Not surprised but also not too happy when 2k have shown they're willing to take services offline somewhat quickly.
Top Spin 2k25 |OT| Not that kind of spinning top
- Thread starter M. Wallace
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- OT
TopSpin 2K25 Review | TheSixthAxis
13 years on from the last game, TopSpin 2K25 is a great return to form for the tennis series, building on the same great core as the originals.
www.thesixthaxis.com
8/10 from our reviewer.
Just based on how it looks, this feels right. I can't know unless I try it, but the gameplay looks subpar and the models look sub sub par. After all this time too...
They say that the visuals are good enough, with some criticism aimed at the spectators. The biggest issue is that it's a very barebones release, especially for the $70 price tag. "It feels like a beta" is what was said. lol
Boo this. Boo this very much. It's insulting paying $70 for that.
The talk of how stiff they are and how little they move like their real-life counterparts is just...idk how that happens at this point. You spend the money to get these players in the studio to mocap and this is what happens? It baffles me more that I see swings from Federer or Alcaraz that they have never done. It looks like it's from some other player. This whole thing is weird and off. Always online career is just dumb as shit too.
PushSquare review
TopSpin 2K25 is a confident revival firmly worth the 13-year wait. Admittedly, it might not be for everyone, especially with its rather steep learning curve, but for us, that's what we love about the game. It inspired us to dig deep into the game's core mechanics and train our way up the ladder. We felt that competitive edge that made us want to master our playstyle and ultimately show off our MyPlayer, cosmetics and all. This is a sports game that can proudly stand alongside its 2K brethren, and one we're thrilled to see back in action.
+Satisfyingly tough gameplay loop
+Vibrant visuals
+Brilliant DualSense haptics
+Solid and stable performance on PS5
+Has the legs for great post-launch
-No invite option for friends at launch
-Some uncanny valley character models
8/10
Conclusion
TopSpin 2K25 is a confident revival firmly worth the 13-year wait. Admittedly, it might not be for everyone, especially with its rather steep learning curve, but for us, that's what we love about the game. It inspired us to dig deep into the game's core mechanics and train our way up the ladder. We felt that competitive edge that made us want to master our playstyle and ultimately show off our MyPlayer, cosmetics and all. This is a sports game that can proudly stand alongside its 2K brethren, and one we're thrilled to see back in action.
+Satisfyingly tough gameplay loop
+Vibrant visuals
+Brilliant DualSense haptics
+Solid and stable performance on PS5
+Has the legs for great post-launch
-No invite option for friends at launch
-Some uncanny valley character models
8/10
Those are all fair points I think. I'll pass on this release, unfortunately, since there's no other franchise that can fill up this void.
Some, huh? Kills me that I'm so hard up for decent tennis, I'll still bite at some point. Just not at full price. But ugh.
I like what I am seeing here. I may consider picking it up. I wonder how the steep learning curve will be.
I think this sounds good enough for my to pick it up, especially since I can grad the standard edition for less than $50 on Fanatical. I'm essentially tired of every other sports franchise out there so it will be nice to play a genre I haven't since the last Top Spin game.
That footage from Xbox Era looked very choppy. This is definitely a wait for sale game for me now. I'm guessing it shouldn't be long either. They should have priced it at $39.99 if they weren't going to flesh it out. $70 for this is a trick. Really wanted an excuse to buy this and so far, I'm not seeing it. I guess I'll boot up Mario Tennis.
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Hmm, it's sounding like it might be a bit too sim for my tastes, I was hoping a bit more on the arcadey side of the scale. I need a Virtua Tennis revival.
i don't know if the lazy dev rhetoric is justified or necessary
i don't know if the lazy dev rhetoric is justified or necessary
I have a billion based on my concerns of footage. I'll start with one. Does the lob or drop shot feel like you have decent control over them? There has yet to be a tennis game where they get this right.
The drop shot, yes. Executing that perfectly really does require some learning and timing to get some decent control. The lob however doesn't. That always felt to me like just pressing the button and that's it.
I plan to buy this game, and while I didn't expect a "AAA" effort, the reviews so far are telling me to wait for a sale and not to drop $70 on it. Which is a shame, because I feel like low day 1 sales will make Take Two drop the franchise instead of giving it another shot.
Honestly, it just comes to what you expect. And what makes a game $70 worth for you?
Is this the best tennis game in the last decade? Absolutely, by far. Not any tennis game released in the last years even comes close.
Is this however a AAA sports game with all the bells and whistles like a FIFA, NBA2K, Madden, ...? Absolutely not.
But that doesn't mean you can't have dozens of hours of fun with this game. I think if you are a tennis lover, this is absolutely a must have. If you are just a sports game enthusiast but don't have a special preference for tennis, then yeah, there are better sports games on the market. Which isn't crazy, because the budgets of those games are probably 10 times higher.
Im just a sports game enthusiast, so really didn't have any expectations other then it having good gameplay, which it sounds like it does (for a casual like me). I guess when I think about it after your question, what I want from the game isn't worth $70 to me.
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I don't see how it would be a steep learning curve? From what I've seen of streamers just starting the game, it takes maybe 20 minutes or so to figure out the timing?
If that's steep...then I don't know what to tell you. Gameplay from those streams has looked pretty great imo.
If that's steep...then I don't know what to tell you. Gameplay from those streams has looked pretty great imo.
I have played quite a lot already, the learning curve is not steep at all.
Yes, it takes some time to be really, really good. But just having fun is literally pick up and play.
I hate reviews lol. I really need a short one set demo or something.
Is the Career mode deep? Do you upgrade your player? Are there a lot of customization options? Create a player + Gear?
Does it have licensed music? Loved the generic Top Spin 1 music.
If you have played Top Spin 4 how does the gameplay feel compared to that?
So the main mode in the game is that you playing against people online only?
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No, the main mode is a career mode against AI. There's very easy, easy, normal, hard and very hard difficulty.
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Haven't played with Shelton yet to be honest, but you can serve big serves at least.
If you have a decent knowledge of the tennis sport (by playing yourself or by following the sport), you learn really fast. Just knowing basic stuff like that you stay at the baseline and not in the middle of the court and you very fast have a great time (as long as you don't go to high in difficulty).
It's pretty deep, in the beginning you have a very bad player and you can upgrad his stats. Also a lot of customization options, very much. You can even play with a robotic leg or arm if you want.
I did play it, but that is literally 10 years ago. So comparing is difficult for me.
But what I do can say, I play tennis myself at a very high level and this game really feels as close to 'real tennis' as you can get. I have played the 4 or 5 tennis games that have released in the last 6 years and not anything comes close to Top Spin in gameplay, presentation and the feeling of playing real tennis.
No it's the offline career mode.
I've played tennis for a few years at a very low level and played the hell out of this and Virtua Tennis so hopefully I can pick it up.
Love to hear it.
Can I do a year long tour as a pro instead of using CAC? Similar to a "season" mode in other sports games?
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I ordered from Fanatical too....where did u hear this? I just have a message that it'll be available on the 22nd at some point.
I don't think the early access has started yet, for some games they get told not to send out keys until early access actually starts. Even though it doesn't really make much sense because Steam won't allow you to play anyway, lol.
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Early access for Steam starts at 12am EST / 11pm CST / 9pm PST I believe.
I wouldn't expect a key until then.