advertisement

IT'S THE GREATEST TENNIS game of all time. The strength and size of its following even now, over a year after release on Xbox, is testament to not only its depth but also its strangely addictive qualities. And now it is finally due for a local release on PC after coming out last September in Europe.

Don't let the rushed look of the logo and front end deceive you, nor the simplicity of the control interface. Whether it was intended or not, Top Spin is about as deep as sports games get, and while it's very easy to pick up, what you see when you first play is but a glance at what you will discover months down the track.

It's important to understand that Top Spin is a multiplayer-driven game. The shallow single-player mode is little more than a quick prep for the real deal, online play. While there are still some problems connecting with opponents via Gamespy Arcade, the game has already been patched and is far more reliable in this respect. Everything else is wonderfully solid, and gameplay glitches are rare.

One of the main attractions of the game is the extensive player creation mode, which allows you to weak about any aspect of your character and allocate whatever combination of stroke stars to your serve, forehand, backhand and volley. Another four skills can be chosen, such as return serve, angle, passing shot and top spin, with the final being available only when you spend the two or three hours necessary to win enough ranking points to become number one on the virtual tour.

Fortunately for those wanting to get online quickly, you can choose from a variety of real-life pro characters or, better yet, download save files from the community, both from the PC and Xbox version. To grab an Xbox save, you first have to create a file for your character under the same name in the career mode, then replace it. Many characters available are already at #1 and take just a few minutes to finish training to your desired stats, go shopping for clothes and equipment, and get online for their first match under your control.

The last year or so on Xbox has seen many fads in player types, with the only prevailing opinion being that in this game you can succeed with just about any type of character you like. To be truly successful, all you really need is to spend the time to find out what the manual doesn't tell you, and just like playing the game itself, going online is the best place to find out.

Show me the screenshots!