Top Spin 3's solid player-creation tool lets you make your mark on the tennis world without relying on licensed players. You can tweak dozens of settings for your chosen model including a range of settings for your face, body, outfit, and more, including tattoos, headwear, and even a desired grunt style and frequency. Some of the settings are a bit arcane, however, with eye colour being set via a numerical range rather than being labelled as something that actually makes sense--like, say, the actual colour of the eyes.
Top Spin 3 includes a wide range of famous licensed tournaments, including the French Open, the US Open, and the Australian Open. Wimbledon is an unfortunate exception, but the game does present you with the chance to play in more exotic and far-flung locations such as Seoul, Casablanca, and Buenos Aires, with more than 40 in total on offer. It will take you a long time to get sick of the variety of courts on offer, which are all recreated in fine detail including crowds that almost look life-like--normally unheard of in sports games and something other developers should take note of.
The game's multiplayer mode allows singles and doubles matches between human and AI opponents both locally and online. You can play a quick match, or compete in the World Tour mode's ranked matches either in individual matches or nine different pre-selected tournaments. We found the overall online experience to be lag free and there weren't any problems finding players to face off against in individual matches, or tournaments, and was much the same as playing against a friend sitting next to you. Online leaderboards will help you track your skill against the rest of the world.
Top Spin 3 is a great-looking game, and is technically and artistically the best example of the genre. The re-creation of famous stadiums looks spot-on, even down to detailed crowd shots and authentic tournament advertising. On the technical side, we didn't experience any issues with chuggy framerates except for when the camera was introducing us to venues while loading--for some reason every one suffered from this. Characters have realistic movements, their clothes move and sway as you'd expect, and their faces have detailed expressions and animations. Winning a grand slam feels that much better when your character looks and sounds like the real deal.
Top Spin 3 is a serious tennis game for serious tennis fans, and it's incredibly true to the series' simulation roots. If you're looking for a deep, challenging experience, this should keep you busy for some time to come; but if you prefer the occasional arcade match, or like the variety of minigames that some of Top Spin's competitors offer, you'll want to look elsewhere. Despite a few minor complaints the game looks and sounds great, and it feels almost as authentic as having front-row seats to a real-life grand slam.
- See more CNET content tagged:
- career,
- season,
- tournament,
- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.,
- shot
%20PlayStation%203%20Game%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/playstation-3-games/top-spin-3-playstation/4505-9992_7-32514528-2.html){kind=small}