Top Spin 2 (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Before I even start this review I'll need to point out two things. Firstly, this is also available for the DS. Secondly, this version is better. Fact! Now we've got that cleared up we can continue, so, where were we? Tennis, that's right. Obviously tennis is far from new to consoles and many regard the original PONG (or whatever it was called on your console) as the beginning of popular electronic gaming as we know it today. I can remember playing it too and it's hard to explain now just how exciting this simple game was. Clearly things have moved on but every developer wants to retain that gaming element, which made us all so addicted to two bats and a ball on a TV screen all those years ago.

Gameplay

Top Spin 2 arrives just as the sun is starting to shine, tempting people out to parks and so indicating the start of the summer sports season. The most famous tennis tournament in the UK is Wimbledon and it's competitions like this that Top Spin 2 taps into. Unlike many other tennis games it has a huge amount of licensed players meaning you can select the likes of Roger Federer or Venus Williams as your chosen player. Once you've done this you can either choose a quick match or a career that will take you around the world. In both of these the number of games you play can be edited, which is a useful feature when time is against you. In addition to the startight matches there are a good number of mini-games, similar to the type of games you see at fairgrounds where you can win one of those oversized cuddly toys, which don't even fit in your car. These are games of skill challenging you to hit the ball so it lands in a specific spot on the court and even occasionally in a specific order. This also gives you skill points that can be used to improve your main game.

Controls

Definitely one of Top Spin 2s strong points is the wonderful control system, which gives it an instant 'pick up and play' accessibility which most developers want. Everything you need is here; pressing a combination of the buttons will give you any stroke from a slice to a lob. This does give you the impression that you have some control over where exactly the ball is going to land and with a little practice you will get there.

Graphics

Magic Pockets have always been one of my favourite developers mostly due to their outstanding visuals and Top Spin 2, as expected, looks fantastic not just the main game but also in the overall presentation. The licensed tennis stars for example, look like their real life counterparts and the on-court animation is outstanding especially when your player has to really reach for the ball. The locations also look suitably different and there's also the option to change the look of your player although this is not as comprehensive as you'd expect.

Sound

The sound effects are spot on and while you'd imagine tennis is one of the simpler games to equip with audio you'd be surprised at just how many developers get it wrong. Everything from the announcers to the players and tennis balls, right down to a convincing sounding crowd sounds good. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the music, which is sampled but rather awkwardly looped and stuck together and as a result is best ignored.

Final comments

I have to say I've never really been a fan of tennis games (mostly because I'm not very good at them) but Top Spin 2 is a joy to play regardless of the way you choose to tackle the gameplay. This is mostly thanks to the wonderful control system, which makes winning a game a real possibility as opposed to the AI always outsmarting you or being unpredictable. It's still not as satisfying as the mighty Mario tennis mostly due to the lack of options and mini-games but if you've completely exhausted that and are in need of some tennis fun before this years Wimbledon, then you can't go far wrong here.

Pro: Realistic Sound and Visuals, Licensed Players.
Con: Still not as Good as Mario Tennis.
Final score: 6.8

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