breathing to ensure that you are totally aware of your condition.
For those that were disappointed with Top Spin 2's penchant for placing you at the top of the screen when switching sides, Top Spin 3 will allow you to elect to have the camera follow you. This way, you will always appear on the bottom of the screen (even in online games), thus relieving you of the hazards of playing on the smaller back court.
While the list of improvements for Top Spin 3 is intriguing, the game itself remains extremely difficult to master. This could be off-putting for those new to the franchise, but longtime fans will likely enjoy the rigorous and unforgiving mechanics that demand skill and perseverance. Top Spin School provides a decent tutorial (significantly more thorough and helpful than the one found in Top Spin 2), but getting the timing down is still a challenging prospect. Although Top Spin 3 is looking sharp, there's still some doubt as to whether or not it can penetrate beyond hard core tennis aficionados. We'll all find out soon enough when Top Spin 3 reaches store shelves near the end of June.
