Top Spin 3

 Wii
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 31
  3. Negative: 10 out of 31
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  1. TennisNut
    Jul 10, 2008
    7
    Some quirks and lack of options aside, the best tennis game for lovers and players of the sport thus far. I'm an admitted casual gamer and for the most part picked up the wii solely for the fact that wii tennis was the first active tennis game available. I am an avid tennis player and loved several parts of this game as I saw the direct translation to playing. 1. There is a learning Some quirks and lack of options aside, the best tennis game for lovers and players of the sport thus far. I'm an admitted casual gamer and for the most part picked up the wii solely for the fact that wii tennis was the first active tennis game available. I am an avid tennis player and loved several parts of this game as I saw the direct translation to playing. 1. There is a learning curve: Timing, movement, shot choice and placement are all going to determine success. At times that can get frustrating when you know what you wanted to do vs what you controlled your player to do...but that is true in both real life tennis and any video game. Overall, I felt that strategy and proper preparation were pretty accurate. I would be frustrated if I was a lefty though, I think that was the worst possible omission of any portion of this game....and I'm guessing it was a licensing issue that forced them to keep Wimby out of the tournaments when the other 3 majors are there. I really debated giving this a 6 or a 7 because I know this game isn't going to translate to people who don't want to put in the time to learn the shots and movement or to people who want the extensive game play options that other consoles are going to offer in this genre currently. I opted for the 7 because I think this game lends itself to the market it was going for, people who want to play tennis when they are not actually out playing tennis....then the graphics and lack of modes aren't quite as important. It definitely falls short of a sim though and I'm hoping 2k will up the ante on the next version or someone will beat them too the punch and take this game out of the mix, until then I'll let Mr. Becker show Roddick how power tennis is supposed to be played.… Expand
  2. HarishP
    Jul 14, 2008
    4
    Before purchasing one off the shelf, I rented this at a local blockbuster. Over all it was ok looking graphics and the play looks close to actuality. But one thing I don't like and kept me from buying this: Unlike in the wii sports, the wii remote doesn't solely control the direction of shot. With Nunchuk controlling the direction of the shot instead of the wii remote swing Before purchasing one off the shelf, I rented this at a local blockbuster. Over all it was ok looking graphics and the play looks close to actuality. But one thing I don't like and kept me from buying this: Unlike in the wii sports, the wii remote doesn't solely control the direction of shot. With Nunchuk controlling the direction of the shot instead of the wii remote swing itself, this has become more like a playstation or xbox kind of video game. I hope the creators of this game come up with a better one where the way we hit the ball determines the direction as well as the kind of shot rather than the nunchuk.… Expand
  3. YvonneM.
    Jul 24, 2008
    9
    Has a fairly long learning curve, butif you stick with it, very enjoyable and fun. Moves players around court and alows choice of various shots and ability to place them. I'd advise using a wireless nunchuk, or you will cause yourself endless problems. Wish there were more players and more difficult and advancing levels of competition. Maybe the next version?
  4. wiimad
    Jul 28, 2008
    8
    Yes i agree with all, lacks career mode,does not have Wimbeldon!, but a dodgy Irish imitation. My dream of Federer finally crushing Nadal in the French has gone as well as he is only on PS3, can't create a version of myself and beat Federer at Wimbeldon ,ALL gone. great sim, due to motion controls let down by wiis graphics and lazy developers. Plus as I progress through the game , Yes i agree with all, lacks career mode,does not have Wimbeldon!, but a dodgy Irish imitation. My dream of Federer finally crushing Nadal in the French has gone as well as he is only on PS3, can't create a version of myself and beat Federer at Wimbeldon ,ALL gone. great sim, due to motion controls let down by wiis graphics and lazy developers. Plus as I progress through the game , boy I wish i could turn off the cut scenes between each point, it makes each match twice as long Now onto game play. Whats wrong with people!!! this game is easy and intuitive, everyone must have played wii tennis, its not that different, you don't even have to hit backhand! Yes I can play real tennis and I have played mario tennis to death on the N64 so slotting into top spin should be easier for me but cmon. I have am not up to the Opens yet but have not lost a set yet. Even with my six year old as a doubles partner we managed to squeak out a win. I have found the game very easy to pick up ,though putting away some opponents to win a point can take some time. Let me make it clear I am not that great at this game, I don't hit very many balls with orange or red markings which mean good timing I guess. I have still not figured out the slide serve so I can't understand whats so hard for others to about pick it up and win. Ball crosses net, run to spot, pull back racquet, move stick to opposite side of court to opponent and try to swing in time, repeat till opponent are out of court enough to miss a return, next point. Maybe lin the opens the finer points apply such as timing, drop shots, lobs, top spinning as opponents approach the net or sliding serve returns across court but if you watch any tennis on tv the same rules apply. Love the game play, but yes bring on Top Spin 4.… Expand
  5. TennisFan
    Jul 5, 2008
    5
    Decent tennis sim with many downfalls. no career mode, no left handed support (im a lefty) and somewhat unresponsive controls at times. Overall not bad, but not very good.
  6. NathanP.
    Jul 6, 2008
    2
    I was very excited when i heard this game was coming out but from the moment i started playing, was hugely disappointed. Don't see the need of the nunchuk as it feels like having a tennis racket in each hand. Also not a game for left handed players (like myself) Wii tennis is much better, much more comfortable & fun and actually feels like you're playing tennis
  7. Waiting4TopSpin4
    Sep 2, 2008
    5
    The game is a fun tennis sim, but it has a few main areas for marked improvement in the next release: 1) Roster: No Nadal for starters, but worse is in the Road to Glory mode you basically play the same 4 people repeatedly with very few alterations. Game desperately needs more star power, which may be tough given the lack of star power in today's tennis. Adding more legends (Agassi, The game is a fun tennis sim, but it has a few main areas for marked improvement in the next release: 1) Roster: No Nadal for starters, but worse is in the Road to Glory mode you basically play the same 4 people repeatedly with very few alterations. Game desperately needs more star power, which may be tough given the lack of star power in today's tennis. Adding more legends (Agassi, Sampras, McEnroe, Lendl, Chang, Courier, Edberg all come to mind) would be a big plus. 2) Serving: Against the CPU, there is no benefit between crushing a hish risk serve and laying a fat easy one via the "safety" serve option. In fact, its usually to your disadvantage to get a strong first serve in. CPU frequently dumps slow 1st serves into the net, then responds with high risk very fast second serves. Bottom line is that the serving needs to be more advantageous when risks pay off and offer penalties for not serving well (easier to hit a powerful well placed return, etc). Gameplay) Add a target for where the ball will land depending on the shot - responding to lob shots can sometimes be far more difficult than they should be. CPU does same thing repeatedly when returning serves.… Expand
  8. hashimA.
    Jun 20, 2008
    5
    Its not an easy game to play. Very frustrating and requires a lot of time to get used to the controls and start enjoying it. I still prefer the old Nintendo tennis as it is easy, and straight forward game to play.
  9. LarsB.
    Jul 12, 2008
    10
    what a fantastic play of tennis. In my dreams I´ve waited exactly for this pearl and i´m very very thankful it has been come true! the gameplay is a manifestation! Thank you 2K, more of this!
  10. AnonymousMC
    Jul 1, 2008
    7
    This game has grown on me. I would have given it a 5 if I had reviewed it after an hour or two. Having played it some more, I think it's a reasonable first effort. Not great by any stretch, but good enough to make you hope for a Topspin 4 in a year or two.

    First, the bad. The graphics are not that great, especially on a regular display. But as the manual suggests, displaying at    This game has grown on me. I would have given it a 5 if I had reviewed it after an hour or two. Having played it some more, I think it's a reasonable first effort. Not great by any stretch, but good enough to make you hope for a Topspin 4 in a year or two.

    First, the bad. The graphics are not that great, especially on a regular display. But as the manual suggests, displaying at 480p 16:9, it looks good enough. The animations are also a bit poor. Players run awkwardly, the numerous ballboys don't move at all (they're purely decoration), and the crowd applause - well, it brings to mind a 3-stage animated .gif, circa 1994.

    The in-game music sounds decent. It's less compressed than on MLB2K8. I still prefer the latter, though, because it included 16+ songs, compared to Topspin's 3. You *will* get sick of them.
    There's no create-a-player or career mode, which is unforgivable in 2008. There's not even a proper tournament mode. But once you get past the first few silly minigames on "road to glory," you will unlock the grand slam events. These play sort of like a tournament, starting at the round of 16. But they're mixed. I played Roddick against Sharapove for the Australian Open championship(!)

    The control system is not as intuitive as it was meant to be. Especially if you actualy play tennis - you won't want to use Topspin 3 to practice your groundstrokes. But once you the hang of it (and it will take a while - forget claims of a 5-minute learning curve), it's effective enough. The controls certainly aren't broken.

    So with all those problems, why a 7? Because like MLB2K8 before it, it's not great, but it is a reasonable first effort. And once you figure out what you're doing, it does get fun. But it's only a 7. As it stands, the game lacks the sort of content and depth that you'd expect from a 2K (or EA) sports title. But that's the easy part. Tennis fans can only hope 2K puts the little effort that will be necessary to put this title in the 8-9 range next year.    … Expand
  11. MaryS.
    Jun 21, 2008
    10
    This game is the best sports game on Wii. Period.
  12. MarcP.
    Jun 25, 2008
    3
    It is not user friendly and no fun. I'm quite disappointed. Should have maintain the Wii sports standard.
  13. [Anonymous]
    Jun 27, 2008
    7
    Not too bad. Doubles are fun. Limited number of moves and seems a bit slow but in generally a good game.
  14. EdwinV.
    Jun 29, 2008
    9
    I'd say this is exactly what i was hoping for in a tennis game. I've been playing for hours now and it's just right. Sure there are some flaws, like mishitting a shot for whatever reason, but overall it's very good. Movement is tricky for the first 10 minutes, but thats mostly because we are all used to the non-swinging technique executed to control Wii Sports Tennis. I'd say this is exactly what i was hoping for in a tennis game. I've been playing for hours now and it's just right. Sure there are some flaws, like mishitting a shot for whatever reason, but overall it's very good. Movement is tricky for the first 10 minutes, but thats mostly because we are all used to the non-swinging technique executed to control Wii Sports Tennis. It's a blast to be able to hit the ball into an area you were trying to hit the ball into. I found the single player to be very cool, doubles not so much because of the volleys are quite hard. Players move like they do for real, which is nice. Overall a very good first installment on the wii! (still a pitty there's no Wimbledon and the grass of dublin makes me blind).… Expand
  15. AnonymousMC
    Jul 3, 2008
    8
    You guys cannot rate a game bad because you suck at it you rate it on how well it plays and if it is based on being real or sci fi this is obviously based upon a real life thing that is why it is harder because real tennis you cant just pick up all easy it takes skill and if you rate tennis as a 2 because you suck at life your a damn idiot rate games on playability not your own skill level
  16. IG
    Jul 6, 2008
    9
    This game is fun to play. Yes, you do have to get used to the controls and yes that takes a little learning time. If you are ok with that this game is for you. The real attraction is of course is the fact that you are actually moving for gameplay. Otherwise your options are to go get the Xbox or Playstation and press some buttons.
  17. CratchW.
    Jul 6, 2008
    6
    I enjoy this game purely because I am a fan of tennis and it's something tennis-related for the wii. However, that said, I can't believe how much this game is missing. There are very few professional players (no Nadal, Djokovic, Davydenko, Ferrer, etc....those are numbers 2-5 in the world by the way). My first thought was "oh well, I'll create missing players in the I enjoy this game purely because I am a fan of tennis and it's something tennis-related for the wii. However, that said, I can't believe how much this game is missing. There are very few professional players (no Nadal, Djokovic, Davydenko, Ferrer, etc....those are numbers 2-5 in the world by the way). My first thought was "oh well, I'll create missing players in the create-a-player, but there isn't one. In fact, there are hardly any options for this game. No creation, no rule adjustment, no difficulty level above what it comes on.... Additionally, the tournaments are poor imitations of the real ones. In a Grand Slam event in this game there are only four rounds (as opposed to 6 in real life), and only 3 games wins you a set. Also, play is mixed, meaning men and women are in the same draw. I'm having fun with it, but I'm also very disappointed with this game, honestly I don't know how it made it to the shelves, it almost feels like a demo version of a real game.… Expand
  18. LudwigW.
    Jun 29, 2008
    2
    Nowhere as intuitive as Wii Tennis. It plays like any other complex videogame and detracts from why people (nolt hard core gamers) buy Wii over PS3 in the first place (not the graphics but the ease of use).
  19. MrHyde
    Aug 17, 2008
    1
    Disappointed. Just bought it and played one game. In the middle of the rematch I decided to turn it back to its box to never see the light again. I can't see the intuitive controls. Wii sports is more intuitive than that.
  20. RTCWFAN
    Aug 6, 2023
    8
    My first Top Spin game and I never came back to the franchise. Not because it is a bad game - it is pretty good. But I will stay with Virtua Tennis. Overall rating: 7.5.
  21. hahahahhaha
    Aug 19, 2022
    10
    cheap.p.p.p.pp.p..................o3ejrejregkrtnvkjdfngkgu heheheha ben yes

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Best Wii Game of 2008
24
#24 Most Discussed Wii Game of 2008
73
#73 Most Shared Wii Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Nintendo Power
    70
    If you're a devoted fan of straightforward tennis, you'll likely enjoy the game. [June 2008, p.88]
  2. Official Nintendo Magazine UK
    81
    It's the most realistic tennis game on the Wii and great fun to play. If you have even a passing interest in tennis this is worth a look. [July 2008, p.73]
  3. Nintendo Gamer
    60
    Sideways grip may well be more like proper tennis, but it's not comfy. Lefties aren't welcome. [Aug 2008, p.58]
See all critic reviews »