TopSpin 2K25 Review

2024 has been a cracking year for tennis fans so far Reebok brought back its classic Court Victory pump sneakers Zena got stuck into a saucy bit of mixed doubles on the big screen in challenges and now one of the greatest tennis video game series has returned after a 13-year long Hiatus Top Spin 2K 25 delivers an onc court experience that's every bit as smooth and snappy as it was two console Generations ago and it features licensed Superstars and stadiums that now more closely resemble the real thing it's a slight shame then that some convoluted career progression systems and the inclusion of virtual currency hold Top Spin 2k2 back from being an outright [Music] winner developer hanger 13 is best known for making Mafia games but here the team has gone from whacking mobs to smacking lobs without missing a beat top spin 2k2 feels genuinely terrific to play and there's a supremely well-balanced sense of risk versus reward that comes with performing charged up shots and serves it feels fist pumping L fantastic to nail the timing on a powerful flat stroke that blasts triumphantly down the tram lines and conversely quite crushing when you greedily overcook it and the ball abruptly smacks into the top of the tape my career really is the Center Court centerpiece of Top Spin 2K 25 and it's a pretty meaty mode during each month of the tour you get the option to play Target seeking training games special challenge events and proper ATP tennis tournaments or while keeping track of your players energy level which starts at 100% And slowly depletes with each match you play I had to carefully schedule rest months into the calendar in order to recharge since every time my player's energy dropped too low it inevitably resulted in injury that put me out of action for extended periods Energy Management isn't the only thing you need to stay on top of during my career though there's a leveling system that dos out attribute points to help shape your players strengths whether you favor Slinky serve and voling or if you're more of a Burly Baseline brawler a status system that gives you lists of objectives to tick off in order to progress from unknown to Legend and unlock new tournaments or challenges as well as Global player ranking both overall and for the year to date hiring a coach brings its own set of unique goals to creating enjoyable games within games that had me hitting a certain number of inside out backhand winners during matches to unlock special attribute boosts for example however like a debutant pair of doubles Partners these various progression systems occasionally step on each other's toes love 50 Midway through the second year of my career I had managed to crack the top 10 in the world rankings but I was still ineligible to enter any of the major Grand Slam tournaments because I hadn't yet fulfilled all of the requirements to elevate my status to the requisite Star level instead I had to go off and grind through a number of lesser ts250 competitions which made me feel like I was arbitrarily spinning my wheels against fictional nobodies when I should have been going head-to-head with the likes of Danielle Medvedev and Taylor Fritz even when I was finally able to compete in prestigious tournaments like the US Open and the year-ending ATP finals it did become a little repetitive to constantly come up against the same small group of licensed players there are some great inclusions here like Carlos alcarez and Coco Goff but also a number of notable absences Women's World number one eiga shanteek is present but Topman Novak jovic is nowhere to be found still at least it means we get to enjoy several calendar years of tennis where jovic isn't actually able to win everything eventually some tennis Legends are injected into the career mix in special star events although the quality of their likenesses is a little inconsistent early 90s Andre Agy looks magnificent in all his mullet head Glory but Pistol Pete SAS looks like a leftover character model that hang of 13 copied and pasted from Mafia 3 the considerable list of licensed stadiums all look fairly true to life however and there are some nice little animations to add some personality in between points like the way players will occasionally collapse onto their backsides after a particularly grueling rally game back and Row one game that said there are also some noticeable rough edges to the presentation particularly in the way there's little to distinguish one tournament win from another you're awarded the exact same trophy in the exact same ceremony whether you've just won a smaller satellite event or one of the majors here's me winning the Australian Open now here's me winning the French Open now here's me winning Actually I don't even know which tournament this is virtual currency was probably still just an idea jotted down in a 2K Executives dream journal when Top Spin 4 was released in 2011 but it's since become the default currency for in-game transactions across 2K stable of sports games and it rears its ugly head here in Top Spin 2k2 as well every tournament and special event you win Awards a modest amount of VC which in turn is used for everything from buying new clothing and rackets to hiring support staff to even AC wiring houses around the globe to help reduce travel fatigue after 15 hours invested in my career I'm reasonably flushed with the stuff and haven't once contemplated spending actual money on packs of VC but then again I tend to dress my created player as though they've just lost a bet in the locker room if you're a more fashion conscious tennis player and you're not content to style your avatar in the occasional offbrand shorts and skirts you can earn purely by playing tournaments then your mileage may vary what does slightly irritate me about the use of VC though is that it's resulted in a a warped in-game economy where it's somehow cheaper to buy a house in New York than it is to buy a new tennis record hey you said it licensed menu music the prize money you're awarded from a Grand Slam Tournament is also not even remotely similar in scale to real life winning The Wimbledon final should net you millions of dollars but in Top Spin 2K 25 I pocketed a measley 194 VC just barely enough to buy a pair of Wilson branded socks or a little more than half a pair of Nike branded track pants it's all a bit silly really a virtual currency that you can buy with real dollars that doesn't make any actual sense I'm willing to look past the questionable virtual currency nonsense however because the action out on court is of such a high standard I'm only 2third of the way towards reaching the level 30 cap for my created player and there are still plenty of Courts to unlock and objectives to tick off as I enter my seventh year on the tour beyond that I'm also Keen to get stuck into the online tournaments once the servers become more populated and there's or a battle pass style reward system that could well keep me on the hook for several more months to come even its licensed player shortcomings could be remedied in due course with further professionals already promised to be added in the future at no extra cost G Williams Top Spin 2K 25's chunky career mode May occasionally be marred by periods of grind amidst its Grand Slams its licensed player roster is a little slight compared to its impressive stable of stadiums and its implement ation of virtual currency attributes bafflingly unrealistic values to goods and services as though they were appraised by a kindergarten with no understanding of money in spite of these drawbacks though Top Spin 2k2 is an absolute blast on Court and one that I'm struggling to put down claiming this is the best tennis simulation since Top Spin 4 may be a bit of a backhanded compliment since there haven't exactly been any other genuine Serv and volley contenders released in recent years but there's little doubt that despite its rough edges this is still the most enjoyable way to get a realistic rally going in your own home without building an actual Court in your backyard love for more IGN reviews check out our verdicts on Tales of kenzer Z and Harold halbot and for everything else stick with IGN [Applause] effect

Channel: IGN

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Keywords: 2K Sports, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Sports, Tennis, Top Spin Tennis, TopSpin 2K25, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, ign game reviews, ign review, topspin 2k25 review, topspin 2k25 ign, top spin 2k25, top spin 2k25 review, top spin 2k25 gameplay

Id: zeQ1GXbwkII

Length: 8min 40sec (520 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 24 2024