Top Spin 4 - Boxed - PS3

Top Spin 4 is the fourth instalment in the Top Spin tennis game series. The player can choose from a list of 25 real players, made up of active professionals and former stars, or opt for a self-created player, who competes on real and fictional tournament courts.

Shots are initially divided into controlled and power shots, executed by tapping or charging the corresponding button (if the charge is not complete, the resulting shot is a mix of both types). Ball speed and trajectory depend on the type of shot, the player's attributes, the player's position, the characteristics of the shot being returned, remaining stamina and timing. Timing expresses the player's ability to press the shot button at the right moment, ranging from Late to Perfect. Once the opponent has hit the ball, the player's movement begins when the player presses a direction, and is thereafter determined by the CPU.

Standard baseline shots are flat, slice, topspin, lob and drop shots; volley shots can be normal, controlled, power and drop volleys; serves can be flat, slice and topspin shots and can focus on precision (standard serve) or power (advanced serve).

Offline game modes are Exhibition, Career, King of the Court and Top Spin Academy, a tutorial mode in which the basics of the game are explained by a coach and then put into practice by the player.

In Exhibition, it is possible to play a customisable singles or doubles match, choosing the location, match length and sets, as well as the scoring rules (including percentage tennis) and the difficulty setting against the computer or other human opponents (up to 4 human players in doubles).

Career begins with the creation of a player, who can be male or female. Body shape and complexion, facial appearance and outfit can be individually customised, with branded rackets and sportswear also available. The created player begins their career with low-level tournaments and, in RPG fashion, gathers experience points to rise in level and attributes, with the goal of reaching Majors and fame. Bonus special abilities and additional stat boosts can be achieved by selecting more than 30 coaches and fulfilling their requirements (such as hitting 30 baseline winners or winning 20 points at the net). Depending on the choice of coach, players of any style can be created; however, their complex skills cannot match those of real-world players. Created players can be used in any custom match and in the online World Tour.

King of the Court is a party tennis match featuring long matches with few points: the loser leaves the court, and another player takes their place; whoever wins the last match is the winner.

Online game modes are Player Match, World Tour, 2K Open.

Player Match consists of a single game, just like offline Exhibition. Doubles require 4 players, and each pair must physically play together.

World Tour is a competition that mimics the real ATP professional circuit, for which only created players can be used. There is a weekly and an all-time ranking, men's and women's competitions are separate, and deciding to switch players means the previous stats are deleted.

2K Open features matches played over 3 sets of 3 games each (the final set is a super tie-break, a tie-break won at 10 points); only professional players can be used. There is an all-time ranking specifically for this mode.

The parameters that determine player performance are: forehand, backhand, serve, volley, power, stamina, speed, reflexes. All players have special abilities (3 for professionals, up to 2 for created players), such as Diesel Serve (serve improves as the match progresses), Reach Swings Expert (barely reached balls are returned better than by other players), Poisoned Slice, No Mercy, and others.

Male professional players are: Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Roddick, Davydenko, Simon, Blake, Wawrinka, Tomic, Agassi, Sampras, Borg, Becker, Courier, Rafter, Chang and Lendl. Female professionals are: Serena Williams, Wozniacki, Ivanovic, Safina, Jankovic, Zvonareva, Bouchard.

The game is compatible with PlayStation Move and supports stereoscopic 3D on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii version's controls have been redesigned to focus on motion detection with the Wii Remote.