I got to spend a little bit of time today talking with Anthony DeLuca, the Producer for 2K Sports upcoming Top Spin 3. We discussed a lot of topics surrounding the game’s development and upcoming release.

In the eyes of the development team, tennis games were starting to become static and they wanted a more fluid gameplay to complement playing tennis is real life. Top Spin 3 does this as it more realistically portrays what you are doing on screen with the inputs you give on the controller. New methods of control with the right analog stick have been implemented to give a more fluid feel to the game. For the Wii, how hard you swing and the angle of the Wii remote determines your shot type and speed, which is pretty cool.

Graphically, the game is running at 60fps on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 and looks much better than Top Spin 2, which was an Xbox 360 launch title. There are over 1500 animations for the characters in the game, so you’re bound to see some new swing mechanics and reactions from your favorite player. In that respect, the development team worked closely with each player in the game to create a Signature Style of their motions. Top Spin 3 introduces Legends players, and the Signature Style applies to them as well. Along with the detailed player models and animations, the courts have all been re-tooled to look better than ever. 2K worked closely with each tournament local to closely model the courts and crowds to match their real life counterparts. Finally, dynamic weather effects have been added such as rain, clouds, storms, overcast weather, etc. that effect both your player and the court. For example, if it’s very hot and humid, your player will tire faster. A very cool addition to boost the realism of the game. Unfortunately, there is no commentary in Top Spin 3. The development team decided it was more important to work on great sound effects than use precious system resources on in-game commentary.

On the gameplay side of things, not much has changed in terms of modes available. The Top Spin school is there is give an in-depth tutorial for how to play the game, tailored to both new and advanced players of the game. In the Career mode, you progress from Amateur to the Pro rankings as before, but now you’ll get to play the Legends players once you’ve made it through the career. For your career, there is a detailed player creation system to customize how you look with a Mall in the game to equip yourself with new clothes, racquets, and more. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game strive for realism while the Wii version is tailored to a family friendly atmosphere with party and mini-games. From an exhibition standpoint, all characters are available from the start of the game, so you don’t have to worry about playing through to unlock anyone. 2K has also added a new replay system where you can replay the last point to see how close your shot really was to the line.

The biggest addition in Top Spin 3 is the World Tournament modes online. Twice a month, 2K will host a World Tournament that anyone can enter and you will battle your way to #1. The leaderboards will reflect these tournaments and will be reset before each occurs. No online play is available on the Wii and there is still no ranked doubles play on the Xbox 360 and PS3. You can play social online doubles, but only with two consoles (two players on each). Anthony DeLuca discussed the possiblity of DLC in the form of players, equipment and clothing, but nothing has been set in stone.

Overall, it seems like a nice addition to a very solid tennis franchise. I played Top Spin 2 for countless hours when I first got my Xbox 360 and am very excited for the follow up. See you all online!

We want to thank Anthony DeLuca and 2K for spending time with us and discussing Top Spin 3, coming to a retailer near you in June.