In the tiebreaker for gaming's tennis crown, Mark plays a let…

With one of the greatest Wimbledon finals in history just behind us, we thought we'd relive a memorable sporting fortnight with what's being touted as the most lifelike tennis title on the market, Top Spin 3.

The Top Spin series is no stranger to such a tag. With its biggest competition, Sega's Virtua Tennis, favouring a fast, pick-up-and-play approach, 2K Games' franchise is the title fans have looked to for a slower, more tactical sporting experience.

True tennis realism

We thought that had changed with Virtua Tennis 3, which hit a beautiful middle ground between realism and playability. Opting not to challenge Sega's dominance directly, Top Spin 3 instead takes tennis realism to new heights in a way that won't endear the game right away to casual gamers, Virtua Tennis fans, or even returning Top Spin players.

That's because Top Spin 3 is almost anal about approximating real-life racket swings on four buttons. On Xbox 360 A hits a flat shot, B a top spin shot, X a slice and Y is used for drop-shots and lobs, which sounds nothing out of the ordinary – but then you try it, only to find yourself rooted to the spot as the ball flies frustratingly by.

A quick visit to Top Spin 3's Tennis School soon has you realising that not only must you charge your shot, and position your character for the optimum return, but you'll also need to release the button at the right time to get the desired result.

Initially that means an extraordinary amount of concentration, even on the Easy difficulty, as you focus on the tricky combination of intelligent player movement, shot aiming, and a rhythmic flow of timed button pressing and releasing – before you've even factored in trigger button risk shots, and advanced right-stick serving.

Rhythmically rewarding

But when it all starts to click and you start competing, Top Spin 3 proves as rewarding as it is realistic. There's less of VT3's precision, with attempted winners flying wide, long and into the net, which can make it more frustrating, but it ends up getting you thinking like a pro, focusing on intelligent point creation and shot selection.

A little mastery of Top Spin 3 will see you, for instance, playing a slice to slow a rally up, a top spin forehand to force your opponent back behind the baseline, then a drop-shot to bring them into net, before (if you haven't already forced an error by then) thumping a flat shot past them for a winner – and just like real life pro tennis, it's only the best Top Spin 3 players who will implement such tactics successfully under pressure.

The upshot (sorry!) is that, where Virtua Tennis 3 focused on dominating rallies with hard stroke play and decisive movement, Top Spin 3 allows for a wider repertoire of approaches and styles. It's the intricate Roger Federer to Sega's high-energy Rafa Nadal; one for purists to marvel at.

That shows through in Top Spin 3's new Career mode, which dispenses with minigames for repeated tournaments, with an enormous amount of gameplay required to reach Pro and Legends levels. In it, you earn points for your created character's key attributes (Serve, Speed, etc), but a level cap means you'll have to develop a specific type of player (baseliner, volley specialist, good all-rounder) rather than maxing out every stat for an automatic worldbeater. Another example of Top Spin 3 being the thinking man's tennis title.

A superb sim alternative

If you don't want to plough through the Career right away, there's a wealth of tournaments and large roster of pro players to choose from. Federer, Sharapova, Murray and Henin (plus Nadal on PS3) and co. are joined by classic players like Becker, Seles and Borg, along with fictional players bolstering the list further. Playing with these proves a great way to cut your teeth for the online mode, which – at the time of writing – seems less prone to lag than VT3 has ever been.

Add the list of features and depth of gameplay to Top Spin 3's impressive presentation and a soundtrack (including Jamiroquai and The Stone Roses) that puts VT3's elevator music to shame, and you have a game that commands attention. It does risk alienating some with its hardcore nature, and isn't as instantly accessible as Virtua Tennis, but Top Spin 3 succeeds at being a superb sim alternative to Sega's more arcadey offering.

GAME's Verdict

• The most deep, realistic and diverse racket-swinger around.
• Great presentation and sound.
• mostly lag-free online play.

• Not as instantly pick-up-and-play as its competition; more for hardcore tennis nuts than casual players.
• No training or multiplayer minigames.
• Risk shots still take some getting used to.

Review by: Mark 'Top Spin' Scott
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 11.07.08